Questions for Leaders (book answers)
How to influence without authority?
How to voice your successes without bragging?
How to hold yourself to a standard but also not always put yourself down when you fail
How to read the room and pull comments out of people
cognizant and conscious
How do you deal with teaching/training “the same thing” over and over to new folks without getting demoralized?
How do you handle your emotions? (you team is always watching/feeding off your attitude)
How do you approach “chairing” or leading a meeting? how much do you try to be knowledgeable before entering?
When you are in a meeting or seeking input from your team (as a leader), what has been the best way to get honesty/candor from your team?
How do you manage the people/relationships who don’t report to you (without upsetting other branches of the organization)?
How do you build self-ownership in others/individuals?
Not just “delegating work” to them but they begin to take initiative on their projects and driving them the best way they can
How do you communicate your vision/goals effectively
How to build the environment for success?
How to apologize properly/successfully?
How do you lead someone who doesn’t want to follow/be a part of the team?
how to give feedback that sticks?
How do you learn to say no?
How did you learn to embrace risk-taking? or how do you approach decision-making with unclear answers?
How do you maintain strong relationships with folks over the long term (through career changes/moves)?
What makes a “good leader”?
How do you balance holding onto good people vs advancing their careers/training new folks?
How do you view the difference between managers and leaders?
how do you develop the people below you?
to succeed in their current job and to be successful in the future
What is your strategy/methodology for task or projects management?
What is your template for long-range vision/strategy planning?
How do you approach and handle difficult conversations with a team member?
Is there a specific situation where you went about dealing with Union folks wrong and got burned?
What did you learn about how to approach these situations?
Questions for Leaders about myself
How could I do X better? - I want to go from “good enough” to great
Where do you see my strengths?
What do you see as some of my blind spots and how can I improve?
How can I get feedback from people (above, below, around) me?
How am I viewed by leadership/folks at your level?
What opportunities/risks do you see for me?
How to improve my self-awareness? How can I find my issues before they become bigger?
Personal Questions for Leaders (stories)
What gets you out of bed/here? how do you stay motivated
How do you view your career?
Looking back? Looking forward?
What’s something you wish you knew early in your career?
What about common advice you think people should ignore?
What’s something you learned working at other sites/roles that you are using in your current spot?
What’s the next opportunity you’re looking forward to?
Was there a time you messed up and felt like you’d failed? How did you bounce back?
How did you learn to embrace risk-taking?
Tell me about a pivotal career decision you made, how did you weigh everything?
Which leadership skills were the most difficult to develop?
How do you view the industry? What drew you into it? and where do you see it going?
How do you keep up with the workload? how do you organize your time and mental to get everything done?
What level of the org did you feel the most power to change the “culture” in a positive way
How do you think about leading a group or your own personal leadership?
Who’s someone I should be building relationships that I might be overlooking?
Who do you go to when you’re needing direction/advice?
When did you overcome your “imposter syndrome”? but more likely how do you handle feeling it still?
How do you view your own leadership of your team (good/bad/effective?) What’s your approach to it?
How do you define your leadership style, and how has it evolved?
How do you think about the culture/atmosphere around you/your team? What do you try to do about fostering it?
Is there a historic figure you wish you could meet/talk to?
What is a talent you admire in other individuals? (in work/outside of work, maybe specific examples)
Who do you look to as a great leader (inside or outside of the company)? What about them do you admire/want to imitate? Is there a mentor you really grew under?
What is success to you?
What’s a belief/behavior that change your life?
What’s the best small purchase that improved your life? (<100$)
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? is there a favorite failure you’re willing to share?
What’s been the best investment of your time/money?
What’s the book you come back to or enjoyed the most?
what about podcasts?
What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? how do you center yourself?