Executive / Director / Board Level

Sample Interview Questions for Senior Roles

ADAPTABILITY:

• Tell me a time where you have had to maintain effectiveness in varying environments and with different tasks, responsibilities and people.
• Can you give me an example where you have treated change and new situations as opportunities for learning or growth?
• Can you give an example where you had to quickly modify behaviour to deal effectively with changes in the work environment
• Tell me when you have not persisted with ineffective behaviours.

TEAMWORK/COLLABORATION:

• Tell me about a time where you have built relationships by helping others feel valued, appreciated, and included in discussions.
• Can you give me an example where you have placed team or organisational goals ahead of personal goals?
• Can you give me an example where you have offered to help others achieve mutual goals?
• Can you give me an example where you have volunteered ideas freely?
• Can you give me an example where you have sought, utilised and built upon ideas from others?

INITIATIVE:

• Describe when you have taken thoughtful, yet timely, action when confronted with a problem or when made aware of a situation.
• Can you give me an example where you have implemented new ideas or potential solutions without prompting (not waited for others to take action or request action?)
• Can you describe a time where you have taken action that goes beyond job requirements in order to achieve objectives.
• Can you give me an example where you have looked for ways to improve efficiencies and reduce costs?

INNOVATION:

• Describe a time where you have seen alternative ways to view or define problems.
• Describe a time where you have drawn upon multiple and diverse sources for ideas and inspiration.
• Can you give me an example when you have targeted important areas for innovation and developed solutions that address meaningful work issues?

INTEGRITY:

• Can you give an example where you had to deal with people in an honest and forthright manner?
• Can you give an example where you have not shared confidential information?
• Can you give an example where you had fairly represented an organisation’s capabilities?

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP/INFLUENCING:

• Can you describe a time where you had to understand trends, their implications and opportunities, in the global environment.  Gather information from multiple sources including customers, peers, staff and external experts.  Identify opportunities and threats and develop-long-term strategies to respond.
• Describe when you have assured a strong talent pool from various disciplines, backgrounds and cultures, continuously developing people skills, knowledge and ability.   Encourage people to innovate, collaborate, make decisions and exercise authority and responsibility.
• Can you give an example where you had to continuously secure and evaluate relevant information, identifying key issues, trends, relationships and cause/effect as they impact the business?
• Can you give an example where you had to collaboratively set realistic, challenging, measurable goals and timetables?  Keep self and others focused on key performance indicators.  Be willing to adjust goals to meet changing business needs.
• Can you give an example where you had to demonstrate the willingness to challenge status quo or traditional way of doing things and to make /accept unpopular decisions?
• Can you give an example where you had to foster a work environment with continuous open communication and knowledge sharing, for positive results?

COMMUNICATION:

• Can you tell me about a time when you had to keep an audience engaged through use of techniques such as analogies, illustrations, and appealing style, body language, and voice inflection.

CUSTOMER FOCUS:

• Can you give an example where you had to actively seek information to understand customers' circumstances, problems, expectations, and needs?
• Describe a time when you built rapport and cooperative relationships with customers.
• Can you give an example where you had to consider how actions or plans will affect customers; respond quickly to meet customer needs and resolve problems; avoid over commitments.
• Can you give an example where you had to implement effective ways to monitor and evaluate customer concerns, issues, and satisfaction and to anticipate customer needs?

DECISION MAKING:

• Can you tell me a time where you recognised issues, problems, or opportunities and determined whether action is needed?
• Can you give an example where you had to create relevant options for addressing problems/opportunities and achieving desired outcomes?
• Can you give an example where you had to implement decisions or initiate action within a reasonable time?
• Describe a time where you included others in the decision-making process as warranted to obtain good information, made the most appropriate decisions, and ensured buy-in and understanding of the resulting decisions.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING:

• Can you give an example where you had to identify more critical and less critical activities and assignments; adjusted priorities when appropriate?
• Tell me a time where you determined project/assignment requirements by breaking them down into tasks and identifying types of equipment, materials, and people needed.
• Can you give an example where you had to allocate appropriate amounts of time for completing own and others' work; avoided scheduling conflicts; developed timelines and milestones?
• Can you give an example where you took advantage of available resources (individual, processes, departments, and tools) to complete work efficiently; coordinated with internal and external partners?
• Describe a time where you used time efficiently and prevented irrelevant issues or distractions from interfering with work completion.

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