Disrupt the Traditional Interview

The way most good-but-not-great interviewing is done is to ask the candidate for examples of very specific skills, behaviors or competencies from their past. Something like:

“What’s your best example of leading a cross-functional initiative where you had to really herd cats—reining in a lot of opinionated people, without being their boss?”

In other words, you broadcast the exact trait you are looking for in the role.

When they hear these kinds of questions, most candidates will pick the best-fitting story from their past, and then twist it to showcase the trait you asked about. Even honest candidates will feel pressured to exaggerate or distort their story to appease you.

(In this example, the candidate will make sure their “cats” are especially unruly!)

We call this approach the “front door,” and it can lead to false positives (i.e., you hire them and they don’t work out). This is particularly true with slick, salesy candidates who are comfortable manipulating the truth.

An Alternative For Better Data

There’s a better approach that we call the “side door.”

Keep your initial question focused on generally relevant situations, but without showcasing the specific attributes you are looking for.

***In this example, ask them to walk you through the 3-4 most meaningful or challenging cross-functional leadership roles they have held. Use follow-ups to understand the stakeholders in each one, and move more quickly through the ones where there was less cat-herding to be done. And for stories where there is a lot of cat-herding, go deep on those!***

But what if their top 3-4 examples don’t involve much cat-herding? That is insightful in itself! If this factor isn’t present in any of their cross-functional leadership roles, they are likely to be untested in this key area.

And keep in mind—you always reserve the right to ask the more directive “front door” question if you want to ensure you have been comprehensive in your review. But do this near the end, rather than tipping the scales from the start.

Bottom Line: your initial questions should be as open and non-directive as possible. Don’t overload your questions with tons of filters and qualifiers—just move fast when the story is less relevant. You are far more likely to hear the real story.