Communicating Value in

the Executive Interview

Lee Konczak

Olin Business SchoolJuly 8, 2009

Objectives

Re-affirming what you already know

Which executive competencies are most important?

Adding to what you already know

What does the research say?

Preparing for the executive selection process

Interviews

Executive Assessments

Questions and Comments

CONTEXT

4

Aging workforce - mature workers are the fastest

growing age segment

Baby-Boomer retirements will lead to a worker shortage

- 10 million by 2010

Shortage of educated candidates - colleges will graduate

too few candidates to fill the technical, information-

intensive and judgment-intensive jobs 5 years from now

Tightening labor markets - with labor force growth at

2-3% per decade, the competition for talent will

intensify

U.S. Demographic Trends

J. O‟Toole and E. E. Lawler III. The New American Workplace (2006)

Noteworthy Statistics

McKinsey study – “the pipeline for future

leaders is broken”

Only 3% responded affirmatively to the statement,

“We develop people well”

Identifying and preparing future leaders

continues to be an important area of concern

amongst line executives

Bench Strength

Conference Board Research

1997 About half of respondents rated their company‟s

leadership strength as either excellent or good

2001 About 1/3 of respondents rated their company‟s

leadership capacity to meet business challenges or to respond to sudden change as excellent or good

J. Barrett & J. Beeson (2002) Developing Business Leaders for 2010. New York: The Conference Board

Bench Strength

Conference Board Research

Perhaps more concerning:

Companies do not appear prepared to react to the

crisis

Less than half of survey respondents reported that

developing future leaders is a major priority for their

senior leaders

Finding Talent

Selection Forecast Study – 2006-2007

Staffing directors and hiring managers report:

Fewer qualified applicants

62% in ‟06 vs. 44% in ‟04

Increased difficulty finding qualified applicants

50% in ‟06 vs. 40% in „04

A. Howard, S. Erker & N. Bruce (2007). Selection Forecast 2006-2007. Pittsburgh: DDI.

Developing Leadership Talent

Talent Management Study - 2006

Satisfaction with Talent Management

Components of Talent Management

% Satisfied

Executive/High-Potential Programs 44

Coaching and Development 42

Succession Management 18

Early Identification of Leadership Potential 15

Assessing Readiness for Promotion 11

R. S. Wellins & K. Caver (2006). 2006 Talent Management Strategies Conference. Pittsburgh: DDI.

Key Takeaways

Leadership talent will continue to be hard to find . . . despite economic conditions

Retention of top talent is becoming an issue

It‟s a buyer‟s market right now – applicants can expect a more detailed and thorough screening process

Over-qualified applicants – employers are concerned about long-term fit and commitment once the economy recovers

Which executive competencies

are most important?

Take 5 minutes to discuss this question with the

1 or 2 people sitting near you

Be prepared to share your ideas

Research on Executive Success

It‟s all about competencies - “the universal

common denominator”

Multi-rater database – 1994 to present

A sample of 6000 people from > 140 companies

47,000 bosses, peers, direct reports & customers

rated individual contributors, managers &executives

Ratings on 67 competencies and 19 career stallers or

“de-railers”

Criteria: performance ratings, promotions,

terminations

The Five Best Predictors of

Promotion – Managers & Execs

Relationships Learning Motivation &

Energy

•Boss Relationships

•Peer Relationships

•Customer Focus

•Learning on the Fly •Drive for Results

What gets people fired?Relationships & Networks

Managers Executives

Lower ratings in:

•Approachability

•Patience

•Political Savvy

•Integrity & Trust

Lower ratings in:

•Comfort Around Senior

Management

•Listening

•Peer Relationships

Higher ratings in:

•Insensitive to Others

•Lack of Ethics & Values

Higher ratings in:

•Defensiveness

•Political Missteps

•Lack of Ethics & Values

What gets people fired?Not delivering on work

Managers Executives

Lower ratings in:

•Managing & measuring work

•Organizing

Lower ratings in:

•Drive for Results

•Customer Focus

•Functional/Technical Skills

Higher ratings in:

•Poor Administrator

Higher ratings in:

•Poor Administrator

•Failure to Staff Effectively

•Non-strategic

Which competencies matter?

Price-of-admission competencies

Competitive-edge competencies

Price-Of-Admission Competencies Strategic

Decision Quality

Functional/Technical

Expertise

Intellectual Horsepower

Learning on the Fly

Problem Solving

Operating

Total Work Systems

Courage

Standing Alone

Energy and Drive

Action Oriented

Perseverance

Drive for Results

Personal and Interpersonal

Skills

Customer Focus

Integrity & Trust

Competitive-Edge Competencies

Strategic

Dealing with Ambiguity

Creativity

Strategic Agility

Innovation Management

Operating

Planning

Personal/Interpersonal

Managing Vision &

Purpose

Motivating Others

Building Effective

Teams

The Punch Line?

Companies are likely to use “competencies” in

their selection processes

Large applicant pools – tests and assessments

may precede an interview

Price-of-admission competencies will get you an

interview

The “competitive-edge competencies” will get

you an offer

Preparing for the selection

process

Interviews

What you can expect and how to prepare?

Executive assessments

Purpose and examples

Talent Assessment Study

Annual Revenue Frequency Percent

$5 billion or less 14 37

Between $5-$10 billion 6 16

Between $10-$20 billion 8 21

Greater than $20 billion 10 26

•40 Fortune 1000 firms

•Broad spectrum of industries including

banking/finance, manufacturing, telecommunications,

utilities, healthcare, and service

Konczak, L. J. & O’Leary, L. R. (2009). Assessing Talent: Current Practices and Future Trends in Screening and Hiring.

Under editorial review., People & Strategy.

Talent Assessment

Tools Individual

Contributor

Supervisors

& Managers

Sr. Managers

& Executives

Structured Interviews 95% 92% 79%

Cognitive Ability Tests 35% 28% 40%

Personality Tests 28% 33% 40%

Work Sample Tests 28% 10% 15%

Job Knowledge Tests 28% 0% 0%

Role Plays 20% 23% 15%

Assessment Centers 23% 8% 13%

Konczak, L. J. & O’Leary, L. R. (2009). Assessing Talent: Current Practices and Future Trends in Screening and Hiring.

Under editorial review., People & Strategy.

Structured Interviews

Based on competencies

Ask about previous experience and performance

“Describe a time when . . . ”

May ask about future situations

“How would you handle . . . ”

Scoring system to facilitate comparisons across

candidates

Structured Interviews Strategic Agility

Future-oriented

Anticipates future consequences and trends accurately

Articulates a clear vision of the future

Creates competitive strategies and plans

“Tell me about a time when you recognized the

need to change your business strategy.”

What was the situation?

What data and information led you to the decision?

What actions did you take? How did you get others on-

board with the change?

What was the outcome?

Structured Interviews Building Effective Teams

Creates a sense of belonging, team spirit and commitment

Fosters open dialogue

Defines success in terms of the whole team

“Tell me about a time when you experienced

difficulty engaging a member of your senior

team.”

What was the situation?

How did the issue surface itself on the team?

What actions did you take? What was the outcome?

In retrospect, what might you have done differently to

address the issue?

General Manager, Distribution

Competency: Building RelationshipsDevelops and maintains positive relationships with others to achieve business objectives

Interview Question

Tell me about actions you have taken to help several departments work together to

solve a business problem.

•What was the business situation?

•What steps did you take?

•What obstacles did you face? How did you overcome them?

•What was the business result, i.e., sales/revenue, cost reduction, customer

satisfaction?

Behavioral Indicators to Watch For

- Builds strategic relationships

- Maintains relationships with other groups within the organization

- Gains support and commitment from key stakeholders when needed

- Understands and manages the organization‟s political environment

- Maintains positive working relationships with supervisor, peers and team

Executive Assessments

Cognitive Ability Tests

Critical thinking and analysis

Pattern recognition and trends

Problem solving capability

Personality Tests

Work style

Relationship management and teaming

Stress tolerance

Leadership tendencies

Executive Assessments

Sample Report

How to prepare

Analyze each job opportunity in terms of

competencies

Price-of-admission and Competitive-edge

Anticipate the process

What types of questions will likely be asked?

Which competencies are most important?

Prepare and practice

Prepare interview responses and rehearse

Be who you are

Know your strengths and liabilities

References on Competencies

The Leadership Machine

Lombardo and Eichinger

For Your Improvement: A Guide for

Development and Improvement

Lombardo and Eichinger

Discussion

Questions and comments?