Leadership Problem Set 5
Create 3-6 questions for HR recruiters to use in selecting managers with greatest leadership potential. Persuade a group of peer managers that these questions will identify the most promising leader from the applicant pool.
Team 1
Roy Dunlap- leader/speaker
Katelyn Downey- speech writer
Giuliana Traverso- researcher
Brian Henderson- researcher
Hi my name is Roy and I am here to talk to you about one important question.
How do we at Ford define ourselves?
We define ourselves as one of the few American auto companies who hasn’t had to take bailout money because we take pride in our ability to recognize and deal well with failure. Ford swept the North American car and truck of the year awards this month at the North American international auto show winning both prestigious awards for the 2010 ford fusion hybrid and the 2010 ford transit connect.
I believe there are three key questions that will find a candidate that will fit our mold.
Question 1: Tell us about a time you failed and what you learned from it?
One quality we are looking for at Ford is self-awareness. Self aware candidates will be frank in admitting their failure- and will often tell their tales with a smile. One of the hallmarks of self-awareness is this self-deprecating sense of humor.
We at Ford failed when at a factory retrofit in Michigan, we tried to be responsive to the green movement by putting grass on the roof of our factory. We can laugh about it now but what we should have focused on is developing greener cars, which we have now done.As mentioned earlier the fusion hybrid won the 2010 car of the year award.
Question 2: How do you motivate yourself and your team members?
We want a candidate to have a strong drive to achieve, even in the face of failure. Motivated people show an organizational commitment even in tough times. We take pride in the fact that we have not taken bailout money, unlike all other big Detroit automakers.
To prevent failures like having to take bail out money from occurring, we are looking for a candidate who hasa deeply imbedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement.
Question 3: How do you build and maintain relationships with people outside your daily areas of responsibility?
The social skills evident in cross division communications are absolutely critical for our success. A perfect example of this was our relationship with Bridgestone Firestone tire company. If we had been able to communicate more effectively between ourselves and this company, the scandal that occurred in 2001 of having to recall 13 million tires would have been avoided.
An executive that has the ability to answer these questions will be a strong asset for our customers because they will always be trying to produce the best car possible. A person that leads like this will help our employees have a safe and stable place to continue to work and innovate. One that continually strives to achieve will benefit our company with new ideas and benefit our investors with a strong stock offering.
For all the reasons given, I believe these questions will help deliver the best new member of our team.
Any questions?
References
Ford overhauls historic factory to be green
Awards
Ford Vs. Firestone
Team 2: 1/12/10
Christine Gibbs (candidate)
Mary McKay (Research
Ruben Sanchez (writer)
Alex Finwall (writer)
Our company’s profit share is dropping drastically and we need someone to make a change now. We are currently in the process of hiring a new CEO. We have 6 candidates that are in the process of interviewing at this time and we need a way to choose the one to guide us to success.
We have done extensive research and believe that there are four main attributes that we will need in our new leader. Self-awareness, social skills, empathy, and motivation will guide our company to success. We have composed 3 questions that will help us find the perfect fit for the next CEO by hitting all of these attributes.
The first question would be:
According to you, what’s the major issue facing this industry today, and how would you handle it.
By asking this question we will get insight into the levels of self-awareness that this candidate possesses by learning specific examples of the strengths that they would bring to the job.
The second question is:
Name a situation where you had to make an unpopular decision and what steps did you take to in order to reach this?
This question would let us learn about the social skills and degree of empathy to which the candidate utilized to relate to people, in communication and how they found a way to motivate the employees to do well despite the unpopular decision.
And Finally the third question would be:
Give us some instances in which you brought about some productive change in the company you worked for. What were the steps you carried out, and what where the steps you implemented for others to follow.
This is going to let us know how well the candidate motivates his or her subordinates by giving a specific example of a personal experience.
These questions will help us to better choose which person is right for the job and who can lead our company into a productive future. This leader will then help the employees retain their jobs and help create new revenue for the investors.
Reference:
Team 3
Matt Morrissey- Leader
Ben Cox- Writer
Kyle Ricci- Researcher
Bastian Golladay- Researcher
Hello, My name is Matt Morrissey. I’m here to help evaluate our top candidate’s for joining our team here at Intel.
What is it exactly, that makes Intel’s clock tick?
Major Premise: When evaluating the implementation status of a new member of our team, there are three specific areas of focus.
Criteria One: Are the candidate’s short term goals ones that contribute to our company’sculture and overall vision?
Criteria Two: We feel it is important to identify underlying causes of a candidate’s motivation, and thereafter, evaluate whether it will contribute or deduct from our organization’s purpose.
Criteria Three: Is a candidate proficient in managing relationships, and able to build networks within the organization?
Minor Premise: These three evaluative criteria lead us to establish the following questions for any potential candidates for our Intel family.
Question One:What are your short term-goals for becoming a successful member of this team?
By asking this question and receiving a detailed answer, we as a team will be able to identify more than just a quick and easy fit for our team. This answer will lead us to determining the compatibility of our candidate’s intentions with the overall Intel image.
Question Two: What is your motivation to achieve, inside and outside of the workplace? Describe in detail.
This question is important for multiple reasons. It provides great insight about a candidate’s organizational commitment, and directly exposes the person’s inner drive. It establishes why they strive for excellence, and gives our organization a detailed look into what might keep this person satisfied long term. Lastly, this question will provide a detailed overview of one’s self worth, according to them.
Question Three:Explain how a computer works in three sentences, to your 8 year-old nephew.
This is a direct way of taking a complex subject, simplifying it, and breaking it down to its most simple and fundamental form. Being able to take any subject and convey the root meaning of the message across multiple departments, lines of authority, and throughout formal and informal networks is a necessity in our innovative environment.
With the use of these three questions, our hopes are to identify a person that we feel will have an immediate impact on our organizational success that will benefit our employees, shareholders, customers, and the entire organization alike.
Works Cited
Coleman, Daniel. What Makes a Leader. Harvard Business Review. November 1998.
Team 4
Jacob Hayes-Speaker
Greyson Wright-Writer
Michael Arsenault-Researcher
George Fleishchmann-Researcher
In a field where safety is the number one priority, how important is the leader’s role in keeping his or her crew out of harm’s way? As a Chief for the largest fire department in the world, Cal Fire, it is essential that we hire future leaders that will make sure our employees go home to their families at the end of the shift.
In order to determine the most appropriate candidate for the position of Fire Captain a number of factors need to be considered. It’s important we ask these future leaders 4 key questions. These key questions will help us determine the best leaders for the position.
Since safety is our number one priority the first important question to ask our candidate is: Give an example of a time when you took responsibility for your actions, as a firefighter, in the event of failure and what did you do to correct that action? By asking this question we will find a competent person who will take responsibility for their actions and learn from their mistakes.
The next important question is: What have you done during your career to inspire your crew to not do the minimum amount of work but more than what was required? It our goal to find Captains that are willing to achieve more than what is expected. An extraordinary Captain we lead a crew to function as a team. A Captain’s passion for his or her job will inspire and motivate their employees.
Finally, we will ask our future Captains: How would you deal with a family that has lost a loved one or their possessions due to disaster?...... Having the qualities of empathy, the ability to understand the emotions of other people, is essential as we serve the citizens of California.
With the safety of our employees at stake,…..…and the protection of our citizens, as our number one goal,……..it is imperative we find future leaders that possess skills that enhance our organization as a whole.
By asking these 3 key questions of the potential fire department Captains, we feel confident this will help determine the most competent leaders for our organization as well as the citizens of California.
Works Cited
"CAL FIRE - CAL FIRE - Frequently Asked Questions." CAL FIRE Home. (accessed January 12, 2010).
Goleman, Daniel . "What makes a leader." Harvard Business Review 76, no. 6 (1998): 93-102.
Chicago formatting by BibMe.org.
Team 5
Athony Capone
David Lee
Rex Barney
Breya Jasper
Amanda Castleman
Hi Im Amanda Castleman. I’m here today on behalf of Intel.
How do you spot a great leader?
“The most important thing for every business large or small has always been people. The right people can make a business thrive. The wrong people can sink it.”
We have come up with three questions that will make it obvious who will make the best leader out of a group of candidates.
Question 1
Good persuaders know when to use an emotional plea and when to use an appeal to logic, we are looking to bring on a new product line that will impact all stakeholders differently.
Some jobs will be lost, others created. Customers demands will be met, and the supply chain will shift.
Which approach is most appropriate for each audience? Employees, Customers, Investors, Suppliers and why is that appropriate for each.
This question will identify those people with good social skills.
Social skill is described as moving people in the direction you desire.
“Emotional intelligence has become a vital part of how today’s leaders meet the significant challenges they face.”
A leader will use their empathy and social skills in considering multiple points of view to communicate the needs of the organization effectively.
Question 2
Describe a time when you got carried away with your emotions, and did something you later regretted, if given the chance what would you do differently?
Leaders have the ability to admit when they are wrong, and may show a self-deprecating sense of humor.
This question determines the self-awareness of the candidate, do they look at their own actions objectively.
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize a feeling as it happens, to accurately perform self-assessments and have self–confidence. It is the Keystone of emotional intelligence.
Question 3
Name one short term and one long-term goal for yourself in this position, how will you motivate your team and track performance.
A leader will keep track of their progress of their teams and their company.
If a candidate emphasizes tracking their achievements and seeking to surpass standards, that is a sign of a highly motivated leader.
Motivation is one trait that all effective leaders have. They are driven to achieve beyond expectations…for the sake of achievement.
In today’s saturated job market it is increasingly important to select the best of many qualified candidates.
We feel that these three questions will help Intel to identify the best possible candidate to lead the company through the turbulent business environment.
Works Cited
Marques, Joan F.; Journal of Management Development, Vol 26(7), 2007. pp. 644-651.
Yung-Shui Wang; Tung-Chun Huang, Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 2009, Vol. 37 Issue 3, p379
Goleman, Coleman, What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review
Childs, Roy, Emotional Intelligence and Leadership, Retrieved January 12 from:
Barbuto, Jr., John E.; Burbach, Mark E., Journal of Social Psychology Feb2006, Vol. 146 Issue 1, p51. Retrieved January 12 from: