How to prepare, interview, and evaluate for senior leadership roles

Step 1: Prepare leadership questions

Let’s begin by using ChatGPT to help us define the key leadership competencies required for the senior leadership positions you are hiring for. These might include strategic thinking, decision-making, team leadership, communication skills, and the ability to drive organizational change. Understanding these competencies will guide the creation of effective interview questions.

Prompt ChatGPT:

List the key leadership competencies needed for a [leadership role] in a [company industry].

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Now, let’s generate some questions:

Given the competencies listed, generate a set of interview questions to pose to the candidate. Use different question formats and organize the questions through high-level topics.

Step 2: Conducting leadership interviews

Interviews should include a mix of opening questions, competency-based questions, and closing questions. We can use ChatGPT to help us devise a structure that allows time for all questions and ensures a logical flow.

Prompt:

Design an interview structure for a C-level position, including opening, competency-based, and closing questions.

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Step 3: Evaluating leadership candidates

To assess candidates fairly, you’ll want to define clear evaluation criteria. Criteria may include leadership style, cultural fit, past performance, and potential for future growth. Having well-defined criteria ensures an objective and consistent evaluation process.

Prompt:

Develop a set of evaluation criteria for assessing candidates for a CEO position, focusing on leadership style and cultural fit.

After interviews take place, you can use AI to analyze responses and assess leadership potential. AI tools like ChatGPT can evaluate the content, tone, and sentiment of responses, providing a detailed analysis of the candidate's suitability for the role. This helps in making informed and data-driven hiring decisions.

First, you’ll need a transcription tool to help you capture the conversation (remember to ask the candidate for permission prior to recording).

What are some meeting transcription services I can use that will do live transcription during the interview?]

As a separate document (Word or PDF), share the transcript with ChatGPT with the following prompt:

I’ve attached a transcript of an interview with a candidate for the role of [role]. Below, I’ve included the original job description as well as criteria for scoring each candidate. Using the documents provided and the evaluation criteria you previously generated, assess the candidate and offer insights into potential areas of weakness a future interviewed may want to explore.

Prompt condensed. Reply below.

A fair and effective hiring process can bring outstanding leaders into your organization. Given adequate support and autonomy, senior leaders can help scale your business for the long term.

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This tutorial was created by Jonah.