Grading Advice No. 15: People Management
This is part of a series on how to be a good mock partner and ask the right questions. It is also great for thinking like a hiring manager to better prepare for your pending interviews.
To see the rest of the articles in the series, find the list here.
There are typically 5 things interviewers look for when focusing on people managers.
People Management
People Development
Building Teams
Empowering Teams
Organizational Health
Let’s Dive In
More specifically, you want to look for these specific signals:
People Management
Tracking team performance
Adjusts managerial approach to individual needs
Identify corrective actions (think: how to handle PIP & firing)
People Development
Prepare people to take on more scope
Team Building
Recruiting effectiveness at all levels
Team Empowerment
Allocate authority and responsibilities
Makes decisions based on individual strengths and interests
Ensures team is properly resourced
Organizational Health
Uses data to understand people issues and takes action
think: member of team creating discord with partners
How to Grade
How well can you answer these questions about the candidate given their answers?
People & Team Management & Empowerment
Can they build a high-performing team/organization?
Can they manage through their teams? (Think: Not micromanaging.)
Do they champion diversity?
Do they grant team members appropriate autonomy in decision-making/activity? (Again, Think: Not micromanaging.)
How do they ensure the organization is healthy? (Think: data-driven decisions)
Can they diagnose, troubleshoot, make recommendations, and take the initiative to solve complex issues?
Are they proactive or reactive?
Overall
Do they display experience with sufficient scope for their level?
