(Photo credit @mariogogh)
One piece of advice for job seekers that is often repeated: look for a good manager and they will help move you along your career faster. But there is a lot less advice on *how* to identify a good manager during the interview process! And even if your manager is good, are they able to function effectively in the workplace you’re joining, and will you also be able to? As an interviewee, you need to assess both the workplace culture *and* your future manager to ensure a good fit.
Here are 3 tips on how to assess both during the interview:
Understand what type of management style helps YOU thrive in a job.
Are you someone who likes to be autonomous or be guided? Do you enjoy supportive bosses or ones who challenge you to achieve? Do you like to be publicly recognized for your achievements or quietly with flowers or stock refresh grants?
One person’s favorite boss can be another’s worst nightmare -- because we all have different work styles and preferences. Make sure to know yours to help you evaluate for fit.
Ask your prospective manager questions that force them to respond with specific examples of interactions between themselves and someone on the team.
Here are 3 good questions to ask initially (with good explanations for each one found here). I like these because they help you understand how the manager interacts with the entire team as well as individuals on the team.
Tell me about a time when a team member changed your mind.
Describe a recent success or win.
Tell me about the last person you recognized.
Try to push past the surface-level cheerleading or obfuscation that some interviewers do. If the interviewer can’t or won’t answer these 3 questions directly, it’s likely that they have not received a lot of management coaching themselves -- so be wary. Here are a few additional tips to identify a potentially toxic manager.
Ask all of your interviewers questions geared towards understanding the work environment on a day-to-day basis.
You want to identify a work culture that values psychological safety to help you and your team be as successful as you all can be. Research at Google showed that psychological safety was the number one predictor of success for high-performing teams. And many companies are adept at plastering platitudes all over the place, but how do those values play out on a daily basis on your future team/department?
Here are some sample questions from HBR to ask your interviewees to help you assess the workplace culture:
Can you tell me about a time when your teammates and your manager had your back during a project?
How often do people in the organization apologize to one another?
Can you tell me how your company encourages individuals and teams to recognize one another for achievements large and small?
Do people with diverse backgrounds work at every level of your company?
How did you (or your manager) start your last team meeting? What happens during the first 5-10 minutes?
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