Leadership Style Interview

Choose someone who has had experience in leading within an organization and ask them if you could interview them by phone or in person. The interview should take about 30 minutes. Be sure to take notes during the interview. Use the following questions when you conduct the interview (feel free to ask other questions as well): 1. Ask the leader to consider a time when they faced a challenging situation at work that demanded that they grow as a leader. Ask them to briefly describe the situation. Why was it challenging and what was at stake? What tensions and conflicts were at play? 2. Ask them to explain the three (or more) most important actions they took as a leader to address the situation. What were the kinds of things they did that made a difference? How did they decide on a best course of action? Who helped them to formulate a strategy? 3. Ask the leader what kind of resistance did they face and from whom? How did they overcome that resistance? In hindsight, what, if anything, might they have done differently? 4. Ask them to speak personally and comment on how they were feeling entering the situation and how their feelings may have changed during the experience. 5. Ask them to share some of their own thoughts on what they think it means to be an effective leader. After the interview, thank them for their time and be sure to send them a personalized thank you note.