Behaviours to look for to hire a good leader
When it comes to recruiting an executive, assessing their leadership is a must. But what makes a good manager? And above all, how do you identify them in a recruitment process?
In this article, you will find some signs and behaviours to look for to determine if a candidate would be a good leader for your company as well as some tools to help you in your assessment.
Behaviours of a Good Leader
Although there are different types of leadership, what are the key behaviours of a good leader?
First of all, leadership is characterized by the leader's ability to mobilize their teams in order to achieve the company's objectives. Leadership should not be confused with charisma. Leadership is expressed through a series of behaviours, whereas charisma is more of an attitude.
Thus, a good leader will be able to motivate their team by acting on different levers such as:
Communication and Trust
By listening to each individual's point of view, convincing them and making sure they understand, the leader increases the trust and motivation of their team.
Autonomy
A good leader will support the autonomy of their employees and will know how to adapt according to the employee's level of autonomy. They will leave room for initiative and error, while still providing coaching.
Procedural and Interactional Justice and Employees’ Well-being
In order to foster a sense of justice within their team, a leader makes decisions that are fair and understandable to everyone, and explains them well.
By doing so, employees will perceive the processes, working conditions and treatment they receive as fair and therefore be more engaged with the organization.
Performance Management (Communication of expectations and objectives, Feedback)
By coaching and guiding employees, leaders can positively influence the performance and motivation of their team.
A good manager will make sure to state their expectations and objectives on a recurring basis. They will also provide ongoing feedback and recognition to their employees.
Are you a manager and would like to self-assess your leadership? Download our "Leader's Assessment" tool !
Signs of a Bad Leader
While science is telling us that the above behaviours are clear indicators of good leadership, there are some behaviours that you should avoid in your search for a good manager.
The Complaisant Leader
This type of manager will not intervene during a difficult decision and will tend to let their employees solve the problems, which could have negative effects on the team and in the long term your company.
The Controlling Leader
This type of manager will expect their employees to follow the rules and perform their tasks according to established processes at all times. They will monitor their employees closely.
A controlling manager who exerts psychological control through behaviours such as threats, excessive demands or an autocratic tone will only achieve short-term results with their team. It is therefore preferable to choose a leader who does not have this type of behaviour.
How do you assess leadership in a candidate?
Now that you know what makes a good leader, how do you assess a candidate's level of leadership in a recruitment process?
While there are many tools to help you assess a candidate's leadership, some popular tests are not very predictive or are criticized by experts in the field.
Thus, a good leadership assessment is based on several tools throughout the recruitment process.
Good interview questions will allow you to measure a candidate's leadership qualities right from the start. Asking the candidate about past experiences and using simulation exercises, among other things, will allow you to detect whether they exhibit the behaviours mentioned above.
You can subsequently form a hypothesis, which you can confirm or refute with other tools such as :
Professional References
Contacting a candidate's professional references can allow you to get feedback on the candidate and ensure that it is consistent with the answers given by the candidate in the interview.
If you were not convinced by the simulation exercises, or if you need more information on a candidate's management skills, this type of written exercise can allow you to evaluate a candidate's behaviour in a given situation. Again, it will be important to analyze the results in relation to the information you obtained in the interview to ensure consistency.
Psychometric Tests
Tests on strengths or personality can be useful to confirm your choice before hiring a candidate. However, these tests should not be used as a selection tool, but rather as a validation tool since there are no good or bad profiles in this type of test.
How to choose the right leadership or psychometric test?
- Select a test that is certified: valid and accurate
- Understand the dimensions that are being measured
- Understand the predictive power of the selected test
- Ensure that the test is interpreted by a certified analyst
- Encourage its use as a validation tool
- Include the test in a selection or assessment toolkit
Even if you have access to psychometric tests, the important thing is to have someone who can properly interpret the results. Therefore, if you do not have an employee qualified to analyze these tests, it may be useful to hire an outside firm. Recruitment or Human Resources firms can conduct leadership tests during a recruitment process and then explain the results to you.
In conclusion, make sure you assess a candidate's leadership skills before offering them a management position!
Studies show that a good leader is someone who knows how to exploit the strengths of their employees and encourage their autonomy. These are the behaviours that are decisive in the selection of a manager.
At Thorens Solutions, we assess the leadership of our candidates throughout the recruitment process for our executive positions. Our expertise in conducting interviews, our 15 years of experience in headhunting, the use of professional references and the use of psychometric tests allow us to find and select good leaders.
For assistance in hiring a manager or evaluating your current employees, contact us.
