8. Some illustrative interview questions

Where would people say they saw your values in your life/work?
Why this, why now?
Where (or when) have you been particularly successful in driving greater collaboration between individuals and/or organisations?
What has been the most difficult people-focused challenge of your leadership?
What was your greatest leadership challenge to date? What did you learn and what would you do differently next time?
How do you evaluate the contribution you’ve made?
How do you assess your own judgements or those of other people?
What experience do you have of creating a diverse and inclusive team?
What prior experience, knowledge, awareness or understanding would you bring to the role and our mission and work?
What questions do you typically ask on arrival in a new organisation? Why?
Where have you created coalitions or led collaborative processes to deliver a mutually beneficial agenda internally and externally?
Can you give us an example of when you have demonstrated a personal commitment to promoting equality, embracing diversity and supporting inclusion?
What skills/experience would you look for in your team to supplement your own?
Where have you demonstrated the creative thinking and organisational leadership that led to the kind of change which resulted in your organisation working in a more impact-driven way? What, if any, were the unanticipated consequences of this transformation?
If you were to be offered this role, what would be the biggest obstacle to you accepting?

Describe a situation where you have taken over a team, inspiring a confident and positive organisational culture.
What do you do to understand your business better?
Can you tell us why you consider yourself to be an inclusive leader?

What, to your mind, are the attributes or behaviours of an effective board and what do you believe is the chair’s role in ensuring board effectiveness?
What do you believe to be the key components of an effective chair/chief executive relationship?

Recruiting a chair, trustees and chief executive