Dichotomous Questions

There are some dichotomous questions that I often ask potential leaders to discern what they value and how they see their strengths. These are not meant to be an exhaustive list of inquiries or a standard list of interview questions, but rather just some interesting points of interest for you to consider.

Question 1: Leadership involves people and tasks - which do you enjoy the most? A leader must be able to build significant positive relationships with a variety of people. The ability to relate and identify with others is crucial for a servant leader who hopes to develop collaboration and collegiality. On the other hand, a leader typically has a long list of "to do"s. Unless the leader can gets things done and move toward the transformation of his/her vision into reality, he/she may be well liked, but ineffective within the organization. People or tasks - both are imperative: which do you prefer; which pull is stronger in your life?

Question 2: Leadership involves preparation and presentation - which one energizes you? In order to move an organization forward a vision and strategic plan must be developed and communicated to the organization. Dreams and plans take time to develop and research. There is a great deal of thinking, reading, reflecting, analyzing, and evaluation involved in the construction of that vision/plan. Many leaders can get lost in that process - they spend hours dreaming and thinking, bouncing dozens of ideas off their own sounding-board. On the other side of the coin, the vision/plan must be communicated - a vision is powerless unless it can become a shared vision with the stakeholders of the organization. Without buy-in from the employees, customers, and other leaders, a vision is only an unrecognizable shadow. But with passionate communication, the leader can move an entire group of people toward a great purpose and meaningful ministry. Share the vision, shout the message, talk the plan, present the dream. Outstanding leaders are often the mouthpieces of the organization. Standing in front of the people and sharing the Idea, the Purpose, the Vision can be such an energizing moment for the leader. Preparation or presentation - which do you enjoy the most?

3. Leadership involves both opportunity for debate and decision making - when faced with a problem which direction does your mind take you? Debate is all about information gathering and weighing all the angles before reaching a conclusion. Decision making is all about resolving issues and moving on. Debate tends to be collaborative while decision making often falls on the desk of the leader him/herself. Debate can be seen as "Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim....finally Fire!"- with the occasional weakness of waiting too long to come to a conclusion. On the other hand, decision making can be seen as "Ready, Fire, Aim!"- often making a knee jerk reaction without taking the time to consult the wisdom of others. A leader, who has the authority to make a decision, can fall into the pit of power and make poor choices just because he/she can. And a leader with authority can also research an issue too long and make the wheels of the organization grind with impatience. Which tendency do you find in your experience?

4. Mercy or consequences - when others make mistakes that impact the organization in significant ways, the response of the leader often goes in one of two directions: toward mercy and understanding or toward frustration and punitive consequences. How are you wired? The more creative the culture of an organization, the more opportunity there is for innovation and risk taking.... and mistakes and failures. The more that status quo plays an important role in a company, the less risk, creative ideation and errors occur. Mercy must reign in a creative environment or ideas will dry up with fear of the wrath that follows failure. Creative people must have the freedom to come up with stupid ideas, off the wall concepts, and out of the sphere thoughts. Invention almost demands failure. On the other hand failure is costly - ideas that crash and burn can hurt - mistakes (even with good intentions and honest reflection) have consequences. When an organization encounters a mistake made by one of your employees, where does your reaction take you.... mercy and support or anger and the search for the hammer?