Today I was reflecting on the various management styles that I’ve seen over the years. This exposure has taught me a very important lesson that I’d like to hand-on to the next generation of leaders coming through, as follows.
If you are contemplating applying for a senior management position (e.g. GM/ CEO role) in particularly a private sector company, during the interview ask these pivotal questions in order to gain an insight into the general culture of the given organisation:
a) Is there an internal newsletter published by the GM/ CEO to internal stakeholders – and if so what particular employees (levels of subordinates) receive such a newsletter.
b) How frequently do face-to-face manager:employee meetings take place – and what do these meetings mostly focus on ?
c) Approximately how many employees (as a percentage of the total workforce) here today were here 2 years ago ?
d) What process is in place to ensure the encouragement and airing of new ideas ?
Answers to the above questions will help you understand most importantly what level of openness/ transparency exists, how well management communicates with subordinates, and what commitment there is to fostering an inclusive work environment.
Answers to the above 4 x questions may also make the interviewer(s) a little uncomfortable – and possibly even resistant to answering one or more question. However, if you’re serious about securing the role that you’ve applied for, I suggest that it is vital that you know what “culture” you’re stepping into. Better to be forewarned (and therefore forearmed) than ignorant.
And you have to ask yourself the question, if your interviewer(s) is/ are not prepared to answer one or more of the above questions, then what is causing this resistance/ objection ? And do you really want to be a part of an organisation that prefers to dodge pertinent (truth-seeking) questions ?
Remember, systems/ processes/ structure are relatively straightforward to change/ effect upon stepping into a new senior management role…an ingrained culture is far more difficult to change. That’s why it is so important to discover what the existing culture of an organisation is before you join it !