The Best Answers to: How Do You Manage?

Companies are always looking for people who have the potential to advance within the organization. One of the keys to progressing is being an effective manager.

When we’re interviewing candidates we spend a significant amount of time on the management portion, probing several areas. The answers we get vary depending on someone’s management style, but below are some we thought were particularly good. As you read through these, think about your management style and how it applies to each one of these questions.


Describe Your Management Philosophy – What we’re trying to learn here is the person’s view on how a team should be managed. This is their overarching philosophy. A VP at Yahoo! had a great answer to this question. She said, “I automatically believe in my people. If there’s a problem, I look to myself first.” A CEO of a start-up gave this answer, “I like to eliminate fear so that people try new things and are not afraid to make mistakes. But, they shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”

What’s Your Management Style? – One VP articulated what we like to hear: “I set out a clear vision, remove any obstacles they can’t remove and then ‘turn them loose’ to accomplish their goals.” Other things we look for are: giving them stretch assignments and credit (especially publically) , being accessible, creating a collaborative environment while holding people accountable, and mentoring.

How Do You Motivate People? The best managers empower their teams so that everyone “owns” a part of the business. It’s a big motivator when people see how their part contributes to the overall success of the brand, division and company. Knowing that their efforts matter on a larger scale, incents them to do their best work. Another way to motivate individuals on your team is to find out what makes them tick. One CFO said, “I determine what motivates each individual and then develop a plan that addresses their needs.” Rewards are also great motivators. Make it a point to celebrate the individual wins, but also focus on the success of the group.

What Do You Look for When You Hire? - Beyond the expected skill set, we like managers who look for passion, creativity, leadership potential and problem solvers. One senior executive said, “I look for people who complement my skills. Are enthusiastic, ingenious, passionate, and have a sense of humor. It’s hard to work with people who don’t have one.”

Give an Example of How You Turned a Problem Employee Around – What we look for is how patient the manager is and how dedicated they are to helping the person succeed. The best answers are ones where the manager demonstrates how they effectively mentored someone to improve their performance. Someone gave a great answer to this question and then added, “When I can’t turn someone around, I look to see if there’s another role within the organization which might better leverage their skills.”

Tell Us About Someone You Developed Who Got Promoted - Developing your team is key to your success, the individuals and the company’s. Good answers include assigning projects that mesh with the needs of the individual and those of the company; increasing someone’s visibility to senior management, either by talking them up or having them attend an executive meeting; and appropriately delegating so they get exposure to new things. Ideally, you were the architect of their development plan and their mentor. The combination of these resulted in their promotion. A sales manager told us, “I take a real interest in their career goals and work with them to achieve what they want.”

Give an Example of How You Inspired Others – A President of a Cosmetic company put it best, “I inspire by having a collaborative style. Getting everyone to believe in the mission. Listening to my team and soliciting their ideas. I firmly believe that the best ideas can come from anywhere.” Another executive indicated that one of his keys to success was getting people to see that statements about “what can’t be done” were really just highlighting areas of opportunity.

People who have “cracked the code” on managing have propelled their careers forward. It’s a basic fact that you can’t get to the top without the success of the people who work for you. Rate yourself on the above areas and if you fall short, take a page from what these successful executives are doing.

Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success

What All Good Mentors Do

Most people we know have benefited from having a great mentor, someone who has helped accelerate their career. Because of that, they’re now in a position to be a mentor themselves. While companies encourage mentoring there’s often little guidance on how to do it well.

Whether you are a novice or an experienced mentor, here is what all good mentors do:



Set Goals – It’s important to set expectations around the relationship. Be clear as to what you can do for them and what you expect from them. They should have a defined goal that includes what they would like to accomplish in what time frame and a plan to make that happen. For example, a finance manager at a Fortune 500 company wanted to learn how to work better cross functionally. Her mentor gave her a number of suggestions on how she could achieve this. In addition, she made it a point to include her in a meeting with multiple departments so the finance manager could learn who the players were and what their perspectives were. The mentor made sure her goal tied to a long-term one. In this case, the finance manager wanted to be a general manager someday. Working cross functionally was key to achieving that goal.

Have an Honest Interest in the Person - Sometimes people are arbitrarily assigned to a mentor. If the match isn’t a good one, lack of chemistry, etc, asked to be reassigned to a different mentee. It’s important to have a connection and care about your mentee’s success.

Be Accessible – In addition to your formal meetings, let your mentee know that you are available between meetings, especially if they need your assistance in a pinch. This could be a quick call or email. The time you’ll be expending is minimal but the impact could be significant.

Actively Look for Ways to Help Them – Maybe they would benefit from listening in on a call or meeting you’ll be attending. The relationship you have is a two-way street. Don’t wait for them to come to you. If you are aware of resources (e.g., seminars, training, etc.) that could be of help, be proactive and let them know about it.

Talk Them Up – When you’re in meetings, let your peers and boss know how well your mentee is doing. That will help their visibility and ultimately their career. It will also help to increase their self-confidence knowing that key people in the organization are aware of their contributions.

Mentoring is a great way to give back and can make all the difference in someone’s career. Useful advice at the right moment can provide the spark to help someone through a rough patch or deal with a major project which has key implications for a potential promotion. The wonderful aspect of mentoring is that it is the gift that rewards the giver as well as the receiver.


Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success

Employer vs. Employee Mentality. Which Do You Have?

We were coaching a woman (we'll call her Donna) who is an associate partner in a law firm. Donna has been with the firm for 10 years and was promoted to limited partner 18 months ago. The managing director of the firm expected to see a change in how Donna approached the business - after all, she was now a limited partner. Her next career step would be a full fledged equity partner, assuming she was invited to join at that level. The managing director was starting to have doubts about her future with the firm. He had spoken to Donna about the expectations he had of partners and explained he wanted her to act more like an employer than an employee. It had been a year and a half, and Donna wasn't getting it.

When we sat down with Donna she had a very definite goal - to be an equity partner. Since she was highly motivated we asked her what was preventing her from making that transition to more of an employer mentality. She said "I'm not sure how to do that". She said she knew that it meant thinking more like a boss but what did that really entail?

It might seem fairly straightforward but there are thing that are indicative of an employer mentality.


Here's what companies are looking for:


What do we need to do to grow the business? This is the type of thinking that senior management is looking for, and you don't necessarily have to have all the answers. Just by raising the questions, "How do we increase our business in this vertical?" or "How do we penetrate new markets?" will demonstrate that you are thinking about the big picture. Once that's on the table, a plan can be put in place to address it.

Problems then Solutions - Every company has their share of problems. Whether it's growing their brand, training their people or streamlining processes, there are usually some areas that need to be strengthened. What employees typically do is complain about things without offering potential solutions. Thinking more like an employer means having some idea of how you would approach the problem. Even if your solution isn't the one that's embraced, it's important to have some ideas of how to solve it.

Mentoring - Help people grow in their careers, even those who aren't your direct reports. If someone has a skill deficiency, help them turn that around. Let them know you care. You can send them to training or put them on a project that will developed that skill, or work with them side by side until they've improved. Beyond helping them with a specific skill, position them for advancement. Delegate to them or have them sit in on important meetings. Investing in your company's talent will benefit everyone and elevate you in senior management's eyes.

Bigger Presence - Developing your own brand and having a bigger presence will benefit you and your organization. You can raise the profile of the firm and attract new clients by joining a board, writing articles (traditional or blogs), speaking on panels or attending and hosting networking events. To be pegged as someone who is always looking for ways to strengthen the business by increasing the company's reputation as well as your own, will mark you as someone ticketed for bigger things.

Having a POV in Management Meetings - The management meeting exist to highlight and solve problems and explore opportunities. Bringing managers together and having all that brain power in the same room doesn't do any good if no one contributes. You're in the room because they want to know your point of view. It doesn't mean that they'll agree with it, but as a manager, they certainly expect you to have something substantive to say. Most meetings have agendas that are circulated beforehand. Take a close look at all the items on the agenda and come up with one or two key points about each one.


Importantly, you don't need to be in management to have an employer mentality. In fact, that's how most people rise to senior management. They take ownership in the business and look for ways to help strengthen the company. This thinking can be done at all levels and is appreciated even at the most basic levels. Whether you are already part of senior management, transitioning to senior management or just starting your career, it's important to start thinking more like your employer. Having an employer mentality will shift you to the major leagues.

Fred & Gladys
Whelan Stone
Executive Search and Coaching
Authors of GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success