Why this matters:

A supervisor’s main duty is to ensure their team’s productivity, consistency, cohesion, and compliance with rules. You’ll need a candidate who is able to keep checks on their team and take corrective action whenever necessary without overexerting their authority and eroding people’s sense of trust and confidence.

What to listen for:

• Use of positive language and an attitude that demonstrates high levels of trust in others
• Examples of past experiences where they successfully led others toward meeting organizational goals
• Emphasis on the importance of maintaining open communication with their team

Why this matters:

Supervisors will often be involved in the hiring process — and on many occasions, they’ll have complete responsibility for it. Your candidate should be well-versed in the art of identifying great hires and combining complementary skill sets to build successful teams. Ideal candidates will have previous experience hiring or contributing to recruiting efforts.

What to listen for:

• An excellent understanding of the skills and qualities needed to succeed within your organization
• Examples that outline a careful and unbiased process that considers candidates’ hard and soft skills and how they’ll fit in with the rest of the team

Why this matters:

As the first line of management, your supervisor will likely have to conduct performance evaluations. Your supervisor’s handling of this task will significantly impact employees’ perception of your organization and how their efforts align with your goals. They should be able to use your organization’s guidelines to deliver assessments tactfully and professionally.

What to listen for:

• A holistic approach that balances highlighting accomplishments with feedback on areas of improvement
• Mentions of the importance of adhering to organizational guidelines and conducting an unbiased, objective evaluation

Why this matters:

Because of their proximity to teams, supervisors are often the first to intervene whenever conflicts arise among employees. You need a candidate who can mediate conflict and minimize its impact on individual and team performance. They should be proactive at spotting and addressing problems early on and prevent them from spiraling out of control.

What to listen for:

• Examples that demonstrate a focus on empathizing, de-escalating, and mediating rather than relying exclusively on their authority
• An effort to move the parties involved toward a resolution
• Ability to judge when it’s prudent to involve a higher authority

Why this matters:

As managers, supervisors must keep tabs on everyone on their team and intervene whenever someone is not performing up to standard. You need a candidate willing to act fast, have difficult conversations, and coach others to improve their performance. They should strive to create an environment that balances empathy and understanding with objectivity and accountability.

What to listen for:

• Examples where the candidate took the time to understand why an employee was underperforming before laying out clear steps to help them amend their behavior
• Language that demonstrates that they genuinely want others to succeed

What to listen for:

• Examples that demonstrate your candidate’s ability to adapt their decision-making process to different situations
• Confidence in their ability to make autonomous decisions
• Experience assessing the quality of their decisions in retrospect

Why this matters:

Some leadership styles will be more effective than others for your organization. Having insights into your candidate’s management style will be vital for assessing whether they’ll be a good fit for you and their team. Ideal candidates will have an approach that aligns with your organization’s values and brand.

What to listen for:

• A management style that balances allowing employees a sense of freedom and autonomy while effectively leading them toward meeting organizational goals
• A clear understanding of how to effectively establish authority through leadership, personal example, and fostering team unity

Why this matters:

Being a supervisor comes with a unique set of challenges. As first-line managers, they’re responsible for transforming strategies into action and answering to higher management on both successes and failures. Your candidate should be able to effectively cope with pressure and not allow it to affect their performance or impact their relationship with the rest of their team.

What to listen for:

• Examples of strategies for managing stress and pressure such as staying organized, anticipating workload peaks, and effectively delegating tasks and responsibilities
• Confidence in their ability to successfully manage stress and pressure
• A focus on personal and team well-being

Why this matters:

One of the most difficult tasks for a supervisor is answering to senior management on their team’s shortcomings. You need a candidate ready to assume responsibility for their team and use the lessons learned to chart a new course of action. The answer to this question will help you gauge the quality of your candidate’s leadership skills during difficult situations and their level of commitment to their teams and the organization in general.

What to listen for:

• An emphasis on their responsibility for failures as leadership figures
• Taking the time to come up with a possible solution before having a conversation with their superiors