I recently had the opportunity to support someone in my network preparing for a first-round interview for an incredibly high-profile leadership position.
A role that attracts some of the best talent in the industry. A small shortlist of highly credentialled candidates. Significant expectations, pressure and scrutiny.
We spent some time talking through their experience, leadership journey, strengths and what would genuinely differentiate them from the other candidates.
And I kept coming back to four simple questions that strong interview panels and decision makers look at.
1. Can you do the job?
Your experience and track record matter. But at this level, everyone being interviewed is capable.
What makes you different? How well can you cope with the demands? What have you learned not just from success, but from failure, tragedy, heatbreak, different environments and the people you've worked with? And how has all of that prepared you for what's next?
2. Will you love the job?
Not the title. Not the status. The actual job.
The responsibility, the pressure, the difficult decisions, the setbacks and the expectations.
Can people see your hunger, energy and purpose? Do they believe you genuinely want everything that comes with the opportunity? The good, the bad and the ugly?
3. Will we enjoy working with you?
An often underestimated consideration.
Are you someone who listens, challenges constructively, builds trust and brings people together?
Can you have difficult conversations? Are you comfortable being challenged yourself?
Ultimately, would the people interviewing you will likely want to work alongside you every day and will they enjoy it?
4. Will our people follow you?
For me, this is where leadership really comes to life.
Can you connect with people at all levels? Create belief? Establish standards? Build an environment where people want to perform, develop and succeed?
Leadership isn't simply about having the answers. It's about bringing people with you.
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was exploring the breadth of this person's career. Different organisations, different environments, different leaders, significant successes and some very real disappointments.
Rather than treating those experiences as a chronological list of achievements, we focused on something more important.
Who have you become because of those experiences?
The setbacks. The scars. The difficult decisions. The lessons. The resilience.
All of it matters.
In fact, one of the strongest themes to emerge from our recent Lead With Intent leadership experience was just how often our hand-selected speakers pointed to their setbacks, rather than their successes, as the defining moments in their leadership journeys.
It's often the toughest experiences that shape the leaders we ultimately become.
My final advice was pretty simple.
Don't walk into the room trying to prove your CV, this has already earned you the interview.
Walk in with clarity about who you are, what you stand for, why you're ready and what you'll bring.
Be humble enough to listen, confident enough to lead and authentic enough to be yourself.
Because at the highest levels, the difference between being a credible candidate and the preferred candidate often isn't experience.
It's conviction, connection and the confidence you give others that you're the right person to lead.
Hear more on this story and many other leadership experiences on February 18-19 in Perth, Western Australia - https://www.intentgroup.com.au/lead-with-intent
#Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #IntentGroup
