Partnerships
Your goal is to gather specific evidence on the below signals around Partnerships. The questions are a guide for the conversation, not a script. You do not need to ask all the questions on this list.
Time: 30-45 min
Interviewer: Any cross functional (XFN) partner this individual would work with
Signals: Communication, Collaboration, Challenging Situations
Introductions (3-5 min)
- Break the ice
- Introduce yourself and let the candidate briefly introduce themselves
Partnerships (7-10 min)
- How does your team fit into the organization?
- How do you work with XFN partners?
- How do you build trust with your partners?
- Tell me about a time when you lost trust with a partner?
Challenging Situations (15-20 min)
- Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a coworker or XFN partner?
- What were the details of the conflict?
- How did you resolve it?
- What are some ways you worked to improve it?
- What was the actual outcome of the disagreement?
- Did they take the time to see both sides of the argument?
- Were they open to changing their mind?
- What would you do differently next time?
Candidate Questions (5-10 min)
RUBRIC
Signal | Strong No | No | Yes | Strong Yes |
Communication | Dodging the question or being ingenuine about their experience | Roundabout explanations, unstructured thoughts | Articulates clear thoughts that directly address the questions asked
Communicates with humility, transparency and empathy for other teams | They have a clear and detailed framework for how they work with XFN partners |
Partnerships | Cannot articulate a mental framework around how they partner with others | Unable to articulate a demonstrated track record of creating trust with XFN partners | They can demonstrate a track record of trust with XFN partners | Demonstrated experience navigating a particularly ambiguous problem, and clearly showing results |
Challenging Situations | Finger pointing, blame, victim mentality
Rigid inflexible is unable to take away learnings from their experiences | Tells a one sided story without empathy for the other side in a conflict
Is reactive and governed by instinct. Is not methodical about their decisions
Missing substantial examples | Builds relationship with key stakeholders to manage conflicts and drive results
Is reflective on past experiences and has meaningful learnings from them
They understand that there are two sides to every argument
Leverages data to foster strong relationships | Has insightful thoughts around partnering with XFN partners
Anticipates actions that could willingly or unwillingly lead to a conflict and works to prevent them
You feel you learned how to be a better partner just from listening to this candidate |