The Six Best Interview Questions
EVERY Hiring Manager
Should Ask EVERY Candidate

If you use the six best interview questions that I share here, and listen closely to your candidate's answers, you'll hire people who have high Personal Accountability, a key attribute found in all top performers.**

Prince 'Bertie', who eventually becomes King George VI of Britain in the 1930's, overcomes a debilitating speech impediment in the inspiring award-winning movie, "The King's Speech." (It's a great movie!)

The future King George VI, (Prince 'Bertie'), demonstrates both low and high personal accountability in the movie.

Prince Low Personal Accountability Example: Prince 'Bertie' gets frustrated and fearful around his lack of progress @ his stuttering.

The Prince blames his Instructor, Lionel, and others, for his inability to improve. He angrily defends himself and lashes out at Lionel. Cursing and belittling him. The Prince quits his training and spends many months sulking.

That's what people with low personal accountability do - they make excuses and blame others when things go wrong.

Prince High Personal Accountability Example: Eventually The Prince apologizes to his Speech Instructor for his behavior. (Apologies by a Prince/future King to a 'commoner' were rare.)

The Prince begins to take full responsibility for his actions. He stops blaming Lionel, and digs-in with fervor, doing everything possible, to improve and overcome his speech impediment.

That's what people with high personal accountability do - they move past the excuses, and they take responsibility AND action.

I've seen leaders, and before I knew what I know now - have done it myself, hire for background and fire for attitude.

Employees with high Personal Accountability have the attitude you want, so you want to make sure you include in your list of best interview questions - questions that will reveal the candidate's level of Personal Accountability.

Let's review attitudes for a moment. When an employee joins a company they will take on one of three different 'Attitudes':

1. The unmotivated Employee has a 'Rowboat Attitude'.

   If the 'Rowboat Attitude' were to talk, he/she would say, “I will move along when I want to, but I won’t be steady and strong, and I won’t be reliable."

   "In fact you might have to even get in there and row with me to help me get any where.”

   Someone with the 'Rowboat Attitude' has low Personal Accountability.



2. Or you can end up with someone who is motivated, sometimes. This is the 'Sailboat Attitude'. With this person performance is inconsistent.

   If the 'Sailboat Attitude' were to talk, he/she would share, “I’m competent. I can do the job, but I’m not motivated. I just don’t care about this job."

   "But, when the wind is situated just right, I’ll get going and get some stuff done. But if there’s no wind, I’m not moving much.”

   This attitude gives you hot and cold performance, and is someone who can do the job but is not exhibiting strong Personal Accountability.


3. The last attitude is the 'Steamboat Attitude': This person is capable, steady and moves continuously.

   If the Steamboat Attitude were to share, he/she would say, "I'm motivated and competent. I can even carry a heavier load if you need me to. I am strong and am able to bring others along."

   "In calm seas or stormy seas my performance is consistent and reliable. I will work to become a Master of my Job, Master of Myself and Master of My Surroundings."

   The 'Steamboat Attitude' is what you want in every employee, it is someone who has strong Personal Accountability.

What Attitude a person will bring to work is mostly impacted by:

• Their 'fit' for the job. ("Is this work something I CAN do, AND that I WANT to do?")
• How someone is managed. ("Does this company/team/leader care about me, and do I care about this company/team/leader?")
• Past work habits, and work ethic formed over many years. ("Am I committed to doing good work, no matter what?" )

People with high levels of Personal Accountability will do a good job even if they are poorly managed, even if they are a poor fit for the job, and even in stressful situations!

• "Successful people do things that failures don't like to do."
• "Be true to your word and honor your commitments, even when you don't want to."
• "If there’s a mistake, I own up quickly so we can find a solution."
• "Overcoming obstacles is just a part of life and I always find a way to overcome them!"

Someone who has a strong sense of Personal Accountability will perform well, even when expectations aren't clear, resources are hard to find, and competition is tough.

They see accomplishment of personal and professional goals as a fundamental part of who they are, and they behave consistently and efficiently to accomplish these goals, regardless of obstacles.

Now, I am sure you can see why I want you to look for Personal Accountability strength in EVERY new hire, and why I am eager that you use the six best interview questions, below.

Be sure to refer to this article: Three Steps to the Best Interview Questions & Predicting the Future to better understand behavioral interviewing, what you need to look for and more...

These six best interview questions, below, are designed to get the candidate to share specific examples of times when they demonstrated this skill. If someone has strong Personal Accountability he/she will have multiple and detail-rich examples to share.

Be sure to press for specific examples and listen aggressively.

Print this two-page article summary so you can have these questions handy for your next interview. Download the Six Questions PDF, Here.

1. Tell me about a time when it was necessary to admit to others that you had made a mistake. How did you handle it?

2. Give an example of a situation where others had made an error or mistake and you had to take the blame for their actions. How did you feel about doing that?
3. What is the worst business decision you ever made? What made it the worst? Would knowing what you do now have helped you to avoid making that decision?
4. Give me an example of a lesson you have learned from making a mistake. What did you do differently going forward?
5. Give me an example of someone you know whose personal actions led to disastrous results. How answerable is that person for what happened? What advice would you give to that person?
6. What person from history do you most admire for taking the blame for a failure? What did taking the blame do for that person?

Print this two-page article summary so you can have these questions handy for your next interview. Download the Six Questions PDF Here.

Would you like more support in your interviewing and hiring, more of the very best interview questions and process? Would you like to eliminate bad hires altogether?

Contact me for information about my: Hiring For Job Fit Assessments. In this process I actually measure a candidate's level of Personal Accountability (and much more)!

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