I'll be interviewing my potential future manager: what to ask?

Question

I've been looped in as a replacement and I'll be having a 1on1 interview with a candidate to manage the team i'm a part of.

I'm an Enterprise AE for a midsized, growing publicly traded SaaS company.

This is an external candidate. He's been IC, player coach and manager at various startups in a different space

Anyone been in this situation? I've interviewed loads of IC candidates before but never someone i'd report to directly.

what can I ask to ensure he isn't a d*ck, a micromanager etc..?

thanks!

Accepted Answer

Ask how they put on a new roll of toilet paper. Tells a lot about a person's mental wellbeing.

Answer

If this will be his third stop as a manager, ask to talk to the reps from the first stop (obviously can’t have his current reps chat).

Answer

ask when was the last time they sold something

Answer

Ask the candidate to describe how they have worked with teams in the past, or most recently.

Answer

“What’s the frequency of team meetings and 1-1 meetings?”

Answer

I am a big fan of asking them to describe their sales culture at the company. Additionally ask how the team is doing against quota, how’d they do last year, ask what they track (calls, booked mtgs, demos etc. why) I think this will give you an idea of what kind of manager they are and do they fit your style.

Answer

ask when was the last time they sold something

PhlipOut

I'll be interviewing my potential future manager: what to ask?

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