Before You Hire That Brilliant Candidate, Ask These Questions
Hiring the right leaders is one of the most consequential decisions any organization makes. Hiring the wrong leader can be one of its most costly mistakes.
I'm not talking simply about the financial cost of recruiting, onboarding, and eventually replacing someone who doesn't work out. I'm talking about the damage an untrustworthy leader can inflict along the way: wasted time, unnecessary drama, organizational friction, declining productivity, lost talent, and a workplace where people spend more energy protecting themselves than accomplishing the mission.
The costs can continue long after that leader has departed.
Yet organizations repeatedly fall into the same trap. They're impressed by a candidate's résumé, technical brilliance, past accomplishments, or charismatic personality. Pressed for time to hire quickly, they limit their focus to what the candidate has achieved without adequately investigating how those results were achieved.
Here's the question we should be asking: Will this person build trust—or undermine it?
Trustworthiness Is a Strategic Hiring Requirement
During my Navy career, I served in organizations where trust was essential to mission success, including TOPGUN, the Blue Angels, and combat strike-fighter squadrons.
Technical competence was absolutely necessary. But it wasn't sufficient. We needed people who could be counted on to do the right thing, put the mission and team ahead of themselves, acknowledge mistakes, support their teammates, and communicate openly—especially when the pressure was on. If necessary, we'd sacrifice a small % of skill and competence in order to ensure we got someone with the other qualities.
Those qualities are just as important in business.
In my book, High-Trust Leadership, I describe five essential pillars of trust: Character, Commitment, Competence, Connection, and Communication. I call them the 5Cs. Together, they provide a practical framework not only for becoming a more trustworthy leader, but also for evaluating the people we're considering hiring.
Questions That Reveal Trustworthiness
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, "How to Spot a Toxic Leader—Before Hiring Them," Douglas H. Reynolds and Steven G. Rogelberg recommend moving beyond conventional interview questions about strengths and accomplishments. They encourage interviewers to explore how candidates handle mistakes, disagreements, dependencies, and the contributions of others.
That's sound advice.
Using the 5Cs, here are examples of questions I'd encourage hiring managers to consider when evaluating a leadership candidate. They're a starting point, not an exhaustive list.
| The 5Cs | What You're Looking For | Interview Questions | Red Flags | Signs of Trustworthiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Honor, integrity, humility, accountability, and values aligned with the organization. | What are your core values? Tell me about a time those values were tested. What did you do? Tell me about a significant mistake you made as a leader. What happened next? | Compromises stated values when convenient; a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude; blames others; minimizes responsibility. | Demonstrates alignment between words and actions; upholds values under pressure; owns mistakes; tells the truth even when uncomfortable; makes things right. |
| Commitment | Dedication to the mission and team; resilience and perseverance when times are tough. | Tell me about a time your team faced a major setback. How did you respond, and what did you do to help the team persevere? | Gives up when challenged; hoards information; prioritizes personal recognition; has a pattern of short job tenures without convincing explanations. | Remains engaged through adversity; shares information; supports teammates; demonstrates determination and sustained dedication to the mission. |
| Competence | Expertise, sound judgment, curiosity, a learner's mindset, and continuous improvement. | What skills have you gained in the past year? How did you develop them, and how have you applied them? | Claims to always have the answers; dismisses others' expertise; shows little curiosity or interest in learning and improvement. | Recognizes limitations; seeks expertise; asks thoughtful questions; learns from experience; continually improves performance. |
| Connection | Respect, empathy, attentive listening, and genuine investment in others' growth. | Tell me about someone you helped develop professionally. What did you do, and what happened? | Uses "I" far more often than "we"; interrupts or fails to listen; offers vague examples; takes credit for others' success. | Listens attentively; names individuals and their contributions; describes specific developmental support; celebrates others' accomplishments. |
| Communication | Clear, concise, consistent, and direct communication, orally and in writing. | Tell me about a time you had to communicate a difficult or unpopular decision to your team. How did you approach it? How do you ensure your written communications are clear and understood? | Avoids difficult conversations; delivers confusing or inconsistent messages; withholds important information; relies on ambiguity rather than candor. | Communicates candidly and respectfully; explains decisions clearly; ensures shared understanding; provides timely and consistent updates in writing and in person. |
These aren't trick questions, and no single answer provides a definitive judgment about someone's trustworthiness. But they help reveal patterns of behavior that a résumé or polished interview presentation might conceal.
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE 5Cs HIRING INTERVIEW GUIDE
Don't Stop With the First Answer
One of the most valuable recommendations from Reynolds and Rogelberg is to master the follow-up questions to seek specific examples. Suppose a candidate describes a remarkable turnaround they led. Impressive. But before moving on, ask:
Who else was instrumental in that success?
What specifically did those people contribute?
What disagreements emerged, and how did you resolve them?
What would your team members say about your leadership during that period?
Pay close attention to whether the candidate shares credit, acknowledges mistakes, and demonstrates genuine respect for others. A candidate who repeatedly casts themselves as the hero while everyone else plays a supporting role deserves closer scrutiny.
And remember, you're evaluating behavior, not interviewing skill. A less polished candidate who demonstrates humility, accountability, and respect may be a far better leader than the charismatic executive who has a flawless, ready answer for everything.
Verify What You've Heard
Don't allow an impressive interview to substitute for due diligence.
Develop your questions and evaluation criteria before meeting candidates. Ask consistent, behavior-based questions, and assess leadership trustworthiness separately from technical qualifications.
Always check references—especially people who have worked closely with the candidate. Ask former colleagues and supervisors how the candidate handled conflict, shared credit, developed others, and responded when things went wrong. Where possible and appropriate, seek perspectives from former peers and direct reports.
References provided by candidates will invariably be positive, often with glowing comments. I like to ask, "Sounds like a very impressive leader. But no one is perfect. If you were coaching this person to help them improve, what is one area you'd address?" Then follow up with, "Can you be more specific about what you mean?" A particularly revealing question is: "On a scale of 1–5, would you enthusiastically choose to work with this person again?" End every conversation with references with the same question: "Who else should I speak with?"
Look for consistent patterns across multiple sources rather than treating one answer as conclusive.
You Can't Afford to Get This Wrong
Organizations invest enormous effort in strategy, technology, processes, and performance improvement. Yet few investments matter more than selecting the leaders who will influence the behavior, energy, and performance of everyone around them.
An untrustworthy leader can undermine years of work building a healthy, productive culture. And the damage rarely remains confined to that leader's immediate team. Conversely, a trustworthy leader can create an environment where people willingly collaborate, speak candidly, take initiative, assume responsibility, and perform at their best.
Competence may get a candidate in the door. The 5Cs help determine whether that candidate deserves your trust.
Hiring trustworthy leaders isn't simply nice to have. It's a strategic imperative.
Before you hire your next leader, ask yourself: in addition to what this person has accomplished, am I confident in how they'll lead and grow others to accomplish great things?
Inspired in part by Douglas H. Reynolds and Steven G. Rogelberg, "How to Spot a Toxic Leader—Before Hiring Them," Harvard Business Review, August 24, 2026.