No one can deny the importance of interviews in any career pursuance. Due to the pressure of the interview, most people get nervous before the interviews, and their anxiety level increases manifolds. The best solution to relieve anxiety is to know about the most probable questions of the interview and their professional and structured answers. If you are applying for a chairperson interview, this article is for you. In this article, we will give answers to the top 25 chairperson interview questions that will be helpful to you to crack any chairperson interview.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
Working in the role of chairperson comes with huge responsibilities, but it also has numerous perks and incentives associated with it. Moreover, being chairperson of a well-reputed and professional organization also has high monetary incentives. I have heard much about the salary package and opportunity for personal development in your organization, so I am keenly interested in the role. Moreover, working in this role at your organization will enable me to implement my vast theoretical and practical knowledge that will result in the organization’s growth and personal development.
2. What Is A Chairperson’s Role?
A chairperson plays a leading role in any organization or department. A chairperson is ahead of the management committee inside any organization or department. The organization could be governmental or private. A chairperson is responsible for managing meetings, planning, and compliance with the organization’s objectives. The chairperson also ensures the proper functioning of the management committee, which requires full participation from the chairperson in all the affairs of the organization and management committee. Generally following are the primary responsibilities of a chairperson;
- To play the role of top leadership inside the organization
- To make sure that the Management Committee is functioning effectively
- To make sure that the organization is managed correctly
- To serve as a chief representative of the organization
3. What Are The Qualities That A Chairperson Needs To Be Successful?
As discussed earlier, a chairperson has to play numerous roles inside an organization; the most crucial among them is to provide effective leadership to the organization. So, I believe that a good chairperson will;
- Have good leadership qualities
- Be an effective communicator
- Be easy to approach
- Be available to support and help the members of the management committee
- Be an impartial and sound decision-maker
- Able to work under pressure
- Have good management skills
- Be a good team builder
- Have excellent knowledge of the organization’s work
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Manage Them?
Chairperson has to face numerous issues daily with co-workers, team members, and clients. However, the effective management of the challenges is not that complex. During my last role, I faced a similar challenge. A few days before the new year holidays, I forgot to announce the bonus for employees. Consequently, the finance department did not add a bonus to the salaries of all the employees. I received a ton of complaints from employees through emails. It was pretty tricky for me to attend to the criticism of each employee. I quickly contacted the finance department and asked the head to send emails to all the employees, inform them about the mistake, and assure them their bonuses would be disbursed within a few hours.
5. Describe Your Workday As A Chairperson.
I have a hectic schedule inside my office. My day usually starts at nine o clock in the morning. Sometimes, I take my breakfast after the routine meeting with other committee members. Then my assistant informs me about the schedule of meetings and visits for the day. I usually try to finish my meetings and visits before three o clock in the afternoon. After that time, I spare one hour to listen to and sort out the solutions to the problems of employees and team members. After four o clock in the afternoon, I usually update my schedule for the next day.
6. Briefly Describe Your Experience.
I have five years of experience as a chairperson for a different organization. I have worked in multinational and national organizations for the last three years. I have always tried to enhance my knowledge and management skills throughout my career. As a chairperson, I have made effective decisions that bore fruitful results for these organizations.
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Are Required For This Role?
A chairperson must be a team builder in nature. A chairperson must be well equipped with knowledge and strategies to enhance the productivity and decision-making process of the management committee. Furthermore, good leadership qualities and strategies to encourage the team members are essential for the chairperson. Most importantly, a chairperson must know effective communication techniques, enabling them to listen empathetically to all the employees’ concerns. Lastly, for the role of a chairperson, a problem-solving mindset is very critical.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Job?
I think team building in a new environment is not less than a challenge. Firstly, in this role, it will take a little bit of time to be familiar with each employee’s behavior, skill set, and mindset. After having sound knowledge about each employee, the next challenge would be making an effective team building in this new environment. However, this challenge can be easily tackled with effective communication and management strategies that I have learned through my dynamic experience.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
My crucial source of motivation is my team members. I always share the upcoming projects and probable decisions with them so that they can come up with valuable input. This strategy enables me to do open discussions with each member, and they are always at my disposal to assist me in each task. In this way, helping each other is crucial for my motivation. Moreover, I spare some time for my self-evaluation at the end of each day. Based on this evaluation, I try to enhance my skills and performance, and this strategy keeps me motivated all the time at work.
10. Describe When You Failed In This Role And What You Learned From It.
I was too overburdened with meetings and visits in the middle of last year. One day my secretary had scheduled two meetings at the same time. Both the conference was very crucial for the organization. So, I requested the co-chairperson to attend one of the meetings. Unfortunately, the co-chairperson was not prepared for the meeting, and she did not know much about the progress of the client’s project. Resultantly, the client canceled the project with our organization, and it caused a massive loss to the company. I learned through this incident that pre-planning and a second plan are necessary for successful management.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For This Role?
First of all, I have dynamic work experience with companies of varying sizes, from national to multinational. Working in these organizations, I have learned skills and strategies to implement in any work environment for successful management. Moreover, I have done all the essential certifications in communication skills, team management, and leadership, making me a qualified candidate for this role.
12. What Is Your Most Notable Accomplishment
At the start of my previous job, our company was in account deficit. The owners of the company hired me and assigned me the task of rebuilding the company’s financial standing. Through my hard work and team-building strategies, I successfully achieved the surplus in just three months. I was awarded the title of the best employee of the year for this achievement. And my photo was placed with the company’s founder in its main gallery.
13. What Is Your Management Style?
I have always been flexible in my management style. I have always valued the suggestions of my colleagues to encourage them to take an active part in the decision-making process. Moreover, I try to make a healthy relationship with the employees that enable them to discuss any problems they face with the projects freely. Lastly, I have adopted a management style that encourages my subordinates to take responsibility for their work, thus increasing their productivity manifolds.
14. What Are Your Strategies To Resolve A Dispute?
I believe that based on different opinions and perceptions, dispute is common in workplaces. However, the smooth resolution of disputes needs an effective management strategy. As far as my dispute resolution strategy is concerned, I first thoroughly listen to the viewpoints of both parties. After that, I conduct a one-to-one session with both parties to further probe the leading cause of the conflict. Then, after consulting with my management team, I make a decision.
15. Can You Please Tell Us About Your Certifications Related To The Role Of Chairperson?
I have done numerous certifications that are essential for the role of chairperson. Every year, I enroll in new certificates to further enhance my knowledge and skills. In the last three years, I have completed the following courses;
- CBPA Certified Business Process Associate, Professional, or Leader
- AIPMM Certified Brand Manager
- AMA Certificate in Analytical Skills
I am planning to take part in two more certifications this year.
16. How Do You Manage The Confidential Data Of The Organization?
Chairperson has various confidential data of the organization, and a breach of any type can result in dire consequences for the company and chairperson. So, I always pay special attention to keeping the confidentiality of the data. I take records of confidential files in both my personal computer and locker. I do not allow entering any person in my office without my permission for the security reasons of the confidential data. Moreover, I have bought security tools for my personal computer to store the secret folders safely.
17. What Are Your Strategies For Handling Multiple Tasks?
As a chairperson, a person has to manage so many tasks simultaneously. Effective management of these tasks is crucial for the role. The first and foremost important strategy is to update my schedule daily to avoid mismanagement. Moreover, my secretary informs me about the meetings and visits at the start of each day. For better task management, I have hired managers and assistant managers that keep me updated about the progress of each work assigned to them. I do planning every week to prioritize the upcoming projects and tasks. Then I strictly follow the plans, with a little bit of flexibility. Moreover, I have purchased office scheduling software that helps me manage and organize multiple tasks daily.
18. How Do You Manage Organizational Communication?
Effective communication plays a crucial role in organizational management. As a chairperson, I always tried to adopt an empathetic way of communication to understand the problems and issues faced by my subordinates and colleagues. I daily spare an hour to attend one-on-one sessions with my team members to discuss their concerns. I strongly encourage my managers and other staff members to openly discuss the project and give their valuable suggestions in every meeting. This way of communication helps me build a productive team and promotes a conducive work environment.
19. What Will Be Your Approach To Handling A New Initiative?
As a chairperson, I have handled various initiatives in the organizations. I have always kept the organization’s priorities of utmost importance in these initiatives. Although I faced the overburden of work in many instances, having too many initiatives at the same time again, with practical management skills and team-building capabilities, I have always completed them.
20. How Will You Hire New Employees In The Organization?
While working as a chairperson, I remained on the hiring committee. My strategy for hiring new staff starts with analyzing the organization’s needs. Then according to the need, I post an advertisement in best selling newspapers. The next phase will be screening the candidates based on their qualifications and experience. I will conduct interviews and written tests for the short-listed candidates in the last part.
21. What Are Your Top Most Weaknesses?
I have consistently tried to overcome my weaknesses throughout my job career. My topmost weakness is that I am a kind of perfectionist person. I always demand excellent work from my subordinates. So, for this reason, they often get offended by me. Moreover, I do not tolerate irresponsible behavior from my team members and insist they show their hard work.
22. What Are Your Key Strengths?
My biggest strength is that I can work in an environment of extreme work pressure. I do not panic about work pressure. Instead, I utilize my management skills to manage the work effectively. During my last role, I arranged a seminar, and the speaker informed me at the very last hour that he would not be able to attend the conference. I promptly asked one of our team members to arrange an alternative speaker within the next hour. Fortunately, he managed to put an alternate speaker for the seminar.
23. Tell Me About A Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills.
I believe that a chairperson must possess strong leadership qualities. I think that a leader must always be present to solve the problems of their team members. In view of this perception, I have always helped out my team members with their difficulties related to the work.
24. Why Are You Leaving Your Current Position?
Over the course of my extensive work experience, I have successfully polished my skills, which makes me unable to get hired by the highest-paying employers. I am leaving my current position because I think that my salary does not match my competency and skill set level. Therefore, I wanted to get hired by an organization, like yours, with a higher salary and incentives.
25. What Kind Of Environment Do You Like Best?
I think that a working environment should be where each team member is cooperative with other team members. Moreover, work ethics are most important for me. I believe that favoritism can abysmally compromise the product quality in any organization. Therefore, I strongly condemn a culture of bias in the working environment. Lastly, I think that in the best working environment, each employee must be taken on board in the decision-making process.
Conclusion
Your good preparedness for the upcoming interview for the position of chairperson can increase your chances of getting hired manifold. In this article, we have picked up the most repeating and probable questions for the interview of the chairperson. This article will help you in your preparation for the following interview. Moreover, this article also contains some generic questions that are equally helpful for the candidates for the role other than chairperson.
