Experience listed on a CV, a strong educational background and previous success in managing P&L do not, in themselves, guarantee that a manager will also succeed in a new role.
In an environment of constant change, Executive Resilience – the psychological resilience of a leader – is becoming increasingly important. It is the ability to make critical decisions under sustained pressure, adapt to change and, at the same time, maintain clear judgement, accountability and respect for people.
However, most experienced candidates appear composed during a standard interview. So how can we recognise their true resilience before they join the company and face their first serious crisis?
Three questions that help reveal psychological resilience
A general question such as “How do you handle stress?” will usually produce only a prepared answer. You can learn much more by exploring specific situations from the candidate’s management experience.
1. How does the candidate deal with failure?
“Describe a situation from the past two years in which a project you managed failed or caused a significant loss. What was your personal mistake, and what did you do within the first 24 hours?”
What to look for: Does the candidate accept their share of responsibility, or do they primarily blame others? Can they openly acknowledge their failure and translate it into specific actions?
2. Can the candidate change their mind?
“When was the last time you were fundamentally wrong about your strategy? What data or findings led you to change your decision?”
What to look for: Can the candidate abandon the original plan when it proves to be wrong? Do they work constructively with new information, or defend their decision at all costs?
3. How does the candidate transfer pressure to the team?
“How do you communicate with your team when you receive very bad news from the Board or the market?”
What to look for: Can the candidate first evaluate the situation and translate it into clear priorities? Or do they pass stress and uncertainty directly on to their team without filtering them?
One answer alone is, of course, not sufficient. It is important to verify the context, specific behaviours and recurring patterns throughout the candidate’s professional history.
How do we assess psychological resilience at FENIX SEARCH?
Psychological resilience cannot be assessed reliably through a single question or one test. At FENIX SEARCH, we therefore combine three complementary methods.
In-depth behavioural interview
We explore specific situations from the candidate’s management experience, including crisis decisions, professional failures, conflicts, strategic changes and periods of sustained pressure.
We are not interested only in the final outcome. We also assess the candidate’s thought process, use of information, acceptance of responsibility and behaviour towards others in demanding situations.
Online psychometric assessment
We use professional psychometric assessment tools. Depending on the specific position, we select methods that help us evaluate personality characteristics, working and leadership style, decision-making approach and responses to stress and high workloads.
We never assess the results in isolation. We always interpret them in relation to the requirements of the role, the company environment and the situations the new manager will realistically face.
Individual assessment with a psychologist
For key management positions, the process may be followed by an individual assessment conducted by a psychologist.
Working individually with the candidate allows us to explore the findings in greater depth, verify conclusions from the previous assessment stages and better understand how the candidate thinks, makes decisions and responds in situations reflecting the actual demands of the role.
The result is not a label of “resilient” or “not resilient”
The objective is not to divide candidates into two simple categories. Psychological resilience manifests itself differently depending on the type of pressure, the corporate environment, the level of responsibility and the support available to the manager.
The client therefore receives a more comprehensive answer to three important questions:
- How is the candidate likely to perform under sustained pressure?
- Which situations may weaken their judgement or stability?
- In what environment can they consistently deliver high-quality performance?
Do you need to assess not only experience but also leadership potential?
At FENIX SEARCH, we combine Executive Search with in-depth behavioural assessment, online psychometric diagnostics and individual assessment.
We help our clients evaluate not only what a candidate has achieved in the past, but also whether they have the potential to handle the real demands of their future role.
