Q. Tell me about the first time you were somebody’s boss.

A. When I was in junior high school, I detasseled corn in Iowa. We got picked up by a bus early in the morning and then taken out to a cornfield. We would go through the rows of corn and take the tassels off. We used to have checkers go through our rows to check that we didn’t miss any tassels, and then I became a checker. I was in seventh grade, and it was the first time I had to check other people’s work.

Q. As you started your career, did you move quickly into management roles?

A. I started with ATT out of college. But I wanted to do something in the world of volunteering. I heard about International Medical Corps and got very interested. When I met the founder, it turned out that they were looking for a C.E.O. I loved their mission, and I never had any doubts that I could do the job. That was in my mid-20s.

Q. That’s a big leap.

A. At the time, I just thought, “Well, if they feel I can do this job, I feel I can do this job.” I was a hard worker, and I had had lots of experiences over the years of building my own skill set and having a sense of what I could do well and what I couldn’t do well. I later asked them why they hired me for the role, given that I had no experience, and they just said that they were looking for a deep commitment to the mission of the organization and that they were looking for qualities in a person, not the C.V.

Q. Did they articulate them?

A. They said that I was to some extent mature beyond my age, and that I was so committed. I was very truthful about what I thought I could and couldn’t do, what I thought I would bring to the position, and that I would be a hard worker. I told them I would not be afraid of taking risks and that I would do whatever it took to find ways to get things done. So those were some of the qualities they were looking for.

Q. You’ve been C.E.O. for 27 years.

A. As we’ve grown, my role has changed dramatically. In the beginning, I was very hands-on, but then I learned that hiring the right people was absolutely critical. If we’re going to reach the hardest-hit people in the world, we have to overcome obstacles. And so it took a certain personality, beyond commitment to the mission. I learned how to better identify those skills in a person, to see through the other things that they brought to the table and focus more on their personality and how they’re going to work with others in difficult situations, because that’s where you find out what people are really like.

Q. So how do you hire?

A. I try to look way beyond the C.V. In fact, I really try to put it aside and forget about it, and focus more on what motivates them, their aspirations, what environments they feel they thrive in. I want them to have a really good sense of our culture, and the kind of people who thrive in our culture. Is that what they’re interested in? Is that where they think they would thrive? What kind of an environment would they be happy and productive in?

And if I can’t have an authentic conversation with someone, then they’re probably not right. I spend a lot of time trying to set the ground rules for the conversation and then I say, “Listen, we need to be honest with each other and tell the truth about ourselves and the organization, the challenges.” I’m asking them to trust me, and I’m trusting them to do the same thing.

You’re really trying to get a sense of how the person handles certain situations. “If you had a conflict with a colleague and it had to be worked out, what did you do? How did you work it out?” I’ll ask them to reflect on how they navigated through it and what they learned from it. Were they able to think about it in a different way the next time? I’m always looking for the learning curve.

I’ll also ask, “If I were to speak to colleagues or supervisors who weren’t on your reference list, someone who you didn’t always get along with, what would they say about you?” It forces people to think about themselves in a different way, through the lens of others and not their own. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. The question is, how do we navigate through situations, and what do we draw on within ourselves to be effective? How do we draw out the best in other people? If you don’t have self-awareness, you’re always going to be outward-looking, and blame others for any difficulties. There are a million reasons why we might not be able to get something done. The question is, what am I going to do about it? I do believe it all goes back to self-awareness.

Q. Are there things that you have a particularly low tolerance for?

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/business/international-medical-corps-ceo-on-self-awareness.html?partner=rss&emc=rss