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Nancy Aossey is the president and CEO of International Medical Corps, a non-profit that has been doing health care training in 70 countries since 1984. She knows a thing or two about successfully running a big enterprise. Here’s some of what she keeps in mind when hiring:

 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.

For the rest of the interview, see the full article at the New York Times.

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