Positive Indicators

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies.
• Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required.
• Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work.
• Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning.
• Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary.
• Uses time efficiently.

Negative Indicators

• Has no clear system of priorities.
• Appears disorganized and unsystematic.
• Organizes impractical work schedules.
• Is unrealistic about timescales.
• Efforts get sidetracked.
• Deadlines not met.
• Tasks not completed.
• No checks on activities.
• Is unwilling to change plans to meet new demands.

Sample Questions

Tell me how you personally organize yourself when you have a lot of work.

• Where do you start?
• On what basis did you make your decisions?
• What do you do to ensure that it all gets done?
• How do you feel inside when you have so much to do?

Describe an occasion when you had to prepare in advance for meeting or project.

• What did you do?
• How much time did you have to prepare?
• What could you have prepared better?

Give me an example of when you had to work to an important deadline.

• How manageable were your timescales?
• What did you do to ensure that the deadline was met?
• How would you organize your activities differently next time?

Describe the last time you missed a deadline.

• Why did this happen?
• How responsible were you for this?
• What did you do to try to overcome this problem?

Tell me about the last project plan you had to produce piece of work or event you had to organize).

• What did you do specifically that was effective?
• How did you prepare and plan for it?
• What timescales did you set?
• What could you have done to be more effective in your planning?
• How do your planning skills compare with those of your peers?
• What are the key stages in project planning as you see them?

Describe a recent situation where you had to set clearly defined objectives.

• How did you go about setting your objectives?
• In hindsight, how realistic were your objectives?
• What areas do you think you need to work on in terms of your objective setting?
• How does your objective-setting compare with that of your colleagues?
• What do you see as being the key to setting realistic objectives?

Thinking of a specific example, how have you … about helping others with planning their work in the past

• What kind of advice did you give them?
• What feedback have you had on your ability to set plans for others?
• How do you think your skills in this area compare to your colleagues?
• How do you think you could you improve your planning for other people?

Using a recent example, describe how you have developed actions for achieving an objective.

• How useful were your actions when it came to achieving your objectives?
• What would you like to improve on in terms of your action planning?
• How do your action planning skills compare with those of your colleagues?
• What do you think are the key things to remember when developing action plans?

Tell me about a time when it was necessary for you to plan several alternative courses of action in response to a change in an organization’s direction.

• How did you re-prioritize?
• How far did you plan ahead?
• How did you monitor the progress of the plans?

Tell me about a time when you have had to translate a strategy into actions and plans.

• What did you specifically do that was effective?
• How did you know that your plans were clear enough to be implemented?
• How do you break down strategy into manageable tasks?
• What would you do differently in hindsight?

When have you considered strategic issues when developing goals?

• Why was this important?
• What advice do you give others on strategic implications for goal-setting?
• What is the impact of failing to align goals with an organization’s strategy?
• How might you address this?