“I know you were asked to sit in on the hiring decision, and that you felt you were just an observer in this process, but you still feel responsible for what may turn out to be a poor hiring decision. What could you have done differently?”

Rene searched the corner of the room for an answer. “By the time we got into the interview room, I felt powerless to step in. I was not the prime interviewer, not the Hiring Manager.”

“You are right,” I insisted. “Your role, as an observer could have been much more powerful, much more effective in this process, but only if you had started earlier. Where do you think you should have dug in?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t even think they had a Role Description. How could I have helped, if they didn’t even do the basic groundwork?”

“Indeed,” I smiled. “How could you have helped? What groundwork could you have insisted on? Don’t think that just because you are an observer, you can’t have influence on the quality of this process. What groundwork could you have insisted on?”