For hiring managers
AI interview questions for leadership candidates
A leader uses AI in two places. One is their own work, such as decision preparation, planning, and writing for their own manager or board. The other is the team. A leader judges work the team made with AI help and decides how the team may use it. An interview for a leadership role has to test both.
The twelve questions below cover the six skills Emeri measures, two questions per skill. Some ask about the candidate’s own work. Others ask how the candidate would set expectations for a team. Each question comes with what a strong answer shows and what a weak answer shows, so two interviewers can score the same answer the same way.
How to use these questions
- Ask for a real example
- Each question works best when the candidate describes work they have done. When an answer stays general, ask what they did the last time, and what happened next.
- Ask every candidate the same core questions
- Pick four to six questions before the interviews start. The same questions make answers comparable across candidates.
- Score the behavior, not the vocabulary
- A candidate who names many tools or uses the right terms has not shown the skill. Score against the strong and weak notes under each question.
- Pair the interview with a short work sample
- If the job uses AI, let the candidate use it in the sample. Ask for the requests they wrote and a note on what they changed. An interview shows how a candidate talks about the work. A sample shows the work.
Asking well
Asking for what you need clearly enough to get useful results. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 1
When you use an AI tool to prepare for a decision, how do you keep it from agreeing with the view you already hold?
AI tools tend to support the position a request implies. This question tests whether the candidate asks in a way that brings out the case against their own view.
A strong answer
Asks for the strongest argument against the preferred option before asking for anything else. States the decision without revealing a preference. Asks what evidence would change the answer. Gives a real example where this changed or sharpened a decision.
A weak answer
Asks the tool to "write up the case for" the option they have already chosen. Or says they use AI only for wording, so the question does not apply to them.
Question 2
The managers on your team use AI to write job descriptions, and the results all read alike. What would you teach them about how they ask?
Leaders raise the skill of a team, not only their own. This question tests whether the candidate can explain good requests to other people.
A strong answer
Tells managers to state what the new hire will do in the first months. Adds the skills that matter most and what sets this team apart. Suggests giving a strong past posting as an example. Asks managers to remove requirements the role does not need.
A weak answer
Tells managers to "be more specific" with no detail on what to specify. Or writes one shared template that every manager fills in the same way.
Giving good context
Giving AI the background, data, and limits it needs. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 3
You need to cut a budget across two teams. What would you give an AI tool before asking for help with the trade-off, and what would you hold back?
Budget decisions depend on facts the model cannot know. This question tests whether the candidate chooses the right inputs and protects the sensitive ones.
A strong answer
Gives the size of the cut, each team’s goals for the year, current spend by category, and commitments already made. Labels each figure as final or estimated. Keeps names, salaries, and individual performance out of the request. Uses an approved tool for financial data.
A weak answer
Asks the tool how to split a cut between two teams with no figures. Or pastes the full headcount file, with names and pay, so the model "has everything".
Question 4
How would you make sure your team gives AI tools a current picture of the company, such as strategy, priorities, and agreed terms?
When each person supplies their own background, the team’s AI-assisted work drifts apart. This question tests whether the candidate treats shared context as something a leader maintains.
A strong answer
Keeps a short, dated document of current strategy, priorities, and agreed terms that people can attach to their requests. Names an owner who updates it when plans change. Removes old plans so they do not mislead. Says what the document must never contain, such as unannounced changes.
A weak answer
Expects each person to explain the company to the tool themselves. Or shares the full strategy deck and every past plan with no sign of which parts still apply.
Checking the work
Spotting mistakes, checking sources, and knowing what to trust. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 5
A direct report brings you a recommendation they prepared with AI help. How do you decide how hard to question it?
Leaders approve work they did not produce. This question tests whether the candidate scales review to the stakes and checks the reasoning, not the polish.
A strong answer
Asks what the recommendation rests on and which parts the person checked against a source. Traces one or two key figures back to their origin. Asks what the AI got wrong along the way. Questions harder when the decision is costly or hard to reverse.
A weak answer
Approves it because it reads well and the person is trusted. Or rejects AI-assisted work by default without looking at what it says.
Question 6
You use an AI tool to compare three vendor proposals before a purchase decision. How do you confirm the comparison is fair to each vendor?
A comparison table looks complete even when it is not. This question tests whether the candidate checks AI output against the source documents before acting on it.
A strong answer
Checks each line of the comparison against the proposals themselves. Confirms that prices cover the same term and the same scope. Looks for conditions the summary left out, such as exit terms or minimum commitments. Reads the sections that will decide the purchase in full.
A weak answer
Uses the table as written because the tool read all three documents. Or checks only the headline price and assumes the rest is right.
Putting it together
Turning prompts, tools, and steps into a repeatable workflow. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 7
How would you set up AI help for quarterly planning with your team leads, so a chief of staff could run it without you?
Recurring leadership work benefits from a process that does not depend on one person. This question tests whether the candidate can design steps other people can follow.
A strong answer
Collects each lead’s input in a fixed format. Uses AI to combine the inputs and flag conflicts between teams. Places a human review before anything is circulated. Keeps the decisions about priorities with people. Writes the steps and saved instructions down so someone else can run them.
A weak answer
Describes one request that turns all the inputs into a finished plan. Or the process lives in their head and changes every quarter.
Question 8
People on your team have each built their own AI workflows. How would you decide which ones to adopt across the team and which to stop?
Unmanaged workflows multiply and break without notice. This question tests whether the candidate can bring order to the team’s practice without blocking useful work.
A strong answer
Lists the workflows in use and what each one produces. Adopts the ones that run often and have a clear review point. Gives each adopted workflow an owner and written steps. Stops the ones nobody maintains or that handle data the approved tools do not cover.
A weak answer
Mandates one tool and one method for everyone. Or leaves each person to do as they like, with no view of what the team relies on.
Getting real work done
Using AI to finish real work, not just make a first draft. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 9
Tell us about a paper you sent to your own manager or board with AI help. How did you make sure it stated your position and not a balanced summary?
AI drafts tend to weigh every side and recommend nothing. This question tests whether the candidate owns the judgment in work that carries their name.
A strong answer
Decided the recommendation before drafting and put it near the start. Used AI for structure, wording, or the case against. Cut sections that listed options without a view. Can say which points the reader pushed back on and how they answered.
A weak answer
Describes a document that sets out options and leaves the choice to the reader. Or cannot separate what they decided from what the tool wrote.
Question 10
When someone on your team hands you work made with AI help, what do you expect them to tell you about how it was made?
Leaders set the standard for AI-assisted work by what they ask for at handoff. This question tests whether the candidate holds that work to the same bar as any other.
A strong answer
Expects the person to say which parts AI produced, what they checked, and what is still uncertain. Holds the work to the same quality bar whether or not AI was used. Treats an honest account of a mistake as useful, not as a failure. Applies the same rule to their own work.
A weak answer
Does not ask, because only the result matters. Or treats any AI use as a reason to doubt the work, so people stop saying when they used it.
Keeping it safe
Protecting private information and using good judgment. What this skill looks like for leaders.
Question 11
What would you put in your team’s first written guidance on AI use?
Teams without guidance make their own rules, one person at a time. This question tests whether the candidate can set clear limits that people will follow.
A strong answer
Lists approved tools and the kinds of data each may handle. Names data that never goes into an AI tool, such as personnel files, unreleased financials, and customer records. Says which work needs human review before it leaves the team. Explains how to report a mistake without blame. Follows the guidance in their own work.
A weak answer
Bans AI outright with no alternative. Or tells people to "use good judgment" and stops there.
Question 12
Where would you refuse to let AI play a part in decisions about people on your team, such as promotions or role changes?
Decisions about people carry fairness and legal risk. This question tests whether the candidate knows where AI help ends and the leader’s own judgment begins.
A strong answer
Allows AI to help organize evidence or check wording for bias. Does not let it rank, score, or recommend people. Keeps personnel data in approved tools only. Records the reasons for each decision in their own words. Involves HR or legal where the decision calls for it.
A weak answer
Uses AI to rank people because it seems more objective. Or says they never use AI for people work but cannot explain where the risk lies.
For what each skill looks like in this role at every band from E1 to E4, read AI skills for leaders. These questions are written for interviews. They are not taken from the Emeri assessment.
Questions
What AI skills should I look for when hiring a leader?
Look for all six skills Emeri measures: asking well, giving good context, checking the work, putting it together into workflows, getting real work done, and keeping it safe. For leaders, give extra weight to checking the work and keeping it safe. Leaders approve work they did not produce, and they set the rules the team follows.
Should a leadership candidate use AI in their own work?
Ask about it either way. A leader who uses AI tools has a basis for judging the team’s AI-assisted work. That leader can also write rules that fit the work. A candidate who has not can still be strong, but expect them to describe how they would learn.
Are these questions taken from the Emeri exam?
No. These questions are written for interviews and are never exam items. The Emeri assessment uses its own questions and scenarios, graded against the same six skills.
How do I confirm a candidate’s Emeri credential?
Every Emeri credential has a public verification page. It shows the band, the assessment date, and a profile across the six skills. The employers page explains how to read one. No account is needed.
Evidence beyond the interview
Emeri assesses the same six skills with graded work, and each credential has a public verification page. Read how to check a candidate’s credential, or see how teams use Emeri assessments.