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About me
My name is Mauro Bagnato and for over 15 years I have been leading tech organizations.
When I first stepped into leadership, I believed technical expertise was the key to being an effective leader. However, I quickly learned that organizations are living and complex systems and that leading them demands much more than just technical know-how. I believe that curiosity is at the heart of effective leadership. This is what fuels learning and experimentation, both crucial for continuous improvement. This blog aims to explore engineering leadership in all its aspects and to provide insights in a tangible and pragmatic manner. It will also be a space where I will share insights, reflections, and personal takeaways from books, podcasts, and articles that influenced and keep influencing my journey.
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Skills and traits are both key to boosting performance and personal development.
Skills are abilities that can be acquired through training, education, and practice (e.g. technical competencies).
Traits cannot be taught. They are rooted in an individual's personality, values, and character. Empathy, creativity, resilience, etc. belong to this category.
In essence, skills are more about "doing," traits are more about "being”.
Based on my experience, understanding a person’s traits is crucial to determining how well she can fit into a team and to what extent she can contribute to a positive and productive work environment.
Yet, hiring processes often overlook traits and prioritize skills.
Lack of specific tools and/or experience in personality assessment can be a strong limiting factor.
However, even less experienced interviewers can uncover candidates’ personality traits using the following types of interview questions.
- Situational questions
They ask candidates to describe how they would handle a hypothetical scenario. They typically start with "What would you do if...". - Past-behavioral questions.
They ask candidates to provide specific examples of their past experiences and behaviors. They typically start with "Tell me about a time when..." or "Can you give an example of...".
These questions can provide valuable insights to assess the candidate’s personality and inform hiring decisions.
