Emotional intelligence is the least tested skill in executive interviews. Technical credentials get verified. Track records get referenced. But the qualities that actually sink leaders (how they handle pressure, absorb feedback, treat people below them) mostly get guessed at. The market keeps revaluing these "human" skills upward, especially in technology and finance, where the technical bar is table stakes and the failures are almost always behavioral. A practical fix: build one interview around specifics, not hypotheticals. Not "how do you handle conflict" but "tell me about the last time a direct report pushed back hard, and what happened next?" Then reference-check that exact story. Résumés show what someone did. They rarely show how. And how is what you're hiring. #Leadership #Interviewing #ExecutiveSearch