i like to ask, "Tell me about a conflict you had a with supervisor and how you resolved it?"  Also, "Tell me about a situation you thought you handled well, and one you thought you blew; and what you learned?"  "Tell me about a time that got you really heated and how you handled it?"  And last, "If i gave you a group of families and two hours to teach them something, what would you want to teach them?"  (of course that last one might not fit for your situation but you can adjust it to "if i gave you a group of employees in your dept, what would you want to teach them?") In my experience, these disarm the cookie-cutter responses and lets you dive into what bothers someone, do they handle stress well, do they take responsibility for their issues and mistakes or blame and abdicate responsibility, and what you can expect as you supervise them.