What Are Good Leadership Interview Questions
- Can you tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills?
- Are you able to delegate responsibilities efficiently?
- What can you do to motivate a team?
- What values are most important to you as a leader?
- Are you able to collaborate with others and accept new ideas?
- Who is your favorite leader? Why?
- Are you more comfortable with verbal or written communication?
- Can you tell me about a time when you solved a problem for your employees/employer?
Tips To Describe Your Leadership Style In An Interview
Use these tips when crafting answers to leadership interview questions to ensure youre providing adequate and clear information:
- Use the STAR technique. The STAR technique can help you establish a comprehensive answer to the hiring managers questions. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Resultits a pneumonic to help you remember what to include in your answer. Its a particularly useful strategy for behavioral questions the hiring manager might ask about specific situations in previous jobs. When answering, describe the situational background, your role, what you did, and what happened.
- Prepare answers in advance. Many hiring managers ask predictable questions during interviews to get to know their candidates. Review commonly asked leadership interview questions and prepare answers ahead of time to help you in your interview.
- Act like a leader. Present yourself as a leader during the interview. Use confident body language like eye contact and excellent posture to project an air of competence during the interview.
- Dress appropriately. Wear an appropriately formal outfit to the interview. Since youre interviewing for a leadership position, a suit or an equivalent ensemble would not be out of place.
- Show how you can help. Ensure your answers conclude by explaining how you would apply your skills or experiences to the position for which youre interviewing. Showing the hiring manager how you can help the company is a great interviewing strategy.
How Do You Handle Conflict On A Team
Conflict can arise at times, whether from interpersonal clashes or external stressors. This question aims to determine how you handle conflict and the strategies youâd implement to resolve it. Discuss a specific example of conflict resolution from your past work experience, or bring up what you would do when faced with that situation.
Sample answer: I like to begin by encouraging team members to identify a solution together. I want my team to know that I trust them to resolve any problems. But that doesnât always happen. In that case, I try to meet with team members individually before I pull everyone into a group discussion. Again, I donât want to hand out a solution, but if I can create a space where both parties feel heard and understood, I find that they can reach an answer with little oversight.
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Getting The Basics Right
Start before the interview to avoid potential problems. Try to interview in a relaxed business environment, at least on the first occasion. Noisy restaurants and bars can give the wrong impression and cloud communication and judgment. If use of video links are necessary at this stage, then use the most professional equipment available. Cheap or home computer links will not enhance the reputation of your firm or make for a smooth interview.
Anyone involved in interviewing and hiring should be aware of the basic courtesies toward a candidate and possible legal issues involved in the interview process in the country in which you are located at that time.
Preparation is critical to a successful interview. In particular, you should have detailed knowledge of the position for which the candidate is being considered, the competencies required, and all existing information on the candidate. Have a game plan for each interview. Evaluate, if possible, the candidates resume and determine areas to be filled in or clarified with more information. If you do not have a CV or have only a vague resume, you will spend vital time gathering basic data. Insist on having it and reading it first.
As soon as possible after the interview, take time to reflect. Carefully evaluate the information you have obtained, interpret the facts, rank them and determine a course of action. Make notes of salient points, especially personal impressions, and write a summary of your observations.
Leading A Meeting Or Committee
This can be at school, at an after-school organization, any type of volunteer organization, a job, a club, etc.
If you led a meeting or committee for even a short time period or one-time event, thats still great leadership experience to put on a resume and then talk about in interviews if asked.
For example, if you were part of a club that needed to host an event, and they put you in charge of the committee responsible for finding a venue and calling different event halls to ask if theyre available thats something you led.
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Use Your Gut Instincts
The 21 questions weve revealed above will go a long way to helping you find a strong leader for your business.
As always, we recommend using a variety of different interview questions to assess your candidates dont just use all of the 21 above.
If you use every single question you risk making your interview sound a bit stilted and wooden, and it needs to be more rounded and natural sounding.
Try if possible to use a selection of the most appropriate questions.
If you need more inspiration about what makes a great leader, make sure you
Weve already posted blogs revealing some behavioural, personality, left-field and brainteaser questions for you to use as you feel free and if youd like to receive a weekly update, you can always !
Recruiter Pro Tip.
There are, of course, other leadership attributes that cannot be revealed by mere questioning.
To assess these intangibles, youll have to use your gut instincts and keen eye for body language.
You should ask yourself questions like
- Is this candidate likable?
- Are they confident enough to lead other people?
- Will they fit in with my team?
- Do they seem arrogant?
- Are they going to cause friction?
People are a lot more likely to follow and be inspired by leaders that they actually like and trust!
Always let your conscience be your guide!
Good luck!
How Do You Approach New Tasks Outside Of Your Typical Responsibilities
To complete projects, a leader may need to take on additional roles and responsibilities. An interviewer can use this question to determine how you adapt to changes in the workplace. To answer, try to think of a specific time you completed a new task at work. Then explain briefly how you handled this new responsibility.
Example:’I approach new tasks by creating a plan, asking questions and implementing feedback. In my last role as team lead at Better Way Marketing, one of my team members had to leave suddenly in the middle of a project. We had a strict deadline, so I stepped in the complete these additional tasks to ensure we completed the project on time. I had experience in graphic design, but the team member who left was in charge of website layout. I had never worked with layouts before, but I was confident I could learn quickly and adapt to these additional responsibilities.
I conducted some initial research to learn about the best layout practices. I made my first draft and asked a senior team member for feedback. I used this feedback to create the rest of the layout. By conducting research, asking questions and implementing feedback, I was able to produce a website layout that pleased the client.’
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Which Supporting Skills Do You Think Are Most Important When It Comes To Leadership
As mentioned above, being a great leader doesnt just involve one skill. Several have to come together. Otherwise, guiding a team effectively is essentially impossible.
Ideally, you want to tap on at least a few of the critical supporting capabilities. However, when you answer this question, dont merely rattle off a list. Thats the dullest approach you could use and, while it does answer the question, it isnt an impressive answer.
Instead, you want to use this as an opportunity to do one thing: share another example. Remember, when you show the hiring manager instead of just telling them, your reply will have a stronger impact.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
First, I think that communication skills are crucial. I regularly use active listening when communicating with others, ensuring I fully understand their perspective. Additionally, since Ive regularly worked with stakeholders who dont have the same level of specialty expertise, Ive found that the ability to take complex ideas and simplify them is paramount for success. However, communication alone isnt enough. Accountability is also vital, as it allows me to lead by example. Similarly, critical thinking is a core component for strategic planning, and served me well when I lead a project with my past employer, which was completed on time and ultimately exceeded expectations.
Tell Me About A Time You Demonstrated Leadership
You dont need to have been in a specific leadership position to answer this question. For example, you could relate your situation to a volunteering position, or a group project for one of your college classes.
Emphasize through your task and action how you took on a leadership role or demonstrated leadership qualities.
For example:
I took the initiative to organize a black-tie gala at my college and successfully secured a venue and band for a reduced fee. I also oversaw a team of six other students who secured raffle prizes from local businesses. The event was a success, and we raised over $2,000 for our charity.
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Acing Your Interviews Can Be Done
Weve taken the time to select our top choices from an endless array of online guides, so here they are!
Now its your turn to ask the question! For that, we found the excellent and insightful Ask Me This Instead: Flip the Interview to Land Your Dream Job as well as Master The Interviewing Process: Questions To Ask The Interviewer, all available online in 2022.
Review Leadership Interview Questions And Answers
Another way to prepare is to practice answering common leadership interview questions. The following list of common interview questions are related to leadership. Read the sample answers , and then practice providing your own answers to these questions.
Here are a few of the questions most frequently asked about your leadership experience:
- What experience do you have that would help you in this role? – Best Answers
- What were your responsibilities at your current position? – Best Answers
- What were your biggest accomplishments and failures in this position? – Best Answers
- What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them? – Best Answers
Some questions will address your opinion of effective management styles and practices:
- What do you expect from a manager? – Best Answers
- What was it like working for your manager? – Best Answers
- Who was your best manager and who was the worst? – Best Answers
- If you knew a manager is 100 percent wrong about something, how would you handle it? – Best Answers
These questions are posed in order to gauge your self-confidence and persuasiveness as a leader:
- What can you do for this company? – Best Answers
- Why should we hire you? – Best Answers
- What can you contribute to this company? – Best Answers
- Why are you the best person for the job? – Best Answers
- If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say? Best Answers
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Q1 Tell Me About Yourself
Because this is going to be the first interview question you will need to answer, it is imperative you get your interview off to a flying start. Give a response that shows you are confident in your abilities, you have the skills and qualities to match the job description, and dont forget to use some of those management buzzwords and phrases we gave you earlier on.
Heres a great example answer to help you:
Thank you for giving me this opportunity today. Over the years, I have been working towards becoming a manager and a leader. I have attended several training development courses to help enhance my skills, I have watched carefully the managers I have worked under to learn how to lead, and I have read numerous books on the subject of leadership.
The skills and qualities I possess include being commercially-aware, not being afraid to make difficult decisions that are in the best interests of your business, and ensuring all staff embrace the already-established values and culture of the company. Because I have a firm and confident style of leadership, you can rely on me to always put the needs of the business first, and to make sure you maintain your position as a market leader.
If you hire me in this position, I will help the business achieve its strategic vision, I will develop my team to ensure they reach their full potential, and I will make sure the company continually sees a positive return from its activities, investments, and expenditure.
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What Experience Do You Have In Leading A Team
Example Answer:
I have been in a leadership position for several years, and I have experience in both small and large organizations. I am confident in my ability to motivate and inspire team members. Make quick and effective decisions, solve problems efficiently, and communicate effectively with all levels of an organization.
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Common Leadership Interview Questions And How To Answer Them
Leaders are an essential part of company success. Great leaders enable teams to achieve goals through clear direction and support. As a result, interviewers often ask questions that test for leadership skills when applicants seek positions such as supervisor, manager and executive. However, you can demonstrate leadership potential in positions at any level. In this article, we explore common leadership questions you might encounter during an interview and help you prepare quality answers.
Senior Leader Interview Preparation Checklist
As a senior leader, you will be all too familiar with the importance of being prepared thoroughly for an interview. However, the higher expectations will require you to display a higher level of competence and experience. Therefore, before your next interview, be sure to conduct the essential research that you will need to help you run through the key planning points.
As a senior leader, you will be all too familiar with the importance of being prepared thoroughly for an interview. However, the higher expectations will require you to display a higher level of competence and experience. Therefore, before your next interview, be sure to conduct the essential research that you will need to help you run through the key planning points.
To help you prepare, we have compiled a useful checklist that identifies those key areas of research that form part of our top interview tips.
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Q7 Have You Ever Failed As A Leader
TIP #1 Give an example where you have actually failed.
TIP #2 Tell the panel what you learnt from the experience.
TIP #3 Tell the interview panel how you have matured as a leader from the experience.
Sample Response
Yes, I have. In the early days of being a leader I remember leading a team by using an entirely autocratic approach. I was basically dictating what I expected of the team and what I wanted them to do. This was a mistake, simply because I failed to get to know my team and also what motivated them as individuals. I soon realized that my approach to leadership would fail, and so I decided to change quickly. I believe that initial experience of leading people stood me in good stead and has made me the leader I am today. I continually analyze my performance to look for ways I can improve. I feel this is an important quality of an effective leader, and being reflective of ones own performance is a key ingredient of being successful.
For further Leadership Interview Questions or resources to develop your Team Leader Skills check out our Free Online Interview Training Course.
What Do You Need To Improve
Employers love to hire someone who is talented and confident in their skills, but there are also times where you should be humble in an interview.
When they ask this question, or what are your weaknesses? its a chance to show them that youre not cocky and that you are always working to improve.
Pick something that will improve your skills as a leader, but not something thats so essential to the job that youll scare them away from hiring you.
For example, you wouldnt want to say, Well, Im not great at communicating with my team. So thats something I need to improve.
This would be a huge red flag, because communicating with your team members is such a vital part of the job that you probably couldnt succeed as a manager or supervisor without this ability.
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How To Nail A Leadership Interview
- Make sure to prepare in advance and remember situations in correlation with the STAR technique.
- Take your time to understand the questions properly before answering them.
- Be specific and concise. Use examples from real situations wherever possible.
- Do not waffle, rather, limit your answers to key points.
- Avoid badmouthing former co-workers. This will indicate your positive side.
- Do not talk about situations where you were unable to redeem yourself.
While these were some basics, there are various leadership courses offered by Emeritus prepare you for tackling all the potential challenges head on. These courses are aimed at honing your leadership skills and ensuring that you ace any interview and job you apply for. Two of these leadership courses are:
