Interviewing for a leadership position is one of the most important steps in a person’s career. The questions asked during these interviews are designed to uncover the candidate’s ability to successfully lead a team and to help push the company forward. Having an understanding of these questions in advance and preparing for them will ensure that you make a favorable impression during the interview. Here are 6 questions to expect in a leadership interview.
6 Questions To Expect In A Leadership Interview
1. Describe a time when you were responsible for leading a team to achieve a challenging goal.
Leadership positions are challenging, and hiring managers want to know how you perform in a high-pressured environment. The answer you give to this question will also highlight your problem-solving abilities.
Key Points/Themes: Give specific examples, highlighting the goal, the challenges you faced, the strategies you used to overcome these challenges, and the success of the outcome. Additionally, focus on key leadership skills such as communication, strategic planning, and leadership.
Demonstrating Leadership: An important element of leadership is your ability to make good decisions to ensure a successful outcome. Challenging goals require you to come up with innovative solutions and lead your team to implement them.
2. Team conflict is inevitable, how do you handle it?
No matter how well your team work together, there is always going to be conflict. Conflict stifles the team; therefore, it is essential that conflict is resolved effectively to maintain a productive work environment. This question is intended to gain insight into your emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills.
Read More: Answering ‘How Do You Handle Conflict?’ In A Job Interview
Key Points/Themes: Conflict is difficult, and it can have a negative effect on employees. The main aim of conflict resolution is to rectify the situation fairly so that all parties involved are satisfied. To achieve this, you must possess good listening skills, show empathy, and have the ability to remain impartial and calm.
Demonstrating Leadership: When dealing with conflict, leadership is demonstrated by facilitating communication between parties, basing decisions on evidence and facts instead of personal opinions, and showcasing their problem-solving abilities by finding a solution that addresses the root cause of the problem.
3. What is your leadership style, and what positive effect does it have on your team?
Understanding your leadership style helps interviewers determine whether you will be a good fit for the company’s culture and the team you will be leading.
Key Points/Themes: Discuss your leadership style and your reasons behind it. Highlight whether your leadership style is natural, or whether you have adopted it because you believe it is more effective.
Demonstrating Leadership: Provide examples of how your leadership style has led to successful outcomes. Also, highlight your ability to adapt your leadership style to the needs of individual team members.
4. Have you ever been assigned the task of implementing change within a company?
Your ability to manage change is essential in today’s fast paced business environment. It also demonstrates your ability to adapt and your strategic thinking capabilities.
Key Points/Themes: Discuss the steps you took to implement the changes and how you managed and guided your team through the transition.
Demonstrating Leadership: Highlight your communication skills, how did you communicate the changes to your team members? Was there resistance to these changes? If so, how did you handle it? Demonstrate your ability to lead through uncertainty and secure a positive outcome.
5. How do you mentor and develop your team members?
A good leader is capable of bringing out the best in the people they lead. They invest in their teams growth and create an environment that supports continuous development and improvement.
Key Points/Themes: By discussing your approach to mentoring and developing your team members, you give the interviewer insight into your ability to provide development opportunities, support career growth, inspire and motivate your team, and provide constructive criticism for the betterment of your employees.
Demonstrating Leadership: Discuss what you did to empower your team members. How do you model good leadership characteristics? Did you delegate specific responsibilities to help them grow? What did you do to help build their confidence.
6. What is your decision-making process?
Impulsive leaders who do not think through their decisions are a liability to the company. Therefore, hiring managers want to understand your decision-making process to determine whether you are a strategic thinker capable of making decisions that align with organizational goals.
Key Points/Themes: Give examples of when you have had to make difficult decisions. Discuss your decision-making process, the rationale behind your choices and the outcome of your decision.
Demonstrating Leadership: Demonstrate your ability to make difficult decisions and stand by them. How you analyzed the situation thoroughly before moving forward and the logical reasoning used to assess the risks and benefits. Additionally, good leaders seek input from their team and other stakeholders. Discuss how you involved them in the decision-making process.
While preparing for your interview, remember to focus on specific situations, your actions, and the outcomes. Where possible, use data and metrics to quantify your impact. Through extensive preparation, you will answer the questions effectively and demonstrate that you are ready to take on a leadership role.
