Job Interview Questions About Leadership

If you’re applying for a position where leadership skills are required, it’s essential that you prepare for common leadership interview questions. During your interview, the interviewers will try to assess your leadership experience, skills, and growth potential.

Interviewers want to hear you demonstrate your leadership skills, for example, by asking how you would handle certain situations or how you have handled specific situations in the past.

These types of interview questions are called situational questions, which are hypothetical, and behavioral questions, that are about past work experiences. However, regardless of the question type, it’s important that you show that you possess the right leadership skills and the potential to grow.

So, what kind of leadership interview questions can you expect? And how should you answer them? Read all about it in this blog.

Learn more about leadership interview questions and how to answer them.

Examples Of Leadership Questions

Below you find some examples of leadership questions:

1. Can you walk me through your resume?
2. Tell me about a time you took the lead in a team project. How did you approach the project, and what was the result?
3. Describe a time you demonstrated leadership.
4. How do you handle conflicts within your team?
5. How does your leadership experience qualify you for this job?

You can use questions about leadership to your advantage by preparing the right way. If you prepare strong answers to questions that you expect based on your research, you can make the right impression. For example, by discussing example situations in which you successfully demonstrated leadership skills.

In this article, we discuss why employers want to know more about your leadership skills and common leadership interview questions. Also, read more about frequently asked job interview questions here and check our job interview preparation checklist.

Questions About Leadership

Leadership questions can be asked in different ways about different topics. Usually, these topics are related to the requirements for the position that you’re applying for. For example, skills such as conflict resolution, adaptability, time management, creative thinking, and people management.

Interviewers ask leadership questions to uncover your style of leadership. They are interested in your:

• Motivation and commitment
• Delegation skills
• Communication skills
• Honesty & Integrity

Examples of common interview questions on leadership include:

• What important leadership values do you demonstrate as a leader?
• What have been your biggest accomplishments and failures so far in this position?
• In which ways have you gained commitment from your team?
• What were the major challenges you encountered in your previous position? How did you handle them?
• What experience have you gained that you think will help you in this position?
• How do leaders fail? What factors can make a leader fail?
• As a leader, what is your greatest strength?
• What do you consider as your greatest weakness?
• Do you force others to accept your ideas? If not, how do you go about it?
• Have you ever rewarded or appreciated a team member for a job well done? How did you go about it?
• If a team member disagrees with a plan of yours, how do you go about persuading them to follow your lead?
• How would your team members describe you as a leader?
• What is the most difficult and challenging part of being a leader?
• As a leader, how do you adapt to changes in the work environment?
• Why do you want to be a leader? What is your source of motivation?
• Tell me about a time you had to bring your team bad news. How did you go about it?

Tips To Prepare Answers To Leadership Interview Questions

Below we discuss a couple of steps you can take to prepare for your leadership questions.

Identify the leadership skills that are relevant for the position

Start by thoroughly analyzing the job description. This will help you identify the leadership skills required for the job. Based on these required skills, you can look for commonly asked interview questions about leadership.

Preparing for these questions will help you give a strong and impressive answer.

Think of the experiences you had with leadership

Based on the required skills for the job and interview questions you found, you can start thinking of answers. Make sure that you include a strong example of a time you demonstrated that particular skill in a work situation. Also, relate your skills to the skills required for the job in your answers.

Practice the STAR interview response technique

The most efficient way to answer situational or behavioral interview questions is by using the STAR interview technique.

By using the STAR method, you can give an answer that includes exactly what the interviewer is looking for. Below, the STAR acronym is broken down into each step.

Situation

Start your answer by explaining the situation that you faced. The start of your answer ‘story’ should answer questions such as:

1. What was the situation/problem?
2. Who was involved?
3. Why did the situation happen at that time?

It’s important to provide context around what problem needed to be solved. Furthermore, make sure to provide relevant details.

Task

Next, explain your specific role in the task ahead. Include important details, such as specific responsibilities. Focus on giving the interviewer an understanding of your task in solving the problem. This part of your answer should answer questions such as:

1. Why were you involved in that specific situation?
2. What’s the background story?

Action

After you describe your task, it’s time to specifically discuss the actions you took to solve the problem. Give the interviewer a step by step description of the actions you took. This part of your answer should answer questions such as:

1. What steps did you take to resolve the situation you were in?
2. Why did you choose to complete your tasks this way?

Result

Finish your answer by discussing the results you got from your actions. Detail the outcomes of your actions and ensure to highlight your strengths. Also, make sure to take credit for your behavior that led to the result. Focus on positive results and positive learning experiences. This part of your answer ‘story’ should answer questions such as:

1. What exactly happened?
2. What did you accomplish?
3. How did you feel about the results you got?
4. What did you learn from the situation?
5. How did this particular situation influence who you are as a professional today?

Additional Leadership Interview Questions

• What do you look for in a new leadership position?
• How do you handle disagreements within your team?
• What do you consider the differences between leadership and management?
• How do you evaluate team performance?
• Tell me about a time when you led by example.
• What is the most difficult decision you have ever made as a leader?
• Do you consider it healthy to have competition amongst your team members?
• Give an example of a time that your team succeeded in a project. How did you contribute to the success of the project?

Job Interview Topics – Common Job Interview Questions & Answers

Below you can find a list of common job interview topics. Each link will direct you to an article regarding the specific topics that discuss commonly asked interview questions. Furthermore, each article discusses why the interviewer asks these questions and how you answer them!

1. Accomplishments
2. Adaptability
3. Admission
4. Behavioral
5. Career Change
6. Career Goals
7. Communication
8. Competency
9. Conflict Resolution
10. Creative Thinking
11. Cultural Fit
12. Customer Service
13. Direct
14. Experience
15. Government
16. Graduate
17. Growth Potential
18. Honesty & Integrity
19. Illegal
20. Inappropriate
21. Job Satisfaction
22. Leadership
23. Management
24. Entry-Level & No experience
25. Performance-Based
26. Personal
27. Prioritization & Time Management
28. Problem-solving
29. Salary
30. Situational & Scenario-based
31. Stress Management
32. Teamwork
33. Telephone Interview
34. Tough
35. Uncomfortable
36. Work Ethic