Answer Leadership Questions in an Interview

Employers often name "leadership" as the most desirable skill in an employee, even for non-executive or managerial positions. No matter what position you are interviewing for, you will likely be asked about your own take on leadership and how you have demonstrated leadership skills in the past. It helps to enter an interview confident that you understand what leadership really means, have some specific examples at the ready from your own experience, and know how to present yourself as a leader to your interviewers.

Steps

Using the STAR Method

1. Create structure for your interview responses using the STAR method. The most important way to impress potential employers with your leadership abilities is to give them concrete examples of specific instances when you used those abilities effectively. The STAR method will help you organize your example so that it is concise and complete.
   • S is for situation.
   • T is for task.
   • A is for action.
   • R is for resolution.
2. Create context for your story by describing the overall situation (S). Begin by talking about the big picture. Avoid getting bogged down in a long backstory and stay away from blaming any one person for a conflict. Keep it simple. Here is an example:
   • "Our established programming began to suffer when my team and I were focused on the launch of a new program."
3. Be specific when describing your task (T). Once you've described the overall situation, focus in on what you saw as your role in solving the problem. Remember to choose an example that highlights your leadership abilities. Summarize your role very clearly. Knowing what to do and when is pivotal to good leadership. You could say something like this:
   • "My task was to reallocate attention to our established programming while the new program continued to receive the staffing and support it needed to be successful."
4. Describe the action you took (A). The action you took and its effectiveness is the most important step to describe. Slow down and provide a little more detail. Something like this:
   • "I realized that maintaining the older, more established programming would require someone's full attention. I picked the most qualified person for that task and took them off the new project. I made sure to frame it as a commendation of their skill and authority, to buffer the disappointment of leaving the new project."
5. Complete your example by explaining the resolution (R). The last part of your story should be how the situation was resolved. Keep in mind you want to choose examples when the outcome was positive and your leadership decisions were successful. You may be asked about failures in your interview, but pick successes if given the choice. Here is an example of a resolution:
   • "I was able to return to the new program launch with a new confidence that our established programming wouldn't suffer. The employee I choose to manage the older programs really took to her own leadership role and was eventually promoted."

Answering Commonly Asked Questions

1. Familiarize yourself with individual leadership skills. It is easy to talk about your "leadership skills" in a general way but leadership is more accurately defined by a grouping of more specific skills. Interviewers will want to hear about different aspects of your leadership. Here are some commonly named leadership skills:
   • Effective communication with colleagues.
   • Possession of vision and the ability to turn it into reality.
   • Knowledge of how to motivate and inspire others.
   • Ability to guide and mentor others in growth and development.
   • Delegation of tasks.
   • Confidence when making difficult decisions.
   • Collaboration with others.
2. Prepare concrete examples of your own leadership skills in action. The benchmark question about leadership in an interview is, "Please tell us about a time that you demonstrated leadership skills." Keeping in mind the list of leadership skills, come up with several examples from your own history that clearly demonstrate one or more of these traits.
   • Frame your example using the STAR method: situation, task, action, resolution.
   • It is best to draw from work experiences, but you can also draw on experiences from sports teams, clubs, and school.
3. Anticipate questions about communication and conflict resolution. These questions get to the heart of the most difficult elements of leadership. Employers expect conflict to arise, and they want to know you can handle it when it does. Have a concrete example of a time that you were able to resolve conflict with a supervisor, colleague, or employee.
   • Tell about a time that you were able to listen to someone else's perspective and have your mind changed. Good leadership isn't about winning or being right. It's often more about listening and compromising.
   • Use the STAR method when constructing your response: situation, task, action, resolution.
4. Practice your answers in front of someone. After you've written your answers out and framed them with the STAR method, have a friend ask you the questions. Answer them without the use of your notes. Repeat this process until you are comfortable.

Presenting Yourself as a Leader

1. Make eye contact when speaking and listening. Leadership qualities are conveyed through body language. Don't just tell your interviewers you are a good leader, show them. Maintaining eye contact while speaking will convey confidence. While listening, eye contact tells the speaker you are interested.
   • Do break eye contact occasionally to avoid appearing overly aggressive.
   • A soft focus on the face as a whole can be helpful. Let your gaze be on the speaker's entire face for a few moments between direct eye contact. Look at the speaker's mouth, nose, the shape of the face, the skin. This will still feel attentive without feeling intrusive.
2. Speak clearly and efficiently. A lower tone voice conveys confidence and has a calming effect on listeners. Using a few powerful words is the habit of leaders. Too many words can come off as rambling, incoherent, and disorganized.
3. Smile and laugh when it is appropriate. Have the confidence to respond in the moment to good humor. Relax and show the interviewers who you are. Keep in mind, though, that smiling too much can signal a lack of confidence.
4. Keep your body open and squared to the speaker. Adopt a wide, straight position in the chair. Don't slouch and make sure that your chest is facing the speaker. This is a signal that you are engaged and open to what is being said.
5. Avoid fidgeting or nodding too much. Leaders typically move more slowly and don't fidget, even in high stress situations. Try to keep from tapping your feet or bobbing your knees up and down. Relative stillness conveys a sense of confidence.
6. Use a firm, brief handshake to greet your interviewers. This simple gesture can be a powerful tool in demonstrating your ability to lead. Make sure that the grasp is firm but not so hard it collapses or squeezes the other hand. Make eye contact and smile when you extend your hand for a handshake.
7. Don't be too serious or arrogant. Good leaders are also good team members. Your aim is to appear confident enough with yourself and your abilities that you are able to make way for others to succeed.
   • Don't interrupt or finish sentences.
   • Avoid criticizing others when giving your examples.
   • Don't oversell yourself or exaggerate your skills.

Sample Responses

Doc:Responses to Common Interview Leadership Questions

References

See also

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