Be prepared for these 10 leadership interview questions with answers!
Simulate a real interviewArtwork by: Alexandra Shevchenko
- Top 10 leadership interview questions and answers with examples
- 1. What is your preferred style of leadership?
- 2. What skills do you think an effective leader should have?
- 3. Can you share about a time when you took on a leadership role and made a difference?
- 4. How do you motivate team members to work toward common goals?
- 5. How do you resolve conflicts among team members?
- 6. How do you delegate responsibilities to employees?
- 7. If a team member didn’t meet performance expectations, how would you handle the situation?
- 8. How do you help team members progress in their careers?
- 9. What steps do you take to measure a team’s performance?
- 10. How do you deliver feedback?
- Key takeaways
Have an interview coming up for a leadership role? Review these 10 top leadership interview questions and answers with examples to help you get prepared, so that you can ace the interview and land the job!
Leadership skills are valuable qualities to have in any job, but are essential when in a management or team leadership role. If you’re invited to interview for a leadership position, be ready to answer questions about your ability to motivate others and guide teams to accomplish goals.
We’ve put together a list of 10 common leadership interview questions and answers with examples that you can use to prepare for your next interview.
Top 10 leadership interview questions and answers with examples
If you’re applying for a management or other senior position, you can expect to get some common interview questions about leadership.
Review these 10 top interview questions and answers for leadership roles to help you prepare:
1. What is your preferred style of leadership?
When an interviewer asks this question, they want to know how you view your leadership style. Be honest about your usual approach to leadership while highlighting your ability to adapt.
If you’re unsure how to define your leadership style, consider these common types:
Democratic: These leaders delegate responsibilities and make decisions after gathering all team members’ opinions.
Transformational: A transformational leader mentors team members, encouraging them to push their limits and take on more challenging tasks.
Transactional: These leaders motivate their teams by assigning projects with clear expectations and rewarding those who do a good job.
Bureaucratic: A bureaucratic leader enforces clear, structured policies about what team members can and can’t do.
Consider the leadership style that’s likely to work best in the company where you’re applying. Explain how you can blend different approaches based on teams and business goals.
“I take a democratic approach to leadership by encouraging collaboration while setting clear expectations for performance. For example, in my previous role as a team lead, I held weekly meetings to gather the team’s feedback on project goals. When team members seemed to need extra motivation, I adopted a transactional style by rewarding the employees who went above and beyond.”
2. What skills do you think an effective leader should have?
An employer wants to know what skills you’ll bring to the team as a leader. In your answer, highlight the leadership skills that align with the position.
Consider some leadership soft skills, such as delegation, problem solving, and decisiveness. Provide examples of times when you’ve used those skills to lead a team successfully.
"I believe strong leaders need to have excellent problem-solving skills, effective communication, and the ability to delegate tasks. In my last position, I led a project with extremely tight deadlines. I listened to my team’s concerns and assigned tasks based on their strengths. I also provided constructive feedback to help team members improve. By taking these steps, we streamlined workflows and met our goals ahead of schedule.”
Get more tips for this question in our article with example answers for ‘Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.’
3. Can you share about a time when you took on a leadership role and made a difference?
This question helps an interviewer assess your ability to step up when needed to lead others, solve problems, and contribute to a team’s success.
To prepare, think about a time when your leadership directly improved a project or team. Focus your answer on the challenge(s) you faced, your actions, and the results you achieved.
“Once, I noticed an employee was struggling to adapt to a new workflow, which was affecting team productivity. I took the initiative to mentor them through weekly check-ins, where I provided support and answered questions. The employee quickly improved and eventually helped other team members adjust to the new workflow too. This experience taught me that leadership isn’t just about results, but also about empowering others.”
4. How do you motivate team members to work toward common goals?
A good leader knows how to get the best out of employees. To answer this question, highlight the skills and strategies that you use to inspire others.
Give examples of specific ways that you’ve motivated teams, such as:
Recognition and encouragement
Clear communication and transparency
One-on-one support
“I’ve found that people are most motivated when they feel ownership over a task or project. At my last company, some of my team felt disconnected from the big-picture business goals. To address this, I started holding bi-weekly meetings to discuss the team’s progress and point out how each person’s work made a difference. Over time, the team’s engagement improved, and we saw a noticeable increase in productivity.”
5. How do you resolve conflicts among team members?
Conflict is inevitable in any workplace, and employers want to know if you can handle disputes fairly without allowing them to become disruptive.
For this question, describe your approach to conflict resolution. Offer an example that shows you can listen to both sides, act as a mediator, and take decisive action when necessary.
“One time, I had two employees clash over their project responsibilities, which created tension and slowed the team’s progress. I scheduled individual meetings with both employees to understand their concerns. I then brought them together to discuss a compromise. This approach helped them find common ground and move forward on the project collaboratively.”
6. How do you delegate responsibilities to employees?
Leaders need to be able to delegate, so use this question to showcase your ability to assign tasks strategically. Explain how you determine what to delegate, how you match tasks to team members’ strengths, and how you follow up to measure progress.
“When delegating, I first decide which tasks require my direct input and which tasks can be handled by others. For example, I once managed a product launch where I delegated tasks to different teams, including sales and marketing. I gave those teams the resources they needed and used project management software to follow their progress. With transparency and accountability, we all worked together to exceed the launch goals.”
7. If a team member didn’t meet performance expectations, how would you handle the situation?
In an interview, you may get some leadership behavioral interview questions. Your answers show employers how you may behave as a leader in the workplace.
For this question (and others like it), use the STAR interview method—which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result—to describe how you may handle specific situations.
“In my last job, I had a team member whose performance started to decline. This was out of the ordinary for her. So instead of jumping to conclusions, I scheduled a one-on-one meeting to understand the root cause. Turns out, she was dealing with personal challenges that affected her focus at work.
Together, we came up with a plan to support her by adjusting her workload and setting clearer goals. Within a couple of weeks, she had regained her confidence and began performing to her usual high standards again.”
8. How do you help team members progress in their careers?
An interviewer asks this question to determine whether you can develop a team’s potential and lead them toward growth.
In your answer, explain how you provide constructive feedback and help employees set goals. Highlight the ways you promote both short-term skills development and long-term career growth.
“I believe in helping my team members grow by giving regular feedback and setting clear, actionable goals. For example, I worked closely with one team member on ways he could improve his leadership skills. We set a goal for him to lead a small project, and I coached him along the way. After he succeeded, I helped him apply for a promotion within the company.”
9. What steps do you take to measure a team’s performance?
This question helps an employer understand your approach to monitoring and evaluating a team’s performance.
Describe how you track a team’s progress and assess how well they’re meeting goals. Explain how you use both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure a team’s performance fully.
“I start by setting clear goals for my team, making sure that they understand the key performance indicators used to measure success. As a manager, I then track these KPIs, which usually include sales numbers, customer satisfaction, and project completion rates. I also hold regular meetings with each team member to discuss their progress and performance. This way, we can proactively address challenges together and keep projects on track.”
10. How do you deliver feedback?
Providing constructive feedback is an essential part of being a leader. To answer this question, explain how you offer feedback to others. Emphasize how you deliver both constructive and positive feedback for improvement, growth, and encouragement.
“I strive to give timely, specific, and constructive feedback to all team members. After a project, I review what went well and what could have gone better. I then praise employees for their contributions while pointing out areas where we can improve as a team next time. This approach allows me to acknowledge team members’ successes while creating an environment of continuous growth.”
Need some more help with preparing for your next leadership interview? Check out our AI-powered Interview Prep tool to practice common questions and get real-time feedback to improve!
Key takeaways
When applying for a management role, expect to get questions about your leadership skills and strengths.
Common leadership interview questions and answers center on your ability to delegate tasks, resolve conflicts, motivate team members, and provide feedback to encourage growth.
For behavioral leadership questions, use the STAR method to describe a situation, the task you had, the action you took, and the result you achieved.
