Leadership

Why leadership interview questions are everything

Every company knows leaders are key to a successful biz.

In an A-player senior leader, you’ll find high motivation, delegation skills, great communication and integrity.

Great leaders add tons of value to the company by creating a collaborative environment and welcoming innovation. 

During the interview you need to look for how candidates:

• Manage and motivate their teams.
• Approach challenges and mediate conflict.
• Reach decisions.
• Show commitment.
• Overcome obstacles fast.

Leadership interview questions

• How do you manage a great work/life balance?
• Tell us about a time you lead a super successful team project?
• Tell me about an idea you’re proud of that improved the company in some way. How did you make it happen?
• How would your leadership style change under pressure, for example if you lost an employee during a project? 
• How do you monitor team member performance?
• How do you motivate your team?
• Describe your leadership style.

Top tips: 

• You can also use these interview questions to reveal the leadership potential of entry-level candidates. 
• Everyone claims to have communication and motivational skills. Use behavioral and situational interview questions to identify how true this is.

Candidates to look for

• Growth-driven candidates: Leadership is about more than just knowledge. Look for leaders who share company values and have high ambitions.
• Recruitment experience: It’s likely leaders will get involved with hiring and training. Delve deep to find out what their experience really is.
• Tenacious candidates: Look for candidates who react to challenges and approach difficult decisions with tenacity.
• Creativity: Employees who can think on the job and make fast decisions in the face of obstacles are key.

Candidates to avoid

• Negative candidates: Candidates who focus on the negatives will struggle to motivate their team members.
• Dishonesty: If you can tell a candidate is lying or you spot inaccuracies in their answers, they ain’t the pro you’re looking for.
• Uptight candidates: Experienced candidates might be used to a specific way of working. But to ace the role, they need to move with the times.
• Arrogance: Arrogant candidates are a big no-no. Great leaders are under constant self-improvement but arrogance = resistance to new ideas.  
• Blame-placers: If your candidate won’t take accountability for their actions they risk ruining the team’s balance. Not cool.