How to Recruit Candidates with Leadership Skills (Interviews)

No matter what role you are interviewing for, you’ll be required to have some soft skills, which can assist in your interactions with other employers or team members. Leadership relates to managing fellow colleagues, as well as being a role model for your team members. Typically, hiring managers want candidates who will motivate co-workers to deliver the best work possible. As such, the primary purpose of leadership interview questions is to evaluate and recognize leadership skills.

The questions determine whether the candidate has what it takes to lead and manage: whether a candidate can establish a direction, develop an inspiring vision and create something different. Primarily leaders determine the path and use the best management style to ensure others achieve a specific goal efficiently: Therefore, hiring managers use leadership interview questions to determine if a candidate is the best fit.

Management is a component of leadership. A good manager can control, organize, and plan effectively. A good leader can inspire others to listen to his or her vision and follow it. They can drive the organization and its members towards achieving a specific goal or idea. Leadership skills include the ability to:

• Communicate effectively. Leaders need to explain the tasks and organizational goals to employees. They need to be well versed in all modes of communication, including via phone, social media, email, one on one, full staff meetings, and departmental meetings. They should always be available, approachable, and willing to allow others the freedom of expression.
• Motivate. Leaders should be able to use feedback from their subordinates to inspire productivity. They should boost employees’ self-esteem by recognizing their efforts. They need to acknowledge what motivators are useful for each employee and use this to encourage passion and productivity. Also, a leader should not only give employees feedback but also be willing to receive it. There is always room to improve, even as a leader. Getting feedback from fellow employees and improving on them inspires loyalty, respect, and devotion.
• Delegate. A good leader recognizes every employee’s skills and assigns duties accordingly. They acknowledge that delegating is not a sign of weakness. It allows them to focus on other essential tasks.
• Have integrity. The ability to effectively manage work relationships, handle confidential information, and set an excellent example to the team. Also, they stand by their values in making ethical choices, as well as uphold the company’s image.
• Responsibility. Leaders should take responsibility for both the failures and successes of the team. A leader who points fingers loses the team’s respect and trust.
• Decisiveness. Leaders should make decisions using the resources readily available to them, in order to improve efficiency and complete projects faster.
• Dependability. Good leaders are trustworthy and reliable. They keep promises and build strong relationships with employees. They motivate their team members to work through any setbacks. They foster strong trust with clients and employees. They put in effort and time to strengthen work relationships.
• Problem Solvers. They can solve organizational problems at any level. They logically analyze the situation and come up with a decision that satisfies both the employees and the organization.
• Trustworthy. Honesty and integrity inspire team members and foster respect.
• Empathy. Empathy allows leaders to support, understand, and guide with sensitivity and compassion. A leader will not only focus on their goals but will notice the feelings and needs of fellow team members. Employees without an empathetic leader will not be loyal or productive.
• Persuasive and influential. For a leader to persuade others, they must have high self-esteem and possess emotional intelligence. They should know how their teammates think by being an active listener, building rapport, and being an influencer. They should also get their point across effectively and succinctly.
• They should be active learners. A good leader is always in a learning mode. They should recognize the skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed and strive to develop them. They must learn from mistakes, be open to feedback, and ask questions.
• Flexibility. Flexibility allows a leader to make changes in stride and effectively solve problems. A rigid leader may cost the company financially.

Leadership interview questions allow the candidate to demonstrate their leadership competencies. For candidates looking for leadership roles, the interview questions show potential. They determine if a candidate can commit to the job, and how wisely or effectively they approach problem-solving.

Examples of Leadership Interview Questions

These leadership questions can help determine whether a candidate can lead a team and is motivated to do so:

1. Tell me about a time when you had to complete a difficult task. How did you handle it and were you successful?
2. Give me an example of a situation when you faced a setback? How did you go about it?
3. Two crucial team members are being difficult and will not work together when the project is on the verge of completion. How do you handle the situation?
4. How do you handle disagreements with colleagues or customers?
5. Which personal experiences have helped you become a great leader?
6. Have you ever had to think outside the box to complete a task and were you successful?
7. How do you handle unique ideas from other team members? How do you boost their morale?
8. You are handling a project; how do you persuade team members to do what you want? How will you deal with those who disagree with you?
9. You do not see results from a standard company way of doing things. How do you drive change? How do you handle issues that come with making people change into a new system?
10. As a negotiator, what would be your greatest attribute?
11. Does your decision-making process involve taking risks?
12. Tell me of a time when you helped a team member grow.
13. How do you ensure your team members achieve their goals? How do you gain their commitment?
14. What significant change did you bring in your previous organization?
15. Have you had any leadership training?
16. If you happened to become a boss at your previous job, what would you do differently to make the workplace better?
17. Have you had to decide without having all the facts?
18. Have you ever failed as a leader?

Qualities of a good leader

To determine if the candidate can lead, as a hiring manager you should look out for the following:

• They are passionate about handling others. They are brave and willing to take control even when things get tough.
• They are peacemakers who will tackle the situation before it escalates. They are quick to ensure that tensions from a few employees do not impact the productivity and engagement of others. They also effectively deal with underperformers and troublemakers.
• A good manager can handle different tasks and different people. They can quickly adapt even when faced with unforeseen circumstances. They will use available resources to come up with a solution.
• A good leader is eager to learn and try out new things. They are sensible and think on their feet. They are clear in their decision-making process and don’t jump to conclusions. They make rational decisions and stick to them.
• Good leaders are great negotiators. Their persuasion skills will help them deal with clients and staff effectively. Their negotiation process does not involve conflict, threats, or intimidation.
• A good candidate is empathetic, confident, reasons critically, and is fair. They can manage or supervise effectively and with confidence. They also inspire, motivate, and help grow or develop their team members.
• A good leader will foster a collaborative environment and be open to new ideas. They will complement their teammates and help them use their mistakes as learning opportunities.

How to spot a bad leader

• Candidates who are not sure about how to manage people, especially those not following the rules. They also do not want to help their teammates develop.
• A candidate who judges other team members before finding out what the real problem is.
• One who takes too many risks, cannot quantify their decision-making process, or doesn’t want to take any chances. They want to do what they want without thinking of the consequences. You do not also want a leader who takes credit for the ideas of others.
• Bad leaders are those who use intimidating or threatening tactics during a negotiation, who have never negotiated, who give in too quickly or think they are always right.
• A candidate stuck on their way, without willing to take on extra responsibilities is not a leader. They will most probably panic when a project faces a setback or blame everyone else for the failure.
• A candidate who does not deal with conflict and waits for everything to simmer down at its own time. Also, leaders should not be the ones causing conflicts or talking negatively about anyone else.
• Those who have never stepped up during tough times. Leaders should not solve issues emotionally, but rationally.
• Bossy leaders will never value contributions from others. They will be arrogant and inflexible.

Other leadership attributes will show depending on how a candidate behaves during the interview. Assess their body language and find out if they are likable, not arrogant, and confident. Take note of how they answer questions.

These leadership interview questions will help you get a robust, confident leader who helps your company achieve its goals. The questions will vary depending on the position and the candidate’s experience. The candidates will differ, but you will recognize a good leader from their answers. The right candidate will be the one willing to do what it takes to see the organization grow under their leadership. Have you heard any other leadership questions that get you off-guard?If so we would like to hear them, kindly leave a comment and suggestion in the comment section.

When hiring a candidate for a leadership role ensure that you ask the right questions, questions that will showcase his or her leadership abilities and whether they are the ideal candidate for the position. On the other hand if, you are interviewing for a leadership role ensure that you prepare your answers with quantifiable experiences and skills. Preferably, use the the star technique to answer such question.