This is a question you are most likely going to be asked when you go for an interview for a leadership position. To know your leadership style, then you need to first understand what leadership is and the different leadership styles.
Let’s take a look at the question, “How would you describe your leadership style? “ and how to answer it to pass the interview.
Why Did the Interviewer Ask You the Question?
When your interviewer asks you to describe your leadership style, there are a number of things you should mention when answering the question and others, you should avoid completely.
Here is why the interviewer will ask this question:
To Understand Your Leadership Style
The company is looking for a leader. The interview will help them to understand your leadership skill, management style, leadership style, and whether you are a transformational leader or not. When answering how you would lead the team and voice your opinions during meetings, describe your leadership ability in a professional but friendly way. Your tone of voice is important!
To Determine If You Are Fit For the Team
A hiring manager needs to do their research on the leadership potential they are looking for before putting a person in charge of leading a team. They need to know what type of leadership a particular group will respond well towards, whether to hire an authoritarian leader, a charismatic leader, or hire someone with a more passive-aggressive approach that the staff prefers.
When you are looking for that leadership position, understanding how different personalities affect work dynamics can result in making everyone feel like they are getting along and working together for one common goal-making sure the company is profitable!
To Determine The Best Position For You.
Some interviewers will ask you to describe your ideal work environment, and they’ll be looking for clues about what kind of culture and leadership style would best suit you. Once the job interview is over, they will know whether you are an authoritarian leader, charismatic leader, a laissez-faire leader, a good manager, a team leader, a transactional leader, and so forth. This will also help them to know which department you will best blend into.
How Should You Answer the Question About Describing Your Leadership Style?
Below is a guide on how to answer the question in an interview.
Be Compelling.
Explain how your past leadership skill and leadership experience with your group members have prepared you for success and go deeper about obstacles faced during difficult times. Share stories of challenges conquered with team members following behind you faithfully as they would any strong-willed boss.
Share Your Development Successes
By sharing and showing you were a transformational leader, show your experiences of success, you can also share those moments where others were successful because of the work that you have done. This will show that as a team leader, your leadership skill and leadership experience are beneficial for an institution. Sharing with people how satisfying it is to see others succeed will make your speech more personal and engaging for everyone asking leadership interview questions and anyone listening.
Describe Yourself
The best way to communicate who you are and what you believe in is through a personal connection with the person interviewing. This will help the interviewer to gauge your leadership skill and leadership experience. Speak up about your goals, dreams, passions, and what you will do to be an effective leader, while still maintaining a professional tone of voice in the job interview.
Research
Do not try to be someone you are not. But it is okay if there’s a little bit of your style that will appeal to the organization culture and leadership position. You should do research on what they’re looking for in their leaders, ask questions about the team, then shape an answer based on how well that fits with them personally so when they interview you for this job opportunity everything goes smoothly!
5 Things To Do and Say In a Leadership Position Interview.
Don’t forget when you are trying to describe your leadership styles to :
Be flexible: For a participative leadership position, then it is important to be flexible and love working with others. Failure to which you will limit any chances moving forward in finding another position because employers see how your participative leadership style could be once again hired. A person who proves to be a servant leader will be chosen over someone who is not flexible.
Be Humble: A good leader should be humble. A pompous attitude will make you lose that job. A reference is a great way to show your commitment and dedication. It also goes to show that you are a visionary leader who wants the company to prosper. As one of your former teammates, they will know if you will make a successful leader or not and you will be helping them decide if they should hire you or not.
Determine Needs of Organization: An organization needs good management to thrive. Will you make a good leader? Do you possess the leadership ability to steer an organization forward? It is important to be forthcoming and honest about the hard decisions you have made as a leader, your different leadership styles, and your management skills.
You should anticipate tough questions: Questions such as what was your toughest decision or how did you overcome difficult situations with employees? You may also encounter behavioral questions to see if you are a responsible leader. The employer will most likely want to know that they can count on a good manager who is an empathetic professional who knows when it’s best for business by making difficult calls.
Don’t be too soft: Softness may at times scream timidity. For your voice to be taken seriously, it needs to sound professional and confident. The leadership role that you are applying for will need you to be outspoken. If the interviewer can sense you are too soft, then you may not land that leadership role.
The easiest way for a speaker’s message not to be heard is if they come across as too soft-spoken and unassertive. This may make the interviewer have doubts about your leadership potential. In order to ensure that their messages are received clearly by the team members, a true leader should make sure that they speak with an assertive tone of voice which projects power and confidence in what they have to say.
Conclusion.
When going for a job interview for a leadership role, it is wise to anticipate the leadership questions the interviewer will ask. Think of what will set you apart as a potentially great leader and go and ace that interview.
All The Best!!
