What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of leading your current team?
"The most challenging aspect of being a leader, from my experience, is managing a large variety of personalities. It takes some time to get to know everyone, and in retail, there is also the challenge of high employee turnover. To meet this challenge, I have made it a point to make a personal connection with all new hires in the first three days of their employment. Not all personalities are my favorite; however, when I get to know the person on a different level, I can always find something about them to appreciate. This connection and appreciation will also increase the likelihood of enjoying their job and staying."
"My current team works across different states, and 90% of them operate virtually from a home office. As a Regional Manager, I must understand the challenges that my team faces when working from home so that I can prevent turnover and also build a teamwork mentality regardless of distance or location. I recently introduced a Friday virtual happy hour, which has received an exceptional response!"
"The largest challenge I've faced as a leader is working with an unmotivated employee who cannot seem to be motivated by the normal channels. Typically, this lack of motivation stems from our HR Manager, hiring a poor fit for the role. For that reason, I have shifted my focus to coaching up or coaching out much quicker than I had in the past. I have also asked the HR Manager for more thorough collaboration before he extends any job offers."
"My current company is growing at a rapid rate. At this time, keeping a pipeline full of talented candidates has been very challenging. To meet this challenge, I recently decided to try Zip Recruiter, which has made finding and interviewing candidates much easier so far."
"Currently, I lead the temporary administrative assistants that we hire, from time to time, during peak seasons. It is a challenge to lead temp associates because it means re-training a new person every time the temp agency provides us with a new temp. Last week I had a meeting with our recruitment partner and asked them to send repeat temps as often as possible. I believe this request will be a happy workaround in the future."
"In my current classroom, I have a bit of a power struggle between a few of the students. It is a challenge to navigate personalities and peer groups while still encouraging inclusivity. I have tried a variety of seating arrangements as well as group meetings involving the Principal. The next step will be parent involvement, which I am hoping to avoid."
The interviewer is trying to learn more about the challenges you currently face as a leader. If hired, this information will help the company to know where you could use additional training, encouragement, or education.
Every leader has an aspect of people management that is challenging for them. One common challenge for leaders is the need to terminate an employee. Another problem could be continually motivating unengaged employees. A big challenge could also be sourcing and utilizing the best hiring resources to shave down your time spent on reading resumes. Other common problems include managing underperformers, handling conflict between coworkers, increasing employee retention, and delegating tasks.
Share your most challenging aspect of leadership but also highlight the steps that you take to alleviate or overcome that challenge.
"One challenge that I face as a leader is to avoid frustration when employees show continued disinterest in our company's education opportunities. My current company has an amazing program available for continued education, yet only about 22% of our employees take advantage. To alleviate this frustration, I am starting a company-wide recognition program for all employees who explore this option with our company."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I am challenged to motivate unengaged team members.
Lauren's Feedback
Good start. It would be helpful to explain why.
One of the most difficult aspects to leading my current team is motivating disengaged employees. I am working with each of them individually, but their morale has an impact on the rest of the group. It takes out-of-box thinking and a wide range of communication and leadership skills in order to tailor my approach to each person individually.
Anonymous Answer
The most challenging is having to work with so many different cultures. In the UAE, there are cultures from all around the world and people have different values and opinions. I had to sometimes change my approach to being less direct when approaching some of my team members.
Rachelle's Feedback
This is a good example of a challenge, and how you have worked to overcome the situation. Nice job!
Anonymous Answer
It is challenging when tensions form between students. It is a struggle, at times, to navigate. I have tried a variety of approaches including changing seating arrangements and group meetings involving the school director. I've spent time teaching students about empathy and using emotional intelligence to deescalate situations before they boiled over. My efforts have helped in most situations, but there are still a few that continue to arise. I continue to use positive reinforcement to remind my students of the coping skills I have taught them.
Rachelle's Feedback
You have gone far and above to ensure a healthy environment for your group of students. Good for you - you sound like a very caring and mindful individual.
Anonymous Answer
"My current team works across different states, and we all currently operate virtually from a home office. As a Senior Manager, I must understand the challenges that my team faces when working from home to prevent turnover and build a teamwork mentality regardless of distance or location. I recently introduced a virtual coffee meeting which has received an exceptional response!"
Rachelle's Feedback
A virtual coffee meeting is a wonderful idea to keep your team engaged despite virtual work and home environments. It's great that you described your greatest difficulty while also mentioning what you have done to work around the situation. Well said!
Anonymous Answer
The most difficult aspect of leading a team is keeping them involved and happy. Often people get in a "rut" at work and then become uninterested in the work they do and become careless. Keeping employees involved in the workplace by asking them their opinions on improvements and if possible making those improvements, can make employees feel more responsible and happy with their job.
Stephanie's Feedback
Great!
Anonymous Answer
We are working remotely for quite some time. Sometimes, I see a decrease in enthusiasm and motivation. To keep the team with their best performance, I celebrate and recognize achievement, even small things, and once a week try to schedule an informal meeting where we talk about life. I am receiving positive feedback from the team members for this approach and recognize an increase in the general mood.
Cindy's Feedback
Very good. To enrich your answer, can you also talk about how you're able to manage the work as a remote leader?
Anonymous Answer
I am not a leader yet, but if I was I think enforcing how people account for time off for going to doctors' appointments seems to be a very sensitive issue.
Marcie's Feedback
You're right that time off for doctor's appointments is an issue that a team leader needs to handle effectively and tactfully. I would begin your answer in a different way, however; right now you're emphasizing what you aren't. You want to instead focus on what you are. See below.
In my opinion, a team leader has to be tactful and fair in how they manage and enforce the rules around PTO, specifically when it comes to doctor's appointments. I view this as one of the most challenging aspects of leading a team, although I have yet to lead one myself. I have noticed other managers dealing with this issue. I believe I would be able to handle this in a way that keeps my team both happy and productive.
Anonymous Answer
(not current team)
"S: When I was the socials secretary for Bristol Hindu society, I oversaw the subcommittee made up of 7 freshers whose purpose was to run events for freshers.
"T: It was my role to oversee the running of these events and make sure everyone knew what their role was.
"A: Upon reflection, I was giving the answers to their challenges too easily. This meant later down the line, they wouldn't be prepared to handle larger problems.
"R: I would change my style in the future to encourage problem-solving and innovation. This creates a team that is resilient, which I believe is a key component to a sustainable successful team.
Cindy's Feedback
Good. If you can't draw on current experience, past experience is just as effective. Can you give an example of how you made it too easy for them, rather than letting the team figure it out for themselves and grow from the experience?
Unlock all 30 Leadership questions
Unlock responses that demonstrate executive presence and strategic thinking to interviewers.
Get Started