How to Answer: As a manager, what is your greatest weakness?
20. As a manager, what is your greatest weakness?
How to Answer
Everyone has their weaknesses -- and that is okay! Talk to the hiring manager about what you feel you could work on the most and what you are doing about it. Avoid discussing a weakness that could be detrimental to you securing the position.
When discussing your weakness, genuine vulnerability is essential, but be sure to include what you are doing to improve on the weakness. The interviewer wants you to be honest about your shortcomings. At the same time, they want to see that you are proactive and dedicated to professional growth. It's important to maintain a positive tone, show confidence, and display a desire for growth.
Answer Example
"As a manager, I feel that my greatest weakness is in terminating employees at the first sign that they are not going to work out. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and have been guilty of nurturing people when they are overdue for termination. I have worked on this by reading books on leadership. I also found an employee termination sourcebook on Amazon that has been beneficial. As a result, I have become much better at holding tough conversations and standing my ground in a way that is empathetic yet delivers my important message at the same time."
Admin
"I am currently working on building a better understanding of the goals of my administrative team. Once I fully understand what drives each individual in the workplace, I can teach each of them a few methods to develop their skills and knowledge base. This approach will also allow me to delegate more confidently."
Manager
"My biggest weakness as a manager is that I tend to think and act quickly, which can sometimes cause strain on the teams that I lead. I believe that it's a positive factor that I can adapt quickly and think on my feet when it comes to decision making in a fast-paced environment; however, not everyone can work well with a leader that holds this pace most of the time. I am constantly reminding myself to slow down and walk with my team along the way. Since I have started being more cognizant of this habit, I have begun to slow down and walk alongside my team at a more controlled pace. They have expressed their appreciation for the change, and I will continue to work to improve."
Marketing
"My biggest weakness as a manager is [X]. I believe that [lift yourself up by mentioning that you show potential in this area]; however, I could improve. To grow in this area, I am [discuss the specific action steps you are taking to improve this weakness]. By [give a dedicated timeline], I plan to [mention the goal you wish to reach when it comes to improving this weakness]."
Retail
"My greatest weakness as a manager is my comfort level with delegating. From my previous job of eight years, I became accustomed to doing all of the managerial tasks myself since it was a small team and most of my employees were very new to the workforce. In my current position, I don't have an assistant manager and often work without a shift leader due to recent budget cuts. To learn more about delegating appropriate tasks to the appropriate employee, I have been reading about proper task delegation. Some of my favorite delegation tips come from the Harvard Business School online resource hub, a helpful resource that I lean on often."
Sales
"As far as management is concerned, I'd say my greatest weakness is taking too much interest in my employees' growth, even if they don't demonstrate the interest in growth themselves. While it is part of my job to help my team grow and improve, it is not my responsibility to want it more for them than they do for themselves. To better assess which employees are most eager to be given new opportunities, I started putting out a quarterly employee survey where each team member can express, safely and privately, what they want to gain from their employment over the coming months. This approach is more personalized and allows me to focus on specific needs and desires of the individual without projecting my personal feelings."
Teacher
"A co-worker recently told me I could spend less time focusing on worksheets during classroom time and place more attention on hands-on, group-based learning opportunities. As an educator newer to my career, I am very comfortable abiding by 'the book,' so to speak. I am working hard to gain confidence in adding new mediums to my lessons, and I know that will come as my teaching career continues. Some of my favorite resources for improving on this weakness include the Scholastic website and PBS Learning Media."
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