QUESTION 24 OF 35

Describe your management style.

"I tend to be hands-on and open to suggestions and feedback from employees. Having a management style that is well received by my staff is very important to me as it impacts productivity."

The purpose of this question is to determine if you have a management style that fits the team you'll be leading. Research has shown that employees are happier and more productive when they have a manager whose style matches their needs. Share the style that you think would be most effective in this role.

If you are uncertain, think about management styles used by your previous supervisors and how the employees responded to those methods. You can also consider the following management styles:

-Transformational
-Visionary
-Democratic
-Training
-Laissez-fare

"I adapt my management style to the team I am supervising. I believe it is important to have a style that is collaborative because we all work together to achieve a common goal. I've found that employees are most receptive and productive with this type of management style."

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

There are many situations throughout the workday that require different styles, overall I believe the democratic\collaborative\coaching styles work best and that is how I operate.

Stephanie's Feedback

It sounds like you value a collaborative/democratic management style, which is great. It sounds like you are a people-focused leader! To strengthen your response, I suggest being more specific about how your democratic management style looks in practice. Can you provide a few examples of recent actions (or actions that occur during an average workday) that reflect this style/ A few specific examples will go a long way in making your response more memorable and impactful!

Anonymous Answer

I adjust my leadership style to the team that I am managing. The different teams respond differently to different managerial styles. For example, I was a police sergeant for over 15 years, where we had a very rigid and strict hierarchic culture. Whilst I was there, it was very common to use the dictatorship management style where you tell people what to do, and it is pretty much a top to bottom decision making. Don't get me wrong, this management style works very well in crises and when quick decision-making is necessary, but it comes with the downside of generating higher levels of turnover, and absenteeism and can aggravate people. Since I moved away from the police, I have been using more the democratic management style where you involve staff in decision making and learn from their experience, you are clear and honest in what the next steps are, and together you agree on a way of moving forward. This management style generates Trust and engagement and reduces turnover but is not very good in a crisis. So, if you understand the different advantages and disadvantages and the consequences of each one of the management styles if used for long periods of time, you can adjust it to get the results you want.

Amanda's Feedback

I like the confidence I can sense in your answer. It makes it clear that you are comfortable in a leadership role and confident in your ability to adapt your leadership style based on the needs of the team or the specific situation. You can make this response even more impactful by sharing an example of how your democratic style has benefited your current team. Talk about a challenge your team was facing, how you looped them in to decide how to analyze it, how you considered their perspectives or ideas, and how you worked together to ultimately overcome the challenge and achieve a positive result. This shows the interviewer that your management style is effective and your ability to adapt to changing leadership needs is sound.

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