How to Answer: What is your leadership style?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Project Manager job interview.
41. What is your leadership style?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Interviewers ask this question to learn more about a candidate's leadership style. Companies value various approaches, and it is important to match the right leader with the right team.
Written by Karrie Day on May 9th, 2023
How to Answer
Describe your approach to leadership in your own words, but strive to use generally accepted vocabulary when labeling your style. For example, you may be a 'helps the team out however I can' leader which is best known as a 'servant' approach to leadership. You can research common styles of leadership before your interview if you aren't familiar with the most common names. Also, there are online tests that can help you identify your style if you need further assistance.
Remember to include a variety of approaches in your response. For example, an interviewer might not resonate with a candidate who described a completely authoritarian approach to leadership. While they might recognize the need for an authoritative approach at times, most companies look to hire project managers that can also delegate, serve, facilitate, and set the pace for their teams as well.
Written by Karrie Day on April 26th, 2023
Answer Example
"My leadership style changes depending on what is needed to add value to the team experience at any given time. I enjoy serving as a coach, motivator, and facilitator. I also enjoy working with other visionary and transformational leaders and strive to use these skills in my approach.
I least enjoy bureaucratic or authoritarian types of leadership. I find it is necessary to use these styles in performance issue situations or when there are conflicts that cannot be settled in any other way. However, I first look for ways to use democratic and supportive approaches to avoid people feeling like they are being managed. I would much rather them feel they are co-creating their own experience."
Written by Karrie Day on May 9th, 2023
About the Author
I began my professional career as an IT Business Systems Analyst. I enjoyed the role, but I knew early on that I wanted to explore project management after moving through the analyst ranks. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to partner with several talented project managers while I was working to grow my own skill set. I learned a lot from them about how to approach strategic planning, communication, conflict resolution, and how to motivate various personality types to perform their best under pressure. I learned even more from their failures.
It was clear that project management was as much an art as a science, and I eventually got my shot at taking everything I had observed over the years and blending it into my own style for steering projects and programs successfully. While project management was not my ultimate career goal, I greatly value my time managing projects. I have utilized the skills I worked to refine in project management in every position I have held since. For example, I use the communication, strategic thinking, and tactical planning skills I regularly leaned on as a project manager each time I work with one of my coaching clients.
Whether working as a project manager is a career goal of yours, or you fell into it through circumstance, you’re in good company. Over 16 million professionals claim the title of project manager, and project management isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the number of project managers is expected to grow by 7% over the next 8 years according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. According to the Project Management Institute, the global outlook is even more impressive boasting up to 33% growth through 2027. Regardless of the specific location, there will likely b a strong demand for project management skill sets in the years to come.
As a coach and writer for MockQuestions, I want to help you successfully navigate your upcoming interview for a project manager position. While some project manager skills are specific to the industry, location, and types of projects involved, many skills and behavioral traits are universally applicable to project management roles. This article will help any project manager prepare for a successful interview, and I encourage you to check out all of our sets dedicated to project management listed below.
Learn more about Karrie Day