Common Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers for Management Positions

What Are Leadership Behavioral Interview Questions?

Typical behavioral interview questions and answers for management positions require candidates to share examples of specific situations they’ve been in and where they had to use particular skills. You can anticipate these situational interview questions because the Society for Human Resource Management believes that they are the “most effective type of interviewing technique in nearly any type of organization.”

The answers to these questions should provide valid and concrete evidence about how you, as a candidate, have dealt with these types of issues in the past. Answering these questions appropriately is also a way to reduce interview mistakes and to let your past work performance and experience prove what you’re capable of doing in the future for this potential employer.

While there are many current leadership behavioral interview questions and answers for management positions that we will be covering, let’s address a common strategy called the STAR technique to get us started to begin the inquiry answering framework.

How to Use the STAR Method to Answer Interview Questions

Before we get into how to address the common leadership behavioral interview questions, let’s discuss your strategy for answering them.

The STAR interview technique is the most recommended and straightforward strategy to use with behavioral interview questions because they require you to provide a real-life example of how you previously handled a situation at work.

It’ll be easy to understand when these types of situational interview questions are coming because they often start with a query to describe a situation when you did something.

• Tell me about a time when you
• Have you ever
• Give me an example of a time when
• What do you do when
• Describe situations where

The STAR interview technique is an excellent strategy for tackling these types of questions. STAR is an acronym that stands for:

Situation:  Describe the position you were in
Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation
Action: Explain precisely what steps you took to address the issue
Result: Share what outcomes your efforts achieved

By practicing the STAR interview technique to shape your answer, it’s much easier to share a focused solution, providing the interviewer with an understandable but compelling narrative of what you did.

Consider spending some time preparing a few STAR interview technique answers before your interview. Think about your career and pick a few stories you can tell that illustrate common interview inquiries. Think about when you resolved an issue or overcame a stressful or difficult situation. When have you used critical skills for this job, and what results did you get?

You can’t prepare for every question, but having a few prepared answers will be a significant advantage.

Here is a great video introduction to the STAR technique.

What are the Most Common Types of Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers for Management Positions?

We grouped the most common behavioral interview questions and answers for management positions into six categories. The items may help you find a common thread or antidote to answer multiple questions.

1. Questions About Adaptability

Adaptability is one of the most important skills that employees should possess because those that are more adaptable will accept new ways of working in changing team environments.

Besides, adaptable people can develop practical solutions to work towards their goals in uncertain situations. Interviewers will ask behavioral interview questions to assess your adaptability skills for management positions. Through these situational interview questions, they want to find out how you react in unpredictable work situations and if and how you adjust to changing environments.

• Describe a time when your team or company was undergoing some change. How did that impact you, and how did you adapt?
• Tell me about a time you had to do something you had never done before. How did you approach this situation, and what did you learn?
• If your colleagues are not open to learning something new that could improve team performance and efficiency, how would you try to convince them?
• Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was going on, and how did you get through it?
• Tell me about a time you failed. How did you deal with the situation?
• Tell me about the first job you’ve ever had. What did you do to learn the ropes?
• Give me an example of when you had to delicately think on your feet to extricate yourself from a difficult or awkward situation.

2. Questions About Communication

All management job interviews will have situational interview questions about communication because most jobs demand it with other people – customers, clients, and colleagues.

Your ability to communicate will be carefully evaluated in a job interview.

• Describe a time when you had to express your ideas in a meeting.
• How have you responded to negative feedback?
• Give me an example of a time when you successfully persuaded someone to see things your way at work.
• Describe a time when you were the resident technical expert. What did you do to make sure everyone was able to understand you?
• Describe a time when you had to express your ideas in a meeting.
• How have you responded to negative feedback?
• Tell me about a time you received unclear instructions from your supervisor. What did you do?
• Tell me about a time you had to talk to an angry customer. What steps did you take?
• Tell me about a time that other members of the team disagreed with your idea. How did you respond?
• Tell me about a successful presentation and why you think it was a hit.
• Give me an example of a time when you had to think on your feet in order to delicately extricate yourself from a difficult or awkward situation.

3. Questions About Teamwork

With situational interview questions about teamwork, you’ll want to showcase your ability to work with others under challenging circumstances for teamwork-type questions.

Try to make your answers to teamwork questions as specific as possible. Consider these teamwork examples:

• Have you ever struggled to communicate with colleagues while working on a project?
• Can you share an example of a situation in which teamwork enhanced your output as an employee?
• What is your idea of an ideal team-building exercise?
• What type of support does a team need to function as efficiently as possible?
• Describe a time when you struggled to build a relationship with someone important. How did you eventually overcome that?
• We all make mistakes we wish we could take back. Tell me about a time you wanted you’d handled a situation differently with a colleague.
• Tell me about a time you needed to get information from someone who wasn’t very responsive. What did you do?
• Describe a situation where you disagreed with someone and how you handled it.

4. Questions About Customer Service

Since all management roles serve others, you can expect several situational interview questions about how you help your clients or employees.

• What process do you use to check that you have the correct details from a new customer?
• Tell me about a time that you were unclear about a customer’s request.
• Give me an example of when you have dealt with an angry customer.
• Describe when it was essential to make a good impression on a client. How did you go about doing so?
• Give me an example of when you did not meet a client’s expectations. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
• Tell me about a time when you ensured a customer was pleased with your service.
• When you’re working with many customers, it’s tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. How do you go about prioritizing your customers’ needs?

5. Questions About Time Management

Here it’s important to discuss ways that you have handled multiple responsibilities. Discuss how you prioritized your obligations and completed everything before the deadline for these situational interview questions.

• Tell me about a time you had to be very strategic to meet all your top priorities.
• Tell me about a time you set a goal for yourself. How did you go about ensuring that you would meet your objective?
• Give me an example of a time you managed numerous responsibilities. How did you handle that?
• Describe a long-term project that you managed. How did you keep everything moving along promptly?
• Sometimes, it’s impossible to get everything on your to-do list done. Tell me about a time your responsibilities got a little overwhelming. What did you do?
• Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.

6. Questions About Your Motivation

Here, the interviewer will try to find the intangible traits in candidates like drive, commitment, and leadership that can lead to a great hire.

• Give me an example of a time you were able to be creative with your work. What was exciting or challenging about it?
• Tell me about a time you were dissatisfied with your work. What could have been done to make it better?
• Tell me about your proudest professional accomplishment.
• Describe when you saw some problem and took the initiative to correct it rather than waiting for someone else to do it.
• Tell me about a time when you worked under close or extremely loose supervision. How did you handle that?

Where Can I Find Free Samples of Management Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers?

If you are looking for free sample behavioral interview questions (situational interview questions) and answers for management positions, below are some sources to consider.

• Cleverism
• The Interview Guys
• Career Sidekick
• Inc.com

Be Prepared For These Common Questions

1. Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts.
2. Do you feel you work well under pressure? If so, describe a time when you have done so
3. Tell me about a time you needed to motivate a co-worker.
4. Describe a time when it was especially important to make a good impression on a client. How did you go about doing so?
5. Tell me about a time you had to raise an uncomfortable issue with your boss.
6. Tell me about a goal you achieved.
7. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss.
8. Talk about a time when you had to work closely with someone whose personality differed greatly from yours.
9. Give me an example of when you faced a conflict while working on a team. How did you handle that?
10. Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
11. Tell me about a time when you had to delegate tasks during a project.
12. Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
13. Describe a situation where you disagreed with a supervisor.
14. Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work.
15. Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a complex problem.
16. Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
17. Tell me about your proudest professional accomplishment.
18. Tell me about your most challenging decision in the past six months.
19. Tell me about a significant mistake you made and what you did to correct it.
20. Tell me about the last time a customer or co-worker got upset with you.
21. Tell me about a time you knew you were right but still had to follow directions or guidelines.
22. Tell me about a time you needed to get information from someone who wasn’t very responsive. What did you do?
23. Describe a time when you struggled to build a relationship with someone important. How did you eventually overcome that?
24. We all make mistakes we wish we could take back. Tell me about a time you wish you had handled a situation differently with a colleague.