How to Answer the “Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills” Interview Question

Employers and hiring managers are constantly on the prowl for those who have the right soft and hard skills to fill empty positions at the companies they represent. But ideally, organizations would love to fill those roles with candidates who will build the company into something better than it is.

And one of the most sought-after soft skills is leadership – the ability to inspire others and create a vision to achieve organizational success. A great leader possesses strong strategic thinking, communication acumen, and the ability to manage and mentor those beneath him or her.

But strong leaders are not easy to spot.  Just because someone self identifies as a leader on their resume does not mean it is true or that a hiring manager will believe it.  Which begs the question: How can you demonstrate during a job interview that you are a good leader?

The next time an interviewer asks: “Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills?”, you should remember these three things to help deliver a perfect answer.

1.     Have Examples Ready to Share

Not all leaders are quarterbacks or cheer captains.  It is ok if you are not into athletics.  But what is not ok is not having examples to share when asked about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.

Make note of previous instances where you demonstrated strong leadership qualities.  Next, decide beforehand which of those instances is best suited for your upcoming interview.  And finally, make sure to emphasize the specific leadership skills you demonstrated.

2.     Detail Your Actions

Since elementary school we are taught to “show, not tell” our work.  It is not enough to briefly describe the time you last exhibited leadership skills in a few sentences or less.  This is an important question that deserves a well-thought-out narrative.

One of the best ways to expand your response is to rely on the STAR method. Meaning, once you have thought of the example you want to share, you should go into detail the specific actions you took and why.  Also, do not forget to explain the result.  It is great if you acted like a leader, but the example becomes less compelling if you failed to obtain your intended results.

3.     Reinforce Lessons Learned

A great leader can replicate, over and over, ideal leadership skills and attributes.  Hiring managers and interviewers will not be able to tell if “that time you demonstrated leadership skills” was an isolated event, or one example of many.

One of the best ways to show them that it is the latter is to explain what you learned from that experience and how you have used it since.  That will inform those interviewing you that there is a consistent pattern to your leadership abilities – and that what you did before you will do for them.

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