Leadership can take many shapes and forms. There has been substantial research on the subject of leadership - and there is consensus that most good leaders share some common traits.
These traits have been codified in Bryq's leadership profile (detailed below). People who are closer to this profile are more likely to be successful in managing teams.
Do note that like all personality questions, this will cover most common scenarios, but there will always be exceptions that confirm the rule.
The Leadership indicator is calculated from the following profile:
Abstractedness: Practical
Apprehension: Confident
Dominance: Assertive
Emotional stability: Adaptive
Liveliness: Enthusiastic
Open to change: Open to change
Privateness: Forthright
Rule consciousness: Rule-conscious
Self-reliance: Self-reliant
Social boldness: Outgoing
Tension: Easygoing
Vigilance: Trusting
Warmth: Warm
Indicative Roles: Sales representative, Chief executive, Manager, Education Administrator, IT Project Manager, Engineers
Leadership Interview Questions: A few interview questions that will be helpful for you during your interview.
Top 5 questions and expected answers:
What are the most important values you demonstrate as a leader? The most favorable answer is for the candidate to provide examples of trust/integrity.
How have you gained commitment from your team? With this question, you are seeking the type of management style.
How can a leader fail? Give an example of that. Nobody is perfect. Here, you want the candidate to provide an example of a failure and to ensure that this was a lesson learned.
What is your greatest strength? This question is a good way to probe if the leader is inspirational, influential, and strives to achieve goals.
How do you lead through change? The answer should be positive in reacting to change and to embrace transition.
Question pool:
What leadership style do you use?
What is your greatest weakness?
How do you get others to accept your ideas?
How would you go about praising a team member in public?
Are you more effective in a group or one-on-one basis?
How often do you feel it’s necessary to meet with your team?
Describe a time you took a leadership position when you did not have the title of a leader.
How would you go about getting cohesion among a team who disagree?
What sort of leader would your team say that you are?
How do you motivate your team?
How do you set an example to those for your team members?
Have you ever been a mentor to another aspiring leader? How did you go about establishing that relationship?
What is the most difficult part of being a leader?
How do you measure success for you as a leader?
What motivates you to be a leader?
What is a leader’s best asset?
What do you do when you are unsure about how to achieve the goals of the team?
Are you more comfortable with verbal or written communication?
How would you deliver bad news to your team?
Is competition among a team healthy? Why or why not?
What are the most difficult decisions to make?
What kind of criticism you most get?
How would you proceed to reorganize your team?
How do you build support for ideas/goals with people who do not report to you and you have no authority over?
How do you go about resolving conflict?
Name a time when an employee disagreed with your directive and how you handled it?
Who are the most important members of your team?
How do you delegate responsibilities to your team?
Name a time when you had to change a decision due to new facts.
How do you achieve objectives in a fast-paced environment?
Explain a time when you had to make a decision without all the relevant facts.
How do you formulate and present arguments to others?
How did you handle a time when you had to make an unpopular decision?
What do you do to remain engaged in a conversation?
How do you organize projects and tasks?
Explain a time when you were not able to meet a deadline?
How have you rallied your team in the past in difficult projects/tasks?
How do you encourage the development of your employees?
What is the most significant change that you brought to an organization?
How would you go about developing your team?
References:
Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Bass, B. M. (2000). The future of leadership in learning organizations. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 7, 18-40.
Bass, B. M.& Avolio, B. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bono, J. E. & Judge, T. A. (2004). Personality and transformational leadership and transactional leadership: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 901-910.
Chan, K. Y., Uy, M. A., Chernyshenko, O. S., Ho, M. H. R., & Sam, Y. L. (2015). Personality and entrepreneurial, professional and leadership motivations. Personality and Individual Differences, 77, 161–166.
Crant, J. M.& Bateman, T. S. (2000). Charismatic leadership viewed from above: The impact of proactive personality. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 63-75.
Giberson, T.R., Resick, C. J., & Dickson, M. W. (2005). Embedding leader characteristics: an examination of homogeneity of personality and values in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1002-1010.
Felfe, J. &Schyns, B. (2006). Personality and the perception of transformational leadership: The impact of extraversion, neuroticism, personal need for structure and occupational self-efficacy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 3, 708-739.
Foster, C. & Roche, F. (2014). Integrating trait and ability EI in predicting transformational leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 35, 316-334.
Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 765-780.
Lounsbury, J. W., Sundstrom, E. D., Gibson, L. W., Loveland, J. M., & Drost, A. W. (2016). Core personality traits of managers. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31, 434-450.