Doing Your Research
Learn about different management styles. In order to speak knowledgeably on your own management style, you should become familiar with all the basic types of management. Do some research online to find out the pros and cons of various styles. Authoritative/Directive managers give employees clear directions, and accept little to no feedback in return. Democratic managers encourage employee input in decision-making. Coaching-style managers help employees develop their skills and improve their performance.
Visit the company’s website to learn about their values. It’s important to know what the company environment is like before you go into an interview so that you can tailor your answers to fit it. Visit several pages on the company’s website, focusing especially on an “About Us” or “Our Story” page. Figure out what kind of relationships the executives value within the organization. For example, if it’s written somewhere that the company “fosters career development” or “creates an environment where employees can learn,” you know this is not a company seeking an authoritative management style.
Review the job description again. Look over all the job responsibilities and pay attention to the words used to describe these tasks. If the description says you’ll be “mentoring” employees, you know they’re looking for someone to use the coaching style of management. If the description says you’ll need to “delegate tasks,” then this aspect of the job will require more of an authoritative style than a democratic one.
Showing Your Flexibility
Start your answer with a non-answer. Different situations call for different approaches. Hiring managers like to know you’re flexible and not set in your ways. Rather than immediately responding with which management style you use, say that you don’t conform to just one. Start with something like “I like to adjust my management style to each situation.”
Discuss the different management styles you use. Back up your first statement with examples of how you adjust your management style. Give an example that shows a formal style and one that shows a more informal style. You could continue with, “For example, when our team is assigned a project with a tight deadline, I take a more authoritative approach to ensure we meet that deadline.” Then add something like, “But I think developing employees’ skills and requesting their feedback promotes more company loyalty in the long-run.”
Display your company knowledge. Show off what you learned while researching the company by fitting their philosophy into your answer. This shows not only that you did your homework, but also that you won’t have any trouble adjusting to the company’s outlook. Transition to this part by saying something like, “That's why I like your emphasis on mentoring employees. I think that fosters a really positive work environment.”
Telling a Success Story
Share a situation that required problem-solving. To show the interviewer how you’ve performed as a manager in the past, tell a brief story about a specific situation that required you to solve a problem, communicate effectively, or be innovative. Tell them about a time when a deadline almost wasn't met, or when a customer complained about a product or service. For example, start with something like, “One situation that called for some different management styles was when we received a complaint from a customer that their order didn’t arrive within the promised timeframe.”
Describe the task your job required. Tell the interviewer what your responsibility was in this situation. Since your story should be geared towards management, explain what sort of leadership was required of you. What did you need to do to lead the group through this problem? Continue by saying, “I had to touch base with the shipping department to pinpoint the reason for the delay and make sure it didn’t happen again.”
Explain what action you took. Pick specific things you did or said to solve the problem at hand. Try to include some way in which you took on more responsibilities rather than just passing them off on everyone else. For example, maybe you delegated a few tasks, but then you called the customer to personally apologize for any inconvenience. Try an explanation like, “I asked the head of our shipping department to reach out to our contact at FedEx to find out what caused the delay. Then I wrote the customer an email apologizing for the inconvenience. I refunded her shipping charges and offered her a 10% discount on her next order.”
Share the positive result of the action. Tell the interviewer how things played out in the end, specifically as a result of your leadership. Include any numbers or statistics to show just how effective your actions were. Did sales figures improve, or did you land a big client as a result? Don't be afraid to brag a little. Finish with something like, “We found out there was flooding near a distribution center and that’s why the package got delayed. The customer was thankful for the refund and went on to place another $100 order the next day."
Keep it short. Don’t ramble on too long, since the hiring manager probably has plenty of other questions to get to. And you don’t want them to lose interest in anything you’re saying, so limit each part of the story to a couple of sentences.
Comments
0 comment