If you have an interview coming up for either a manager, team leader or supervisor position,
you are going to have to answer interview questions that are based on people management.
Those are the questions that start off with, how would you motivate your team? Tell me
a time when you dealt with conflict between two team members? And also, what's your style
of management? So, within this presentation, I'm going to give you a number of people management
interview questions and top-scoring answers, so you are fully prepared for your interview.
Make sure you stick around. The first question I want you to prepare for is: Tell me a time
you dealt with a difficult employee? Now, if you have a manager or team leader interview
coming up, this question is pretty much guaranteed to feature at some stage. And when you answer
it, my advice is to focus on the following three areas. Number one, how you quickly identified
that there was a problem. Number two, the steps you took to rectify the issue. And number
three, what you did to prevent it from happening again. Let's now take a look at a brilliant
answer to this common management interview question. Tell me a time you dealt with a
difficult employee? And I have put their highlighted in yellow, the three areas that I'm going
to cover in my answer. Here we go. “When I took over as the manager of a previous team,
I immediately noticed one of the senior team members was being disruptive during team meetings.
He was making unhelpful and negative comments during team discussions. I immediately spoke
to him in private to ask him why he felt the need to be so negative. He stated the team
had seen lots of change over the years and he was fed up with it. After I had listened
to him, I informed him that he had a responsibility, just like the rest of the team members, to
act appropriately and in line with company values. I went on to explain how change was
an important part of organizational growth and that I would expect a more senior employee
to act as a role model to the rest of the team. To prevent it from happening again,
I gave him an important project to work on that would help motivate him and help make
him feel he was a part of the change process that I wanted to implement. From that day
on, he became a highly motivated member of the team and I always made sure his skills,
qualities and experience were fully utilized.” Now, that is a brilliant answer, because,
first of all, you are confident in your approach to dealing with the situation. Number two,
you are taking positive steps to deal with it. And then number three, you are making
sure it doesn't happen again because you are getting the team member on board, you are
utilizing his skills and you are motivating him. So that shows you have really strong
people management skills! The next question. How would you motivate your team? Now, all
business owners understand the importance of hiring a manager or a team leader who can
motivate their team. It's really important. If employees feel motivated, their output
and their productivity increase significantly. Now, here's my example answer to assist you
at answering this common people management interview question: How would you motivate
your team? “I would motivate my team in four ways. Firstly, I would carry out performance
reviews with all staff on a periodic basis. During the review, I would get to know each
team member, their strengths, their weaknesses and their career aspirations. As a manager,
it is vital I get to know my team well and provide them with the necessary training to
perform to a high standard in their roles. Secondly, I would set clear objectives and
tasks for all team members including providing a clear brief on where we are heading as an
organization. Thirdly, I would provide support, advice and guidance as each team member carried
out their tasks. I would also ensure I praised good working practices and I would encourage
everyone within the team to reach their full potential. Finally, I would hold regular meetings
and briefings where my team could discuss their concerns, any barriers that prevented
them from performing well, and to also identify any issues that had the potential to demotivate
the team.” Again, that is a very confident and positive answer that shows you have four
specific steps you will follow when motivating your team. Now, don't go anywhere because
I still have more questions and answers to work through with you. And you don't want
to miss them because I can pretty much guarantee they will feature during your interview! But
when you're ready, if you want to CLICK THAT LINK in the top right-hand corner of the video,
it will take you through to my website. PassMyInterview.com, and you can download my full set of 34 manager
interview questions and top-scoring answers. And you also get these slides as a bonus,
too, including the answers. The next question. How would you delegate tasks to team members?
Delegation is a crucial part of people management. This is a common manager interview question.
And within your response, focus on the following three areas. Number one, how you identify
your team's strengths. Number two, how you provide a clear brief on what needs doing.
And number three, how you give feedback at the end of each delegated task. Here's my
suggested answer. How would you delegate tasks to team members? “I would delegate by determining
the task or project I needed to delegate. I would then decide which member of my team
was best placed from a skills perspective to complete the task. I would then sit down
with them and provide a concise and clear brief on what I expected to be achieved and
by what timeframe. This would also be their opportunity to ask any questions regarding
the brief and the responsibilities they would have. I would then leave them alone to carry
out the task, and once it was completed, I would provide them with feedback on their
performance, so they are constantly improving and developing.” That's another really good
answer! The next question. What's your style of management? If I had to answer this question
during a manager or a team leader interview, I would say my style is a mixture of two progressive
and adaptable management styles. The following management styles, in my opinion, are the
most attractive ones to hiring managers. Here's my suggested answer. What's your style of
management? “My style of management is a combination of visionary and transformational.
I am a vision-led manager because I am always focusing on the future and the long-term objectives
of the organization. I am also looking ahead to see where my team needs to be to meet the
expectations of our customers. By looking ahead I can plan properly and make sure my
team have the necessary skills and training to perform. I am a transformational manager
because I am always looking to embrace change positively and I want my team to do the same.
I believe change is absolutely vital in a team if it is to stay at the top of its game.
If a team does not embrace change, it will soon fall behind.” Now, I really like the
answer because you are giving two really strong management styles, but you are also explaining
why you use them within an organization. The next question… How do you handle conflict
between team members? Again, this is an incredibly common management interview question. Conflict
in a team can sometimes be healthy, but it can also be detrimental, too. Here's the best
way to answer the question. How do you handle conflict between team members? “Where possible,
team members should be encouraged to resolve conflict themselves. If the conflict came
to my attention, I would make a comment to let the people concerned know that I am aware
it exists and that it needs to be sorted out quickly. I would then monitor the situation
and if things did not improve, I would take control. I would speak to all persons involved
and establish the exact cause of the conflict. I would then facilitate the resolution of
the conflict by encouraging both parties to reach a compromise and come to an amicable
agreement on a way forward. If they were unwilling to do this, I would dictate what was going
to happen so the conflict was resolved. Whilst conflict can sometimes be healthy, it can
be detrimental to the team's morale and output if not managed, so I would make sure it was
resolved as soon as possible so the team could get back to full working capacity quickly.”
That’s another brilliant answer. The next thing… Make sure you CLICK THAT LINK in
the top right-hand corner of the video. Go through to my website, PassMyInterview.com.
Take a look at my 34 manager interview questions and you have the opportunity to DOWNLOAD all
of the answers. They are all brilliant answers to the same caliber as the ones I've covered
today. And you also, as a bonus, get these slides as well! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE.
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