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What is your Management Style – Interview Question · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: What is your management style is a frequently asked interview question, and in this podcast I'm going to take you through what the interviewer is looking for, how to structure your answer and give you example answers for junior and senior manager positions.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you are new to this podcast, Enhanced.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers and business owners improve their performance.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sharing my knowledge and experience of sitting in over a thousand interviews as a hiring manager and being recruited into many top companies like Innocent Drinks, EY, Fosters, and others.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this podcast, please share it with others and visit us at enhanced.training.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, you got to an interview for a professional level or management level job.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then what is your management style or a variation of this question should be pretty much an expected question that you'll have to face.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're not going into management role, this interview question is often asked for those who have the potential or an expectation to go into management positions in the future.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like with nearly all interview questions, preparation means you'll give a much better answer to the question being asked.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And getting a job is a competition, so you're always up against other people just like you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Preparing a good answer for this question will help you stand out.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't prepare a good answer and other candidates do, then you may be out of the running for the job.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take a look at what the interviewer is wanting to find out by asking this question.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: A skilled interviewer will ask the same question to all the candidates going for the job.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: They like to have similar CVs to you, so the interviewer is judging how well you answer the question to enable them to rank the candidates.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: The words you say matter of course, and your body language and confidence probably matter even more than the words you say.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: What you say and the examples you use paints a picture of your style, how you treat your staff, what you think is important, whether you're a hands-on or hands-off manager and so on.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: So think carefully of what you want to include in this type of answer.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I've interviewed a lot of managers and potential managers, and here are some of the things that I look for in an answer when asking what is your management style.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, I want to know how self-aware the candidate is.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't reflect on your own skills, reactions and emotions to different situations, it is hard to improve how you manage yourself.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can't manage yourself well, then how can you manage others well?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Having good self-awareness and being flexible in your approach are both really important skills to develop to become a good manager.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And secondly, I want to get an understanding of your management experience.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have basic experience, or do you have a wide range of management experiences and plenty of depth to your experience?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: How you answer this interview question usually tells the interviewer a lot about your level of management experience.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And third, I want to get a sense of your management approach or style.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know what you prioritise and if you care about your team.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, do you look after a collection of individuals or do you have a really good team?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be looking out for clues as to how effective your team is too.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: There is not a standard answer to what is your management style.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: To be a good manager, we think you need to be true to yourself, genuine and honest.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore every person will give a slightly different answer.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: To help you create a great answer, here are some questions for you to think about.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, how might you treat your team members?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: How will you support and develop your team members?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: How do you communicate with your team on a one-to-one basis and as a team as a whole?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: How do you show that you are a team player?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: What focus do you put on achieving targets as a team versus say keeping everyone happy?
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  SPEAKER_00: How approachable are you?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And how do you deal with problems and changes in the team?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Think about how you approach management, your management style, and how you support your team.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: How can you craft an answer to demonstrate how you will get the best out of any team you manage?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Another key point that we'd like to emphasize is that everyone you manage is not the same.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you've managed, you know that everyone is different and flexing your approach depending on who you are managing and the situation is a key to success.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: A quote we really like is okay managers play checkers, great managers play chess.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: This quote is highlighting that great managers recognise the skills and experience of individual members of staff.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Great managers match individuals with the most appropriate skills and experience to the specific problem at hand.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Think of a football or a netball team.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: In a great team, each player has a different skill set, and those differences combined make them a great team.
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  SPEAKER_00: You don't put eleven defensive players on the pitch all the time and expect to win championships.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: A good leader plays to individual strengths within the wider team.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: We suggest including some of this theme in your answer.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: So here are some example answers.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, for a professional level or a junior manager role, an answer might be I am flexible in my approach and my management style depends on the situation and the person.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: I spend a lot of time building good relationships and supporting my team to develop their skills and ability.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: This means that as a team we can deliver more and are regularly mentioned in company meetings.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: We won the best team award last year too.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: That said, I also deal with poor performers quickly as I believe everyone on the team should pull their weight and work together.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I informally support them, and if that doesn't work, I move to more formal personal improvement plans and then disciplinary action if needed.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: I believe in being fair, open and honest, and I try to be as consistent as possible when managing the team.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: This approach has worked very well for me so far, and I remain very keen to learn and improve my management skills.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And here's an answer that might be suitable for a senior manager.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: My management style flexes to the situation and the person or team that I'm dealing with.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone and every situation is a little different, and therefore the approach that I take needs to reflect those differences.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I have found actively supporting and developing my team is a great way to achieve fantastic results.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I run informal training sessions regularly and weekly one-to-ones to enable me to mentor and check up on what is actually being worked on.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: This is good for the individuals, the team and the company as individuals become better and the team delivers more.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've also found this helps create a great team culture.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: I also work hard on setting clear directions so everyone understands where we are going and how they can help us get there.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: When managing teams through a crisis, I've employed a much more direct leadership style, setting tasks and mucking in as needed.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I am quick to support team members and I deal effectively with poor performers.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: A good example that demonstrates all the above points.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was asked to turn around a finance team that allowed a mid-sized business with a turnover of 20 million to run out of money despite being profitable.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: During this turnaround process, I had to make a number of changes to personnel, change processes and train the team.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: We also implemented a new ERP system.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: The results included the cash balance increasing from near zero to over£3 million within 12 months, and the business becoming much more forward-focused.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: The company also got back to 20% growth the next year.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's it from me.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to get more great answers to difficult interview questions, then take a look at our interview question bank by going to enhance.training and selecting resources.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have over a hundred interview questions answered.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like this podcast, please share this podcast with friends and visit enhance.training for more podcasts and advice on how to ace interviews and get job offers.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.