“What’s your management style?” is a terrible interview question
How to reframe questions as a candidate to get meaningful insights, and what to gain from the answers. (Updated Jan 2025)
I’ve been asked countless times “what’s your management style?” and it baffles me. It reminds me of BuzzFeed Quizzes. My management style is… a Kool Koala? The problem with the question is that it doesn’t invite evidence. Management is not a state of mind or opinion — it’s a job function that should be measured and improved upon constantly. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people, and I know so many people are searching for jobs right now, so I offer an alternative conversation that is more useful to both people in the conversation. Let’s reframe the dialogue and make sure that as leaders we are actually measuring, reflecting and evolving our progress
Ask questions that yield insights
Wanting to know a potential boss’s management style is healthy. If you want meaningful intel, skip the philosophy and ask for stories with evidence through stories — as about team operations and employee experiences.
- What’s an example of something you’ve measured in terms of team or individuals’ successes, and how does that work?
The project doesn’t matter here — you want to hear that they measure something other than just delivery of work. If they only measure projects (such as on-time launches), then they may not be prioritizing team maturity or growth. - What are the day to day team ceremonies and how are they run if you (the manager) is on vacation?
You’re looking for intention here. You don’t know the business, team or organization. But you do want to hear that they’ve thought about it and did something about it. - How did you determine what the right team org structure is?
I’ve built and led teams small and large, global and domestic, mature and immature, on-site and remote, and in a variety of industries. Across these experiences, the way the teams have operated has varied widely, based on context. Experienced leaders answer the question and explain why. Others, well… don’t. - Tell me about one of your employees whose achievements are a true success story — how did you support that?
The details in the answer you’re looking for here depends on your own needs, but the characteristics are the same. A great manager is going to talk about how they enabled that person (even if that means simply getting out of their way). And you should glean something from the way they tell the story — are they excited about their employees’ success? - What happened the last time someone on their team really missed the mark? Looking back, is there anything you as the manager would have done differently?
You don’t need to know what the employee did wrong. You want to know how the manager handled it. Were they empathetic? Did they consider how they could help the employee next time? - Do you have regular 1:1s with employees? What are they about?
If they don’t do this then it’s a red flag in my opinion. Anyone who manages people needs to be intentional with checking the mental health and employee satisfaction of employees, and checking in on their own ability to support each person. You’re looking to hear that they actually happen, and that those meetings are for more than status checks.
I’ve had a chance to mature in the way I lead over time, but with the variety of teams I’ve led, it’s still just me being me. Experienced leaders have had a chance to learn, fail, and gain perspective. They can explain why things matter. Interviewers who only answer in vague philosophy of how it “should” be done are not answering the question. Insist on examples. Of course, leaders with little experience may not have those stories yet , and that’s not a disqualifying factor — it doesn’t mean they won’t make good leaders; it gives you clarity about what it might be like to work for them as they start that learning journey.
P.S. There is in fact a BuzzFeed quiz and it told me I am a “Logical Leader.” So scratch all of the above, that’s all you need to know, right? 😜
