If they’re asking you this question in an interview, it means they care about your leadership ability and are likely using it as a factor in deciding who to hire.
This doesn’t have to be direct leadership. You don’t need to have managed or supervised people in a past job.
- Don’t say you’ve never led anyone
Pick your most impressive leadership experiences as you think back and try to come up with an answer for this. It might be on a sports team, in a class project, or previous jobs.
But whatever you do, don’t answer this interview question by saying, “I’m not really a leader”, or “I’m not sure, I’ve never really led people in the past”.
Find SOMETHING, no matter what. (If you want to get hired, that is).
- Sound like you have a method or system that works for you
There’s no single “right” or “wrong” answer to this interview question… but the hiring manager wants to know you have a system that works for YOU. When they ask, “what’s your leadership style”, they want to hear that you’ve figured out something that consistently works when you’re put in a position to lead.
And you need to sound somewhat reasonable and easy to get along with. Sound likable. Don’t make yourself sound like a dictator or somebody who leads by bossing everyone around. It’s ineffective and definitely won’t get you hired.
- Share specific examples if possible
After you answer the basic question and describe your general style of leadership, I recommend you ask the hiring manager if they want you to go into more detail.
You can say, “do you want me to give an example of a time I’ve done this?”
They’ll probably say “yes”, and if they do, you can tell them a specific story.
(It’s always best to ask though, rather than diving into a super long answer when they might be looking for a quick response. This is a strategy I recommend frequently because it prevents you from annoying the interviewer or giving answers that are too long).