
Interview Questions and Answers for Managers
Last updated: January 16, 2026Type of Questions to Expect in a Manager Interview
- Leadership & Motivation: "How do you motivate a team member who is underperforming?"
- Conflict Management: "Describe a time you had to resolve a disagreement between two talented employees."
- Prioritization & Delegation: "How do you decide which tasks to do yourself and which to assign to your team?"
- Operational Excellence: "Tell me about a process you improved to increase your team's efficiency."
- Strategic Thinking: "How do you translate the company’s annual goals into daily tasks for your department?"
What the Interviewer Will Expect
- Accountability: Do you take responsibility for your team’s failures, or do you blame others?
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Can you handle high-pressure situations and sensitive personnel issues with composure?
- Delegation Skills: Can you trust your team to handle tasks, or are you prone to micro-managing?
- Decision-Making: Are you able to make firm decisions even when you have limited information?
- Communication: Can you clearly explain the "why" behind a change to keep your team engaged?
Tips on Getting Ready
- Master the STAR Method: For every leadership story, explain the Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Managers are judged by the Results their actions produce.
- Prepare a "Failure" Story: Good managers learn from mistakes. Have an example ready of a time a project failed and explain exactly how you handled the fallout and what you learned.
- Study the Team Structure: Research the department you’ll be leading. Understand the current challenges the industry or company is facing.
- Know Your Metrics: Be ready to talk about the numbers you've moved. Whether it’s hitting sales targets or reducing employee turnover, have the data ready.
- Think Like an Owner: Prepare questions for the interviewer that show you care about the long-term success of the company, not just your specific department.
Total Questions
196
Per Attempt
10
Time Limit
60 min
Difficulty

