38 Team Leader Interview Questions (With Sample Answers)

Updated 17 March 2023

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Team leaders are responsible for leading a team and ensuring the tasks and projects get completed effectively and on time. Many employers hire candidates who are able to instruct, guide and direct their team to achieve a certain goal. Practising some common questions may help you improve your confidence and help you qualify for the interview round. In this article, we share a list of team leader interview questions and provide sample answers to a few important ones.

General Team Leader Interview Questions

Here are some general team leader interview questions that you may encounter during an interview:

How did you come across our company?
Do you like working in a team?
What led you to choose team leader as a career option?
What motivates you in the workplace?
Why should we hire you as a team leader?
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Can you tell us about your educational background?
Describe your leadership experiences.
How would your team members and other employees describe you?
What is your greatest strength?
How do you motivate your team?

Questions About Experience And Background

Interviewers can also ask you some questions related to your experience and learn about your career overview. When attempting these questions, focus on highlighting your leadership qualities and previous work achievements. Here are some common experience-related questions that the interviewer might ask you:

What strategies do you follow to effectively lead a team?
Tell us about the biggest team you have led yet.
How do you deal with an employee who is off-task?
How do you give feedback to your team on every task?
Are you willing to make tough decisions?
How do you keep your team motivated?
Have you ever attended a leadership workshop or seminar?
Are you able to instruct a group of people? Please tell us about your public-speaking ability.
How do you handle conflicts in your team?
What metrics do you use to evaluate the success of your team?

In-Depth Questions For Team Leader Interviews

In-depth questions can allow interviewers to know your leadership style and other skills. Team leaders have various duties including managing a project, motivating team members and solving problems. By asking in-depth questions, interviewers can evaluate if you are able to handle such responsibilities. Here are some commonly asked in-depth questions:

How would you help your team to learn and adapt new policies?
Give an example of how a leader can fail?
According to you, what are the most important characteristics of a leader?
Tell us your greatest weakness and what you can do to overcome it.
How often would you meet with your team?
According to you, what is the most difficult part of being a team leader?
Explain a scenario where you have to deliver any bad news to your team.
Being a team leader, what are the most difficult decisions to make?
How do you handle conflicts between employees of your team?
How do you distribute the responsibilities to your team members?
Explain what accountability means to you.
Tell us how you set goals for yourself and your team?

Team Leader Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Here are common interview questions with their sample answers that you can take inspiration from and create your own responses:

1. How can you help a new employee who joined your team recently?

Team leaders are responsible for helping new members join the team and perform better. By asking this question, the interviewer can know more about your communication skills and how good you are at developing relationships. When answering this question, consider providing examples from your previous roles when you helped a new team member.

Example: "I always treated new team members equally as I treat the others. I schedule a meeting and introduce new employees to the team. Introducing them to each one of the team members can make new employees comfortable in the workplace. I think sharing expectations, values and culture is a great way to welcome a new employee to the team. I always focus on building relationships and improving communication with every team member. Sharing values of a new team member and bringing it into practice encourages them to perform better."

2. What values are important for a team leader?

Recruiters may ask this question to understand your values as a leader. It can tell you about your decision-making abilities and priorities at work. You can conduct detailed research on the company's core values and use them in your answers. A great way to improve your answer is by providing an example where you used these values.

Example: "As a team leader, I have learned through my experience that integrity and reliability are two of the most important values a team leader should possess to become successful. During my previous job, my first concern was to build trust between my team members. I always showed reliability and integrity by keeping my promises and helping my team members with projects whenever I could. Other values that I think are important include courage and authenticity to make a difference. By keeping these values, I can develop a purposeful environment in the workplace."

3. How can someone become a better leader?

With the help of this question, the interviewer can learn about your potential and ability to grow in the leadership role. When answering this question, describe some ways and methods you use to develop and improve your leadership skills. This question can be a great opportunity for you to show your eagerness for growth.

Example: "I have experience in handling many projects as a leader. I am always willing to ask for feedback from my team members as it helps me understand how my actions affect others. I think feedback can be a great tool to highlight someone's weaknesses and implement measures to transform them into strengths.

Discovering my weaknesses and eliminating them allows me to perform better as a leader. In my opinion, self-improvement is as important as team development. A great way to improve your leadership qualities and become a successful leader is by attending and grasping knowledge from leadership seminars and workshops."

4. What methods do you use to track your team member's performance?

This question can help interviewers understand how you monitor the progress of your team. Consider highlighting your analytical and decision-making skills through your response. You can also mention the tools you use to track and monitor the individual and overall performance of the team.

Example: "In my opinion, a team leader should conduct regular knowledge and skill assessments related to the individual roles of team members. In my previous job, I used spreadsheets to monitor and track every member's performance. I focused on several elements such as the client's rating based on their satisfaction, individual and overall sales and meeting deadlines. Collecting reviews and feedback of team members in a separate document has also helped me in evaluating their progress."

5. How do you handle disagreements with your team members?

Team leaders are responsible for encouraging each member to work towards the same goal. Answer this question to show what strategies you use to promote unity in the workplace. This question can help interviewers understand how you handle any situation of disagreements successfully. You can also highlight your problem-solving skills and conflict resolution in your answer.

Example: "I think disagreements may happen in a team. In my previous job, there was a task where a few team members had different opinions. As a team leader, I organised a team discussion and allowed everyone to share and understand each other's views. I ensured the team came to a common goal. I also encouraged them to justify their views and explain how their ideas can benefit the team and the organisation."