Recruiters look for applicants with certain core skills that will help the company keep them as assets in the form of possible future leaders. You need both strategic management and people skills to be a good leader. These skills set candidates for senior positions apart from their peers during interviews. The ideal candidate impresses interviewers with their poise, ability to draw references from real-life experiences, and collaborative qualities. Â.
We’ll talk about what these skills are, why they’re important, and how you can prepare for the 20 most common leadership interview questions that companies use to find and evaluate candidates for leadership positions. Â.
Interviewing for a practice lead role in a healthcare organization can be an exciting yet challenging process. As the liaison between physicians and administrative staff, practice leads play a critical role in the operational success of a practice. Strong leadership, communication, and organizational abilities are key requirements for the job.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common and critical interview questions asked for practice lead roles along with tips for crafting winning responses. Thorough preparation will help demonstrate that you have the necessary skills and experience to excel as a practice lead.
What to Expect in the Practice Lead Interview Process
The practice lead interview typically involves
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An initial phone screen with HR reviewing your resume and experience (30 mins)
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An interview focused on assessing leadership abilities and fit (60 mins)
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A final in-person interview with multiple members of the practice (2-4 hours)
While each interviewer will focus on different areas, the questions below are likely to be asked in some format. We will outline strategies for acing each type of question.
Leadership Style and Philosophy
Common opening questions aimed at understanding your general leadership approach:
What’s your leadership style and philosophy?
Convey a collaborative approach focused on empowering your team. Highlight relationship-building, mentoring, delegating, and leading by example.
“My leadership style is coaching-based. I strive to foster open communication and help my team develop their strengths. While maintaining clear objectives, I provide support and encouragement to empower staff to do their best work and grow professionally. I lead by example by taking on challenges alongside my team.”
What are the most important skills and qualities for an effective leader?
Discuss essential leadership soft skills like strong communication, active listening, empathy, accountability, and decisiveness.
“For me, the most vital skills for any leader are active listening, effective communication, and empathy. A leader needs to understand their team members’ needs, challenges, and goals. By listening, communicating openly, and empathizing with employees, leaders can provide the support and guidance needed to bring out their team’s full potential.”
How would your team describe your leadership?
Share positive feedback you’ve received highlighting your strengths. Stay humble and focus on qualities like supportive, fair, transparent, etc.
“In my last performance review, my team described me as an approachable, supportive leader who gives clear direction and promotes open communication. I have an open door policy and make myself available whenever team members need guidance or have concerns. I try to lead in a way that provides clarity while encouraging staff input.”
Motivating and Managing the Team
Expect behavioral interview questions testing your ability to motivate, manage conflicts, delegate, and develop employees:
How do you motivate your team and cultivate a positive workplace?
Discuss intrinsic motivators like growth opportunities, recognition programs, and fostering work-life balance. Give examples.
“I motivate my team by first understanding their individual goals and interests. I try to assign projects that align with their strengths and ambitions. I also make sure to recognize achievements, both publicly and privately. Simple things like thanking staff for their contributions makes a big impact. I also promote flexibility so employees can maintain a healthy work-life balance.”
How do you handle conflict or disagreement on your team?
Spotlight your conflict resolution approach focused on open discussion, empathy, and finding common ground. Provide a specific example.
“When conflicts arise, I first have individual discussions to objectively understand all perspectives. This allows me to identify shared goals and prevent assumptions. I bring the parties together to find common ground and compromise. By facilitating open, non-judgmental dialogue, team members gain more empathy for each other, and together we identify win-win solutions.”
How do you delegate tasks and responsibilities?
Discuss setting clear expectations, matching skills to assignments, assessing readiness, and providing adequate support.
“When delegating, I first ensure the team member has the skills, resources, and capacity to take on the assignment. I provide clear directions and expectations upfront. For challenging tasks, I have regular check-ins to assess progress and provide mentoring. My goal is always to match team members with projects that align with their capabilities and growth goals.”
How do you promote professional development on your team?
Highlight coaching, stretch assignments, continued learning, and internal mobility.
“I make developing my team a priority by first understanding their professional goals and strengths. I try to assign projects that build new capabilities and offer learning opportunities. We have regular one-on-ones to discuss their ambitions, challenges, and progress. I also encourage participation in internal and external training and professional organizations to facilitate ongoing development.”
Operational Experience and Insight
Be prepared to discuss your specific experience leading operations and processes in a healthcare setting:
Tell me about your experience with clinical workflows and processes.
Demonstrate your understanding of clinical operations and highlight improvements you have implemented.
“In my last role, I partnered closely with department heads to intimately understand their workflows, patient volumes, staffing needs, and day-to-day challenges. I helped implement process changes like automated scheduling that increased productivity and improved the patient experience. My operations knowledge enables me to identify efficiencies while maintaining quality clinical care.”
How would you maximize patient satisfaction?
Discuss communication, customer service training, gathering feedback, and process improvements aimed at improving the patient experience.
“I would start by making sure patients have clear pre-visit instructions and know what to expect. Our administrative staff complete regular customer service training so they can effectively guide patients through each touchpoint. Post-visit, I have our staff survey patients using NPS surveys to gauge satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. I’d use this feedback to implement initiatives aimed at optimizing workflows and enhancing service quality.”
Where do you see opportunities to improve processes in our practice?
Demonstrate your understanding of their practice’s needs based on your research. Offer 2-3 practical ideas tailored to their context.
“From what I have learned about your practice, it seems like there are opportunities to improve patient discharge and follow up processes. I think implementing structured discharge checklists could help staff consistently provide clear takeaway instructions and follow-up details to patients. A centralized system for scheduling follow ups before patients leave could also help minimize missed appointments down the road.”
Key Takeaways for Acing the Practice Lead Interview
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Demonstrate people-focused leadership style – Emphasize relationship-building, mentoring, support and guiding teams.
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Provide specific examples – Back up claims about skills and achievements with detailed stories and metrics.
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Highlight operational experience – Convey your understanding of clinical workflows and processes. Discuss improvements made.
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Prepare questions about role – Inquiries show your engagement and interest in the practice.
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Watch your communication style – Be confident but not arrogant. Show your passion for leading practices.
With thorough preparation and practice, you can master the practice lead interview. By highlighting your leadership abilities, operational expertise, and fit for the role, you can show you are the right candidate to help drive the practice forward. Come armed with stories and examples that demonstrate how you can create engaged, high-performing teams that deliver exceptional experiences for patients and staff alike.
What was the hardest decision you have taken as a leader? What helped you to prompt the best course of action?
There may have been times in your career when you had to make a choice between two or more options. Tell them about it and explain why you made the choice you did.
How do you ensure your team delivers quality work within the specified timeframe and budget?
Pick up instances from your career where you steered a project successfully. You can talk about how you outlined the project’s goals, made realistic targets, divided the work into manageable plans, communicated expectations, and held your team accountable. Then, talk about the results—how your team met the goal and got things done without lowering the quality scores. This is also a good time to talk about client appreciation.
Practice Lead Interview Questions
How do you answer leadership interview questions?
Use the STAR answering technique to help you answer leadership interview questions thoroughly. Here’s how to use the STAR approach: S = Situation: Here, you describe a situation where you exhibited quality leadership. T = Task: Identify the tasks you completed that show your leadership skills.
What questions do recruiters ask during a leadership interview?
In a leadership interview, recruiters or hiring managers often ask several types of questions that can assess the candidate’s behavior, problem-solving, decision making, communication and management skills.
Can employers ask other leadership interview questions?
Employers can certainly ask other leadership interview questions, but if you practice these leadership questions, you’ll be ready to demonstrate your overall leadership abilities and win the job. As a final step – practice at home so that you’re comfortable and relaxed. Don’t memorize each answer word for word…
How many leadership interview questions should you ask a team leader?
When you interview for a team leader role, they might also be curious where you see yourself going in future years. So expect one or two leadership interview questions to be focused on your future plans. Employers don’t expect a perfectly-accurate answer when they ask, “where do you see yourself in five years?”.
