For the interviewer, the goal is to find out if the candidate has true leadership potential.
For more senior-level roles (any position with direct reports), it’s important to communicate your ability to jump in and assume a leadership role immediately. The best way to do this is to demonstrate that you’ve done it successfully in the past.
For other roles, the leadership challenge may be to lead and motivate people who DON’T report to you. For example, any project management role or position that requires gaining cooperation and/or buy-in from other departments.
For other positions (even entry-level jobs), companies ask about leadership because they want to hire people with leadership potential — individuals who can grow with the company and have superstar potential.
Most companies want to hire the best of the best. Your interviewer wants to know if you have what it takes to help lead the organization into the future.
In most job interviews, you will be competing against many qualified candidates. Most of them can do the job. However, to get hired in a competitive job market, it is essential to be more than qualified. You want to show that you are a leader, a superstar, an influencer.