I found certain aspects of the interview challenging and, at times, uncomfortable. Specifically, I felt that the open-endedness and ambiguity of the questions made it difficult for me to provide responses that accurately reflected my experience and approach. Without clear context or understanding of the specific leadership traits being assessed, aligning my answers with what the panel was seeking was challenging. For example, when they asked: "Can you tell me about a time when you had to change your style to work more effectively with somebody?" I sought clarification by asking, "In what context?" to understand whether the question referred to communication style, management approach, delivery method, or another aspect. However, my request for context was not fully acknowledged. She seemed to conflate "context" with "scenario" and insisted that I should define the scenario without providing additional guidance. This left me feeling that my need for clarification was not understood, making it challenging to refer to my experience and provide a relevant answer. Additionally, they asked: "Describe a situation when you felt most out of your comfort zone on a personal level, with people, not with a project." I found this question challenging to relate to and responded, "On a personal level? Like, out of my comfort zone? I can't dance... I would find it quite difficult really." When the question was rephrased: "Describe a situation where you felt out of your comfort zone, and it was about people-related situations at work." I expressed that I hadn't experienced such a situation, stating, "I haven't really." Without additional context or examples of the type of situation being referred to, it was challenging to provide a meaningful answer. When I inquired about the intent behind the ambiguous questions, they mentioned that the questions were intentionally designed to be ambiguous. While I appreciate that handling ambiguity can be an important skill, I struggled to see the purpose of such ambiguity in this context. The lack of clarity felt more like an obstacle than a meaningful assessment tool, and at times, I was concerned that the approach might inadvertently hinder candidates rather than facilitate an open dialogue. In my experience, leadership is about informed decision-making, and making decisions without sufficient information can be risky and may lead to undesirable outcomes. In leadership roles, it's crucial to assess situations thoroughly, gather relevant information, and rely on experience to make the best possible decisions. Additionally, there was limited build-up or framing provided for the interview or questions, particularly regarding leadership principles. Leadership encompasses both horizontal and vertical dimensions, and understanding the specific traits the panel was interested in would have enabled me to offer more precise and insightful responses. I understand their intention was to assess whether my style would match the culture and leadership approach of Tesco. However, this method of using intentionally ambiguous questions seemed to lead to an expectation of specific answers, resulting in apparent frustration when the responses didn't align with unstated expectations. This approach appears to contrast with UX principles, where clarity and user-centricity are typically prioritised. As UX leaders, we often advocate for clear communication and user-friendly experiences. It was surprising to encounter an interview process that seemed to contradict these principles. A more transparent approach to assessing leadership qualities might yield more accurate and insightful results, allowing candidates to demonstrate their skills and experiences more effectively. My intention in seeking clarification was to ensure I fully understood the questions so I could provide answers that truly reflected how my leadership style and experience align with the role's requirements. While some pillars of Empathy, Resilience, and Values were mentioned, the responses would differ in different scenarios; hence my request for context so I could draw from my relevant experience. I'm sharing this feedback in the hope that it will help in refining the interview process for future candidates. I've been interviewing with several large organisations, and this was the only interview in 20 years where I felt confused about the approach and felt it was somewhat outdated. My recent experiences in the current market have been encouraging, where hiring managers and teams have provided as much support as they can to get the best out of candidates during the interview process. Therefore, I was disappointed by this experience. Clear communication and a supportive atmosphere can significantly enhance candidates' ability to showcase their qualifications and fit for the role.