This type of question is designed to find out how resourceful you can be and whether you are able to demonstrate initiative. In order to effectively answer this question you should make a point to discus how your skills in leadership have assisted you in accomplishing your goals during your career. It is important that you provide concrete examples of how you used an approach that was unusual, new or creative in order to accomplish your goals. You might also relate how you developed a creative solution in order to make your work more productive or more effective in a past position.
If you are a new college graduate and you have not yet had any professional positions then you may find that it is more difficult to answer this question, but it certainly is not impossible. You could easily relate how you developed a creative solution to a problem while in college or while working your way through college. The key is to make sure that the answer you provide to this question demonstrates your ability to lead, to be creative and to be resourceful. This is what the interviewer is looking to uncover when posing this form of question.
When answering this question you will need to ensure that you answer provides enough information to satisfy what the interviewer is seeking, but at the same time you will want to make sure that you do not go into so much detail that you begin to ramble. This is an excellent opportunity to practice your interviewing skills as this is a question that is commonly asked during interviews regardless of the type of job. It is also a question that you can easily prepare to answer by preparing ahead of time.
This type of question can carry a lot of weight when interviewing for many positions, especially if the job you are applying for would require you to work independently a good percentage of the time. If that is the case you may not have a lot of support and will need to find solutions on your own and learn how to be quite creative in order to get the job accomplished. Demonstrating that you already possess the ability to do this can provide you with a competitive edge over other candidates who may be applying for the job.