Amazon Leadership Principles: The Complete Interview Guide for 2025
Amazon interviews are different. While other tech companies focus 70% on coding and 30% on behavioral, Amazon flips the script. Their Leadership Principles (LPs) can make or break your candidacy—even if you ace every coding question.
This guide breaks down all 16 Leadership Principles with real interview questions and how to answer them.
Why Leadership Principles Matter
Amazon's Bar Raiser process is specifically designed to evaluate LP alignment. Every interviewer is assigned 2-3 LPs to probe. A "no hire" on LPs can override stellar technical performance.
The math is simple: You'll face 4-6 interviews. Each interviewer asks 2-3 behavioral questions. That's 8-18 LP questions you need to nail.
The 16 Amazon Leadership Principles
1. Customer Obsession
"Leaders start with the customer and work backwards."
What they're looking for: Decisions driven by customer impact, not internal politics or convenience.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.
- Describe a situation where you had to balance customer needs with business constraints.
- Give an example of when you used customer feedback to drive a change.
Strong answer pattern:
Situation: Customer complaints increased 40% after a feature launch
Task: Identify root cause and fix it without reverting the feature
Action: Analyzed support tickets, ran customer interviews, prioritized fixes
Result: Complaints dropped 60%, NPS increased by 15 points
2. Ownership
"Leaders are owners. They think long term and don't sacrifice long-term value for short-term results."
What they're looking for: Taking responsibility beyond your job description. Not saying "that's not my job."
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you took on something outside your area of responsibility.
- Describe a situation where you saw a problem and fixed it without being asked.
- Give an example of when you made a decision that wasn't popular but was right for the long term.
3. Invent and Simplify
"Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify."
What they're looking for: Novel solutions, not just copying what others do. Removing complexity, not adding it.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about an innovative solution you developed.
- Describe a process you simplified.
- Give an example of when you challenged the status quo.
4. Are Right, A Lot
"Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts."
What they're looking for: Data-driven decisions. Changing your mind when presented with new information.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a decision you made that you later realized was wrong. How did you handle it?
- Describe a situation where you had to make a decision with incomplete information.
- Give an example of when you convinced others you were right despite initial resistance.
5. Learn and Be Curious
"Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves."
What they're looking for: Self-directed learning. Seeking feedback. Intellectual humility.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a skill you taught yourself.
- Describe a time you sought feedback that was hard to hear.
- Give an example of how you stay current in your field.
6. Hire and Develop the Best
"Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion."
What they're looking for: Mentorship. Hiring decisions. Developing team members.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about someone you mentored.
- Describe your hiring philosophy.
- Give an example of a difficult hiring decision.
7. Insist on the Highest Standards
"Leaders have relentlessly high standards—many people may think these standards are unreasonably high."
What they're looking for: Not accepting mediocrity. Pushing for excellence even when it's uncomfortable.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you refused to compromise on quality.
- Describe a situation where you raised the bar for your team.
- Give an example of when your high standards created conflict.
8. Think Big
"Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy."
What they're looking for: Ambitious vision. 10x thinking, not 10% thinking.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you proposed a bold idea.
- Describe your biggest professional ambition.
- Give an example of when you expanded the scope of a project significantly.
9. Bias for Action
"Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study."
What they're looking for: Acting quickly. Not waiting for perfect information. Calculated risk-taking.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you took a calculated risk.
- Describe a situation where you had to act quickly without full information.
- Give an example of when waiting would have been the wrong choice.
10. Frugality
"Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention."
What they're looking for: Doing more with less. Not throwing money at problems.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you achieved results with limited resources.
- Describe a situation where you found a low-cost solution to a problem.
- Give an example of when you cut costs without sacrificing quality.
11. Earn Trust
"Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully."
What they're looking for: Building relationships. Honest feedback. Admitting mistakes.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you had to rebuild trust with a colleague.
- Describe a situation where you gave difficult feedback.
- Give an example of when you admitted a mistake publicly.
12. Dive Deep
"Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ."
What they're looking for: Understanding the details. Not just managing from dashboards.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you discovered a problem by diving into the details.
- Describe a situation where the data told a different story than people claimed.
- Give an example of when your technical depth prevented a mistake.
13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
"Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree."
What they're looking for: Constructive conflict. Committing once a decision is made.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager.
- Describe a situation where you committed to a decision you disagreed with.
- Give an example of when you changed someone's mind on an important issue.
14. Deliver Results
"Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion."
What they're looking for: Execution. Meeting commitments. Overcoming obstacles.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you delivered results under difficult circumstances.
- Describe your biggest professional achievement.
- Give an example of when you had to overcome significant obstacles to deliver.
15. Strive to be Earth's Best Employer
"Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment."
What they're looking for: Team welfare. Inclusion. Work-life balance considerations.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you improved your team's work environment.
- Describe how you've promoted diversity and inclusion.
- Give an example of when you helped a struggling team member.
16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
"We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions."
What they're looking for: Ethical considerations. Broader impact. Sustainability thinking.
Sample questions:
- Tell me about a time you considered the broader impact of a decision.
- Describe a situation where you prioritized ethics over speed or profit.
- Give an example of sustainable thinking in your work.
The STAR Method: Your Answer Framework
Every LP answer should follow STAR:
| Component | Time | What to Include |
|---|---|---|
| Situation | 15 sec | Context, stakes, timeline |
| Task | 10 sec | Your specific responsibility |
| Action | 60 sec | What YOU did (not the team) |
| Result | 15 sec | Quantified outcome, lessons learned |
Common STAR Mistakes
Too much "we": Amazon wants to know what you did. Use "I" not "we."
No metrics: "It went well" isn't a result. "Reduced latency by 40%" is.
Hypotheticals: "I would have done..." doesn't count. Use real experiences.
Ancient history: Prioritize examples from the last 2-3 years.
Preparing Your Story Bank
You need 15-20 stories that can flex across different LPs. Here's a worksheet:
Story Template
Title: [Brief name for the story]
Company/Context: [Where and when]
Situation: [1-2 sentences]
Task: [Your specific role]
Actions: [3-5 bullet points of what you did]
Results: [Quantified outcomes]
LPs it covers: [List 2-3 relevant LPs]
Stories You Need
| Story Type | LPs Covered | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Launched a product/feature | Customer Obsession, Deliver Results, Ownership | Shipped feature X in Y weeks |
| Fixed a critical bug/incident | Bias for Action, Dive Deep, Ownership | Resolved outage affecting Z users |
| Improved a process | Invent and Simplify, Frugality | Automated process saving N hours/week |
| Mentored someone | Hire and Develop the Best, Earn Trust | Helped junior dev get promoted |
| Disagreed with leadership | Have Backbone, Are Right A Lot | Pushed back on architecture decision |
| Made a mistake | Learn and Be Curious, Earn Trust | Shipped bug, implemented testing |
| Led through ambiguity | Ownership, Think Big | Defined scope for vague project |
| Dealt with conflict | Earn Trust, Disagree and Commit | Resolved team disagreement |
Red Flags Interviewers Watch For
Blaming others: Taking responsibility is core to Ownership.
No metrics: If you can't quantify impact, did it matter?
Vague actions: "I helped the team" says nothing.
Not learning: Every failure needs a lesson learned.
Not listening: Interrupting or answering the wrong question.
Interview Day Tips
Before the interview:
- Review your 20 stories
- Research your interviewers on LinkedIn (know their background)
- Prepare questions about their team and Amazon's culture
During the interview:
- Ask clarifying questions if needed
- Take 5-10 seconds to collect thoughts
- Use a notepad to track which stories you've used
- Watch time—2 minutes per answer max
Answer starters:
- "That reminds me of when I..."
- "A relevant example from my experience..."
- "At [Company], I faced a similar situation..."
How CodeSparring Helps with LP Prep
Behavioral interviews are skill-based. Practice makes perfect.
| LP Challenge | CodeSparring Feature |
|---|---|
| Remembering stories | Spaced repetition for your story bank |
| Time management | Timed practice with 2-minute limits |
| Real-time feedback | AI interviewer probes weak answers |
| LP coverage | Tracks which principles you've practiced |
Most candidates practice coding but wing behavioral. That's backwards for Amazon.
Practice Amazon LP questions with AI →
Final Checklist
Before your Amazon interview, verify you can:
- Name all 16 Leadership Principles from memory
- Tell 2-3 stories for each principle
- Answer in under 2 minutes using STAR
- Quantify results with specific metrics
- Pivot a story to cover different LPs
- Ask thoughtful questions about Amazon's culture
The bar is high. But with systematic preparation, you'll walk in confident.
Good luck. You've got this.