Yes, if the story demonstrates influence, ownership, and decisions that affected other people rather than only independent technical work.

Leadership in consulting interviews does not always mean formal people management. It can involve aligning collaborators, overcoming resistance, or driving a project through ambiguity.

If you coordinated multiple labs, changed the research direction after conflicting results, and brought stakeholders along, that can be a leadership story.

Frame the story around the people and decisions involved, not only the technical complexity of the dissertation.

Leadership without direct reports still counts imo if you're driving people and decisions.

PhD collaboration stories can be stronger than people think.