Describe a time you disagreed with your manager. How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
"I reached out to a supervisor for help with a project when my teammate, who was helping with this project, was out of work for an extended time. This supervisor agreed and assigned a teammate whose skills were not a good match for the project. This was one of their weak points. Then this coworker confided in me that they believed this supervisor was always setting them up for failure by assigning tasks that were their weak points. So I captured the attention of this supervisor and explained that by assigning this coworker to this project, they were exploiting their weaknesses rather than promoting their strengths. They disagreed, claiming this coworker had to step out of their comfort zone. So, I did the best I could to train this individual in addition to delivering on time. But this took longer than if I'd worked on the project alone."
This question aims to assess your emotional maturity and how well you relate to and communicate with people in positions of authority. How you answer will provide them with insights into how proactive your approach is to prioritizing the team's needs. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with your team leaders or management as long as it is done respectfully to accomplish a mutual goal while respecting the chain of command.
However, before disagreeing with anyone, you must understand the big picture of the vision or goal. It's also crucial to objectify the situation and not the individual you disagree with. Avoid bad-mouthing your boss or offering examples that ended acrimoniously. Instead, offer examples where you disagreed on an approach to solving a problem that resulted in a meeting of the minds.
The assessment vendor's algorithm will study you for any defensive cues while you recall your experience. It's perfectly natural to regress into the emotion of a conflict situation when reflecting upon it. Yet, you'll want to avoid any defensive behavior, defensive posturing, jerky movements, or gestures that could be interpreted as insecure, closed-off, unapproachable, hostile, or disinterested. Some may think exuding a strong posture may communicate confidence, but it could be seen as defensive or confrontational. True strength comes from within, and it would better serve you to come across as relaxed and emotionally mature.
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