Give me an example of a time when you had a disagreement with someone working on your team.
This behavioral question aims to assess your personality, diplomacy, mediation skills, negotiation skills, emotional intelligence, and nondefensive communication skills. The interviewer seeks to understand how you handle conflicts, collaborate with colleagues, and how aligned you are with their values and work culture. For example, one of the company's values is respect. "Speak with courtesy to and about each other. Listen to each other and be open to all points of view, with the goal of providing a forum for support, networking, and professional development." Additionally, they go on to state that they are "valuing our differences and creating a family culture. Sharing our differences and building on our similarities helps us think creatively, collaborate effectively and take pride in our accomplishments."
"I worked with this sales whiz whose numbers were admirable. But his administrative stills were rather lacking. It bothered many of his peers. There was a bit of back-talking, and there was a particular individual who 'led the pack,' so to speak. Yet, ironically, he has some of the poorest sales track records in the department. So, when I noticed this gossip was spreading, and the situation was negatively impacting morale, I talked to the leader of this pack and told them I'd overheard many of his whisperings about our teammate. He then grew defensive and expressed that he was annoyed with having to clean up the sales whiz messes. So I listened, then mirrored his concerns and empathized with him. Then, I asked him one straightforward question. I asked him what he'd done to help the sales whiz out with his administration skills. He asked me what motive he'd have to help him out. I told, him because we're a team, and everyone on the team helps each other out. As soon as I noticed something was distracting him from adhering to our values, by creating a stir and negatively impacting morale, I decided to talk to him. And since he was the first to notice the severity of the sales whiz's administrative mistakes, he was responsible for talking to him, and telling him that there were whisperings spreading about his consistent errors, and that, maybe after offering help, the sales whiz could help him with his lagging sales numbers. He expressed he wasn't good about having such conversations and didn't feel like the right person to do that. So I told him that sounds like a great growth opportunity and asked him if he wanted some advice on how to go about it. Soon they had their talk, and it all worked out, and they both ended up getting some additional training from each other, and today are super close friends helping lead the rest of our teams."
How you answer stands to reveal your ability to navigate challenging situations, contribute to a positive work environment, and how effectively you build and maintain relationships with your coworkers and those in positions of authority. So, when addressing conflict in the workplace, focus on the solution rather than the problem. Maintain composure and avoid placing blame on individuals. Instead, highlight the steps you took to resolve the issue, emphasizing your conflict resolution skills and ability to maintain positive relationships with colleagues.
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