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Ford Motor Company Mock Interview

Question 17 of 35 for our Ford Motor Company Mock Interview

Ford Motor Company was updated by on June 28th, 2022. Learn more here.

Question 17 of 35

How do you handle a conflict with your manager?

Your interviewer is curious if you've had any negative experiences with your past managers or with anyone in a professional position of authority. This will help them find out whether the authority figure was the problem employee or if you were. Even more so, they're curious what your attitude towards your example says about you, your professionalism, general attitude, accountability, and diplomacy. Your answer can also clue them into your leadership style.

Think of a time when you exercised self-control and patience. An ideal candidate will exhibit emotional maturity, objectivity, while focussing on the situation and what influenced it. Avoid making it seem personal. If you can, lean more towards experiences where a supervisor was struggling with their responsibilities, and had room for improvement. Managing up is definitely a thing! Sometimes you have to manage your supervisor by learning how to push back and challenge them in a supportive way. Think of examples that show how their behavior or lack of skills impacted the team in the workplace. Show that you are collaborative and easy going. Ford is looking for individuals with a strong work ethic and communication skills. Demonstrate your ability to see the opportunities and how you proactively work towards solutions.

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How to Answer: How do you handle a conflict with your manager?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Ford Motor Company job interview.

  • 17. How do you handle a conflict with your manager?

      What You Need to Know

      Your interviewer is curious if you've had any negative experiences with your past managers or with anyone in a professional position of authority. This will help them find out whether the authority figure was the problem employee or if you were. Even more so, they're curious what your attitude towards your example says about you, your professionalism, general attitude, accountability, and diplomacy. Your answer can also clue them into your leadership style.

      Think of a time when you exercised self-control and patience. An ideal candidate will exhibit emotional maturity, objectivity, while focussing on the situation and what influenced it. Avoid making it seem personal. If you can, lean more towards experiences where a supervisor was struggling with their responsibilities, and had room for improvement. Managing up is definitely a thing! Sometimes you have to manage your supervisor by learning how to push back and challenge them in a supportive way. Think of examples that show how their behavior or lack of skills impacted the team in the workplace. Show that you are collaborative and easy going. Ford is looking for individuals with a strong work ethic and communication skills. Demonstrate your ability to see the opportunities and how you proactively work towards solutions.

      Written by Kevin Downey on June 28th, 2022

      Answer Example

      "My manager asked me to take on too many projects, and I knew it was going to be too much for me. Instead of getting overly stressed and frustrated, I communicated that I was already at my max, but I still wanted to see how we could help each other out. We were able to support each other in our projects when went through and prioritized each one together."

      Written by Elisabeth Walter

      Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback

      Anonymous Answer

      "To me, conflict is like criticism, and I use this as a tool to better myself and to get a better understanding of how things need to be tackled at work. I was once given more work than my average day, my team leader challenged me by saying you'll get it done, I knew we were up against a deadline and the vehicles need to be tested, in these testing times and working shorter hours, I knew this would be hard to accomplish, and possibly impossible to get it all done, but I listened to what he wanted me to carry out, took in a deep breath, and thought for a split second about how to construct my day successfully, I didn't need to react badly or over-complicate the task. I knew that it was possible to complete the work, but possibly only have a 10-minute lunch break, so I set about the tasks set up and got through the day without any issues, I kept my team leader up to speed all day so he could communicate this back to management. it was a great feeling to keep pushing myself throughout that day, knowing my goal and what I had to do to complete the task. I had a great feeling of accomplishment at the end of the shift."

      Cindy's Feedback

      Good start. You may want to expand on how you worked through the conflict with your manager. Did you disagree with the directive, but pushed yourself and your team to accomplish it anyway?