Detail the situation, what inspired you to take the approach you took, and how you achieved a positive outcome. When delivering your example, you want to present yourself as someone who takes calculated risks as opposed to someone who is a habitual risk-taker. Avoid providing examples where you went outside of the chain of command, or the approach you took resulted in failure. This will only serve as a red flag, presenting you as a liability.

"I had a looming deadline, and there was still work that needed to be done. Then a member of my team went out on leave. The project they were working on was near completion, with the deadline approaching fast as well. Since I was familiar with the work they performed, I volunteered to take on that work as well. I wasn't sure if I could meet both deadlines, but I put my all in. In the end, I had to put in ten hours of overtime in three days to get it all done. I could have scraped by doing less, but then the quality of my work would have merely met expectations, which is below my standard."