How to Answer: Tell us about a time you successfully navigated conflict in the workplace.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a NASA job interview.
15. Tell us about a time you successfully navigated conflict in the workplace.
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
NASA places a heavy emphasis on teamwork and building leaders, so they will likely ask you a series of situational and behavioral questions where you will have a chance to display your initiative, collaboration, and leadership. Demonstrating your ability to analyze a situation and react appropriately, efficiently, and even empathetically will help set you above the rest. With this question, your interviewer wants to hear about your ability to handle conflict in the workplace in a healthy manner.
Written by Karrie Day on November 5th, 2023
How to Answer
Think of a time you've encountered conflict at work, including the situation, and explain the steps you took to resolve it. Use an example that demonstrates your leadership and compassion when a conflict arises.
Remember that NASA values qualities such as inclusion, humility, and authenticity. If possible, describe a solution that highlights your ability to expose and address a negative situation in a manner that honors all parties involved.
Written by Karrie Day on November 5th, 2023
Entry Level Example
"I experienced conflict with a colleague during my recent internship. My manager assigned me a mentor and asked that I shadow them and work with them directly to get my assignments. The person they assigned me to regularly canceled our meetings, and generally seemed disinterested in working together. I was excited about the opportunity to be working with someone with more experience and it was disappointing to be paired with someone who was unwilling to give their time.
I set up a meeting with my mentor and asked if there was anything I could do to make it easier on him to teach me. I let him know I was invested in learning as much as I could, and I was willing to jump in and help with any of his assignments he felt I could handle. I reminded him of the expectations that our manager had set for our time together and asked him if he interpreted the goals differently than I had.
It turned out that he was going through a difficult personal situation and was struggling with the idea of teaching while trying to make it through his workday. He thanked me for discussing the issue directly with him as opposed to escalating to our manager. He then gave me access to his calendar and told me I could join any meetings I thought would add value to my experience. He told me to listen for tasks I felt like I could handle when he was taking on action items, and to ask to take on anything I was interested in.
From that point on, we quickly established a great relationship. I was able to reduce his workload during the difficult time he was going through, and he was able to answer questions and provide guidance. I am glad I spoke with him directly and that we found a way forward."
Written by Samantha Brown on December 16th, 2023
Answer Example
"In a previous position, I worked on a team that had challenges with power dynamics, interpersonal conflict, and trust. Unfortunately, the mid-to-upper managers appeared unaware of the tension and damage on the overall team.
I had only been in my position for a few months, but I could see how the long-term effects of these dynamics impacted the productivity and morale of my colleagues. I set up an informal meeting with my coworkers to discuss the conflict within the team and try to glean some concrete issues contributing to the tension. With consent, I took those concerns to my supervisor in our next one-on-one meeting to seek solutions and mediation. She was grateful to have something tangible to work with and take to management, and from there she was able to set up a team meeting to bring these issues to light and set some whole-team expectations to prevent tensions from rising again in the future. In less than two weeks, productivity, morale, and collaborative work had already increased significantly."
Written by Samantha Brown on December 16th, 2023
Experienced Example
"I have been in my current position for three years. The typical job path is to be promoted to a senior level within two to four years of taking on the role. I believe strongly in striving to learn to perform at the job level above your current level as soon as possible. This approach helps me to align my growth and learning in a direction that will serve myself and my company well in the future.
I have exceeded the job requirements for my current role for over a year now. Additionally, I gained several helpful certifications since my last promotion. I am qualified for a promotion, and my manager told me six months ago that he was working on getting it approved.
Our annual reviews came around two months ago and I was not promoted. I was disappointed given the discussions I had previously had with my manager. He did not openly address the situation, and there was a lot of tension after my review meeting. I scheduled a follow-up shortly after my review. I was calm and directly asked why I was not promoted. He indicated that he did try to get me promoted, but there was no room in the budget. I let him know I understood, but I would have preferred that he share that with me as opposed to ignoring the situation.
He apologized and asked if there was anything he could do to help. He is very well-connected within the aerospace industry, so I asked if he would be willing to reach out within his network to see if anyone had a senior engineering position available. He put me in touch with a friend here who recommended I apply for this position. I really appreciate my manager's willingness to help me grow in my career even if it is with another company. He speaks very highly of NASA and said he felt I could thrive here."
Written by Samantha Brown on December 16th, 2023
Project Manager Example
"One of the teams I worked with recently experienced a lot of conflict during meetings. There was history from previous projects that were affecting the current project and keeping us from working together effectively. I decided to facilitate a meeting to work through the most important issues and find a way forward. I asked everyone to individually brainstorm a list of improvements the team needed to address. Then, I presented the findings so that the feedback could be reviewed without team members knowing exactly who had written each item.
We identified themes and then voted to identify the issues that were most impactful to our work. After that, we brainstormed strategies for improving the top items. We created a new list of ground rules and various working agreements to address process issues. Overall, taking time to take a step back and address the conflict together as a team was a really helpful strategy. We now hold regular check-ins to see if anyone has ideas on how we can continually improve, and the conflicts have been greatly reduced."
Written by Karrie Day on December 16th, 2023