Tell me about a time communication became an issue when working on a team.

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Community Answers

When working on a team, not everyone will be as skilled at communicating as others, and some have different communication styles. This could come down to differing personalities or varying cultural backgrounds. Give an example of a time you were challenged with overcoming a communication breakdown or how you aided one of your team members in communicating more effectively. Be sure to include the overall outcome of the situation and what you did to contribute.

"If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don't need control. They know what needs to be done and they do it." - Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines.

"I worked on a team to solve a problem that could affect our ability to grow the business and reach our goals. Each person on the team was tasked with a different aspect, such as gathering data and analyzing it. We came together to discuss the results but couldn't seem to agree. We were struggling to listen to each person's opinion. I explained my observation and suggested we give each person a chance to discuss their findings and opinions, which helped us take a more collaborative approach."

"My current company recently went through a merger which has caused a lack of communication between the team as thoughts of job security flood people. I suggested to my department head that we have a team-building event. Gathering everyone to remind them that we are still a team was beneficial."

Anonymous Answer

"I had a client that I had emailed a list of required documentation that we needed to submit her file to underwriting. She sent me everything except her Driver's License and Social Security card. I sent a reminder e-mail and she sent an e-mail back that she had already sent them. Then I get a call from my broker letting me know she had already gotten those items because the client had called her letting her know I was asking for things. I let my broker know that I was never informed of that information and I never received those items in my e-mail for my file. We discussed how we needed to start communicating updated information better because it looks bad on the company when things like this happen. She apologized and agreed. I also now have access to her work e-mail, as well as my processor's, so that I am able to search for that information if it was not sent directly to me."

Marcie's Feedback

It's great that you were able to work out a better way to communicate with your colleagues so the customer's experience was improved. The interviewer will likely be impressed by your example - good job!

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Anonymous Answer

"At ______ we worked in work groups there were times when communication in the workgroup would break down I always tried to make sure that everyone in the Groupe would be on the same page and that we all reached out to help one another."

Jaymie's Feedback

When interviewers ask behavioral or "tell me about a" questions, they usually want you to share a story or example. You can check out more details about the topic at this link https://www.mockquestions.com/articles/Interview Types/Master Behavioral-Based Interviews Using The Star Method/

Try to share a specific story to help the interviewer understand the setting, team dynamic, and issue. What role did you play on the team, and did you take the initiative to get to the root cause of the problem and address it? How was the issue resolved? What did you learn from the experience, or what skills did you utilize or develop from the situation?