Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?
At the heart of this question, your interviewer wants to know how you use solid interpersonal and relationship-building skills to diffuse a difficult situation with a coworker. A central part of Standard Bank's company culture is that they value diverse ways of thinking. As such, you will likely encounter colleagues who have different perspectives and backgrounds than you. Your interviewer wants to hear that you'll be able to effectively manage diverse perspectives and even potential conflict as a team member.
No matter what situation you discuss, make sure to keep your answer positive by walking through the steps you took to turn a potentially hazardous situation into a good one. Emphasize the lessons you learned from that situation that you keep with you to this day.
"A few years back, we hired a junior advisor on our team, and I was tasked with being his mentor. Having mentored several other thriving junior advisors before he started, I was excited about the opportunity. Within the first week of him being on the job, I overheard a colleague talking openly about his disdain for the hire of this new advisor. I decided to speak to my colleague in a private office about my concern about his words. Having been a part of the interview process and his early mentorship, I knew he had the skills to succeed, and I reiterated that to my colleague. After agreeing to cease his critique of the new advisor, I learned that direct conversations are the best way to handle workplace conflicts. The junior advisor went on to be quite successful at the firm. I learned from this experience the importance of open communication and friendly assertiveness when working with my colleagues."
"A couple of years ago, I approached a colleague that had missed a deadline on a big audit we were conducting, and she completely blew up at me during our conversation. At first, I was taken aback by her response because I had never witnessed that from her in many years of working together. While remaining calm, I allowed her the opportunity to vent to me, and it turns out that she was going through a lot of things in her personal life that was impacting her work. While keeping our project deadlines in mind, I also took a personal approach to let her know that she could bring these issues to me as both a colleague and a friend and work through them together in the future. Through this experience, I learned the importance of treating all clients and colleagues as multifaceted humans, often with a lot going on. It's made me a better listener and team member in the workplace."
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