How do you approach swiftly solving a high-stakes problem without all the information you need on hand?
Someone who feels overwhelmed in high-pressure situations is more likely to suffer from task paralysis and not respond with a level head at speed. Someone who acts too hastily might take uncalculated risks and present themselves as a liability. How you answer this question serves to inform your interviewer of how effectively you solve problems in high-pressure situations and your approach to taking risks. As John C. Bogle once said, "When a door closes, if you look long enough and hard enough if you're strong enough, you'll find a window that opens."
While exploring Vanguard's website, you'll find they offer several PDFs for review that go into greater detail about their values, such as Vanguard's global investment stewardship principles. In their second principle, "Oversight of strategy and risk," they state, "Strategy and risk are two sides of the same coin. Every strategy involves risk, and every risk can present strategic opportunities." So when answering this question showcase how you ask lots of questions, make every effort to anticipate the needs of your leaders, your clients, and your teams, and can be counted on as a trusted resource of information. The more informed you are, the more capable of taking well-thought-out, calculated risks.
"Well, I am quite adept at finding the information I need to make an informed decision at speed. But if I were in a situation where that wasn't an option dictated by higher priorities, I would make an educated decision while proceeding with caution. A calculated risk, per se. I consider myself pretty informed. I am always asking questions and anticipating the needs of my leadership team. The way I look at it is they hired me to make their job easier. So the whole of my job is summed up to that. So, I would take a calculated, educated risk doing what my leaders would do, with the aim of making their lives easier by acting fast. In all honesty, I rarely take a bet I am not one-hundred percent sure I can win."
