Tell me about a time when communication became an issue when working on a team.
A huge part of teamwork is supporting the goals of the team as a whole, as well as each member to ensure everyone works well together. Therefore, how well everyone communicates with one another is integral to effective collaboration. As Virgin puts it, every one of your team member's "actions and behaviours resonate with us and subconsciously influence our everyday choices. There's so much to be gained from working with a collective of people who support each other to achieve great things. It's therefore incredibly important to surround yourself with people who complement you, aid your self-development, and most importantly, allow you to shine." So offer an example of when you identified a communication issue somewhere in your team, and what you did to smooth it out and reinforce a positive and collaborative environment.
"I worked on a team to solve a problem that could have potential effects on 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 I suggested we give each person a chance to talk through their findings and opinions, which helped us take a more collaborative approach."
"My current company recently went through a merger which caused a lack of communication between the team as thoughts of job security flood people. I suggested my department head that we have a team building event. Gathering everyone together to remind them that we are still a team was very helpful."
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Anonymous Answer
Last month we had a cancelled flight whereby the staff member at the gate told passengers there was nothing they could do to help and to contact the airline. I was checking in the next flight and had no information regarding this and was aware we could transfer the passengers to the next available one on sight. This created confusion. I took it to management to get clarification and comms was issued for clear understanding to solve passenger concerns.
Jaymie's Feedback
This is a good example to share. You did a good job not speaking negatively about a coworker but rather focusing on the situation and the miscommunication. You took the initiative to get clarification from management and took action.
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