Your response should be a clear demonstration of your leadership skills during difficult times. However, I want to be clear that showing leadership during conflict does not necessarily mean that you have to 'take charge' of the situation. Team conflicts are owned by the team as a whole; everyone involved can be a leader while working to resolve them.

MBA programs are full of natural leaders, and you need to be prepared to take a facilitative approach to conflict resolution. Authoritative approaches are likely to fail within the collaborative and community-based culture of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Also, Stanford values candidates that can demonstrate advanced analytical skills. Use this question as an opportunity to convince your interviewer you can blend your soft and analytical skills to navigate difficult situations.

"I use several techniques to work through team-based conflicts. First, I am mindful of the language I use and the energy I project. I stay calm and focused on ensuring that each side has a chance to offer their perspective. When the conversation strays or becomes too emotional, I direct the group back to the facts we are discussing. I do not ignore conflict and I do not project positivity in an inauthentic way. I find both of those behaviors to be toxic in many cases.

I keep an open mind and encourage my teams to lean on our facilitation and strategic thinking skills to help decide the best path forward. For example, I have recommended that my team leverage the five whys technique to facilitate problem root cause analysis discussions. I find tools like these to be helpful in situations where people feel exposed or blamed. Likewise, I like to pause a heated discussion to see if there are any analytical opportunities we can take to help us decide. There is often data available that can diffuse the personal nature of a conflict by helping the team focus on the facts. Generally speaking, I feel conflict can be a healthy and helpful aspect of teamwork and I look forward to improving my leadership skills in this area if accepted to the program."