Give an example of when your team motivated you. How did this gesture enhance your performance?

"As the manager, I am usually the motivating one, but sometimes, the tables turn. I had a rough week with a production floor accident and then two employees quitting, without notice. My team noticed that I was a bit down and so they surprised me by ordering lunch for our team one day. It was the morale boost that I, and they, needed. It felt great that they thought of me."

"I had a significant client pull the plug on their project, about halfway through, due to budget cuts. I had put so much effort into the work because they had been my biggest client to date. Knowing that I wanted the work on my portfolio, my team could feel the disappointment. They agreed to place me on another major client right away, even though that wasn't the normal client assignment schedule. The gesture was so kind and showed me that they believed in my work."

"One Saturday, we were about 3 hours from closing, and I was still about 500 away from hitting my quota. I felt discouraged and did not want to get written up. We work on an 'up' system where we take turns approaching clients as they enter the store. My team forewent the up order and let me take as many clients as I needed so that I hit my quota. I exceeded my target, and the following week, we did the same for another associate who was at risk of not meeting their goal."

"A couple of months ago I had a client pull out on a huge deal. This deal would have put me over my sales quota for the year, and I was disappointed when it all came to a halt. My team members understood the disappointment, and I received nice notes of encouragement from them throughout the week. These gestures kept me motivated, and I was able to resuscitate the deal. I believe a lot of that confidence came from the encouragement my teammates gave me."

"I had a very challenging class last year with the class being primarily boys, and prepubescent at that. There was a lot of arguing amongst the boys. I don't have kids myself, so I did not understand this type of behavior. My faculty collectively went to the Principal and suggested that part of our budget go to hiring a TA for me. It was so incredible to see my co-workers go to bat for me. The extra hand that I received made all the difference."

Everyone needs to be motivated now and then! The interviewer would like to know some of the ways that you can be driven, even on the toughest of days. Many people find motivation through incentives, additional training, and positive affirmations. Think of a time when you needed extra motivating. Share what members of your team did to drive you, and how it positively affected your performance.

"I had a major year-end audit that was not going smoothly. I had a few computer crashes and other small setbacks that turned into a huge frustration. My Controller noticed that I was struggling and she brought me a coffee, sat down and said 'What can I do?'. Just knowing that she was willing to help was enough to give me some oomph back!"

Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.