Project Manager Mock Interview
Master 50 Project Manager interview questions covering scope, stakeholders, risk, and delivery.
Question 4 of 50
How do you handle it when one of your team members makes a mistake?
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Example Answer
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Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
It's inevitable that people on the teams you are overseeing during a project will occasionally make mistakes. Sometimes they will be distracted or lack a good work ethic. The interviewer wants to know how you, as the project manager, will manage these kinds of situations when they arise.
Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
"There have definitely been times when I've had to talk to a team member about disappointing work behavior and/or an error that they made. I start by observing and gathering evidence myself so I can provide the individual with immediate feedback so they have the opportunity to fix the problem. If the issue persists, I request a private meeting where I aim to be respectful and professional; I never want someone to feel falsely accused.
I listen and try my best to understand their perspective. Then I explain to them why I would like to see a change in their behavior or a fix made to correct their mistake. Together, keeping the focus on how we can best complete the project in a timely and outstanding manner for the client, we create a short-term action plan. This generally leads to a change in the person's behavior. If it doesn't, I approach their manager and we consider what course of action needs to be taken to remedy the problem. At all times, keeping the project on track and the customer happy is of the utmost priority."
Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
Your answer should demonstrate that you are professional, tactful, respectful, and ethical. It should also convince your interviewer that you are able to address mistake-driven conflict while keeping the project on track and the client satisfied. Provide real-life examples if possible and describe your process for ensuring that your teammates learn from mistakes and take steps to avoid them in the future.
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Anonymous Answer
Mistakes happen on projects, but it is important to understand why mistakes are made. Is it because instructions are unclear? Does the resource have the proper skill set? Is there a behavior problem? I would try to understand what the issue is and meet privately with the resource to try and understand the reasons why this mistake has been made. Sometimes we just make mistakes, we are human, it happens. Sometimes it is an issue with the Project tasks that need clarification, sometimes we need to take action to correct behavior. What really matters is that we approach this issue (with the resource in a private and professional manner.
Amanda's Feedback
Your response illustrates your expertise in drilling down to understand the root cause of a mistake and then mitigating it to ensure it isn't made again. It also shows your ability to lead with professionalism and care for others, which is important to building a thriving team.
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