What do you do if you identify that one stakeholder in the project is becoming a roadblock in completing milestones?
Processes can be defined, documented, and refined. However, you will need people to run them, and people can become project risks. In your response, assure the interviewer that you have a rational approach to solving interpersonal issues within the project team. Talk about your plan and any relevant contingencies you might put in place to ensure project success.
"Once I was managing the system implementation for a new branch that was under construction. One of the main stakeholders for the build was the operations director. I had asked them for the organizational breakdown of the new branch so I could break down the access privileges as well as other software permissions based on different roles and responsibilities for the branch. The operations director, Mr. A kept pushing it off giving the excuse that HR hadn't confirmed headcounts and hiring timeline. I had already explained multiple times how critical it was for us to at least estimate the number of people who would be managers, supervisors, and everyone else under them. I needed to carve out the hardware budget accordingly, get approvals, and plan software training for new hires.
After a month with no estimates, I respectfully let Mr. A know that I would approach HR directly. I escalated to my manager and asked to coordinate directly with HR. This was not a standard operating procedure, so my manager and I met with Mr. A's superior first and they confirmed that Mr. A has a history of withholding information. In this case, the superior advised that I approach them directly moving forward, instead of Mr. A. I got the data I needed and got the project sponsors' approval. After that, I met with Mr. A to show them the numbers before I shared them with the rest of the project team. I felt like I needed to assure him that I wasn't going behind his back, but instead made him feel as if I wanted to take a large task off his plate."
