Talk about the last disagreement you had with a team member.

How to Answer
Answer Example

Disagreements in the workplace are not ideal; however, conflict can arise regardless of your management style and leadership talents. The interviewer wants to see that you can handle conflict professionally and deal with it swiftly, to avoid further damage to your team or the workplace culture.

The question is phrased as 'talk about...,' which means that the interviewer wants to assess a real-lift conflict and how you got through the situation. For this scenario-based interview question, you can use the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to form your reply. This answer method will help you deliver a well-structured response that is easy for your interviewer to follow.

"(Situation) A few weeks ago, my team had a tight deadline to reach for one of our largest clients. One of my team members was feeling overwhelmed, and over the course of two days, she continued to make negative comments about our progress and ability to meet the deadline. Her attitude was dragging down my team's performance, an action that we certainly could not afford especially considering the time crunch. (Task) As the manager, it was up to me to address this situation immediately, but instead, I let the issue drag on for 2 days because I felt that I was too busy to have a corrective conversation. (Action) Instead, I lost my patience and corrected her behavior in front of four other team members. I quickly realized that my behavior was just as unacceptable as hers. I apologized to her for the public disciplinary action and asked that we speak in my office about the matter. She appreciated that I took accountability for my swift words while also acknowledging that her behavior was harmful to the team and worthy of correcting. We agreed to handle future similar stresses like this with more empathy and a positive mindset. (Result) In the end, we all pulled together and completed the project on time. This situation taught me that I needed to express my concerns sooner rather than allowing frustration to build. The following weekend I read the book 'Think Like a Monk' by Jay Shetty. The primary points of the book included overcoming negativity and overthinking. The book also discussed learning from everyone you come across and how kindness and patience are critical to success. I gained so much perspective from the book that I purchased a copy for each of my 20 team members. This action showed that I wanted to invest in their success, and we have seen far less conflict since this occurrence."

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How to Answer: Talk about the last disagreement you had with a team member.

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Manager job interview.

26. Talk about the last disagreement you had with a team member.

How to Answer

Disagreements in the workplace are not ideal; however, conflict can arise regardless of your management style and leadership talents. The interviewer wants to see that you can handle conflict professionally and deal with it swiftly, to avoid further damage to your team or the workplace culture.

The question is phrased as 'talk about...,' which means that the interviewer wants to assess a real-lift conflict and how you got through the situation. For this scenario-based interview question, you can use the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to form your reply. This answer method will help you deliver a well-structured response that is easy for your interviewer to follow.

Answer Example

"(Situation) A few weeks ago, my team had a tight deadline to reach for one of our largest clients. One of my team members was feeling overwhelmed, and over the course of two days, she continued to make negative comments about our progress and ability to meet the deadline. Her attitude was dragging down my team's performance, an action that we certainly could not afford especially considering the time crunch. (Task) As the manager, it was up to me to address this situation immediately, but instead, I let the issue drag on for 2 days because I felt that I was too busy to have a corrective conversation. (Action) Instead, I lost my patience and corrected her behavior in front of four other team members. I quickly realized that my behavior was just as unacceptable as hers. I apologized to her for the public disciplinary action and asked that we speak in my office about the matter. She appreciated that I took accountability for my swift words while also acknowledging that her behavior was harmful to the team and worthy of correcting. We agreed to handle future similar stresses like this with more empathy and a positive mindset. (Result) In the end, we all pulled together and completed the project on time. This situation taught me that I needed to express my concerns sooner rather than allowing frustration to build. The following weekend I read the book 'Think Like a Monk' by Jay Shetty. The primary points of the book included overcoming negativity and overthinking. The book also discussed learning from everyone you come across and how kindness and patience are critical to success. I gained so much perspective from the book that I purchased a copy for each of my 20 team members. This action showed that I wanted to invest in their success, and we have seen far less conflict since this occurrence."

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