Share a time when you had a disagreement with a member of your team.

Question Analysis

This question is designed to assess your conflict resolution skills, teamwork, and communication abilities. The interviewer wants to know how you handle disagreements and whether you can work well with others to resolve conflicts. It’s important to demonstrate your ability to remain professional, empathetic, and solution-oriented. Using the STAR method will help you structure your answer by outlining the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager, I was part of a team tasked with delivering a major project to a high-profile client. During the planning phase, a team member and I had a disagreement about the project timeline. He believed the timeline was too aggressive and risked compromising the quality of the output.

Task: My task was to ensure that the project stayed on track and met the client’s expectations without sacrificing quality. It was crucial to address the disagreement to maintain team cohesion and ensure a successful project delivery.

Action: I arranged a meeting with the team member to discuss his concerns in detail. I listened actively to his points and acknowledged the validity of his concerns. I then suggested we collaboratively review the project timeline and identify specific areas where we could be more efficient without compromising quality. Together, we brainstormed potential solutions and came up with a revised timeline that included additional buffer time for quality assurance.

Result: By addressing the disagreement openly and collaboratively, we were able to come up with a solution that satisfied both parties. The project was completed on time and met the client’s quality standards. This experience strengthened our team’s collaboration and improved our ability to communicate effectively in future projects.