When have you taken a risk?

Question Analysis

This question is designed to assess your ability to take calculated risks and your decision-making skills. Interviewers want to understand how you evaluate situations, weigh potential outcomes, and proceed with actions that involve uncertainty. They are also interested in seeing how you handle the consequences of your decisions, whether positive or negative. Using a real-life example where you took a risk, and describing the process and outcome, will provide the interviewer with insight into your thought process and resilience.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager, our team was working on a high-profile project with a tight deadline. Midway through the project, it became evident that the current strategy would not meet the deadline, risking client dissatisfaction and potential loss of future business.

Task: I had to decide whether to continue with the current plan, which was safe but likely to fail in meeting the deadline, or propose a new approach that involved reallocating resources and changing some project parameters, which had its own risks.

Action: After consulting with key team members and analyzing potential outcomes, I chose to take the risk and propose a new strategy to the stakeholders. This involved increasing initial workload and pressure on certain team members but promised a more streamlined process in the long run. I communicated the plan clearly to the team, ensuring everyone understood their roles and the reasons behind the changes.

Result: The risk paid off. We delivered the project on time, the client was highly satisfied, and it led to a renewal of our contract for future projects. This experience taught me the importance of assessing risks thoroughly and the value of clear communication and team buy-in when taking calculated risks.