Recount a situation in a role you held where you had to steer engineering in a particular direction using your influence.

Question Analysis

This question is a behavioral interview question designed to assess your leadership and management skills, particularly your ability to influence and guide a team or department, such as engineering, towards a specific goal or direction. The interviewer is interested in understanding your influencing abilities, decision-making process, and how you effectively lead a team without necessarily having direct authority. The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is an excellent approach to structure your answer.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager at XYZ Corp, our engineering team was tasked with developing a new product feature that was crucial for our upcoming release. The team was divided on the technical approach, which was delaying progress.

Task: My responsibility was to align the team on a unified approach and ensure that we met the project deadlines without compromising on the quality or innovation of the feature.

Action: I began by organizing a series of workshops where each team member could present their approach and the rationale behind it. I facilitated open discussions, encouraging collaboration and idea-sharing. After collecting all viewpoints, I conducted a risk-benefit analysis to assess each proposed approach. I then used the data gathered to present a compelling case for the most viable solution, highlighting how it aligned with our strategic goals and customer needs. Additionally, I secured buy-in from senior management to support the chosen direction.

Result: The team agreed on the proposed approach, which led to increased collaboration and efficiency. We successfully developed the feature, which was well-received by users and contributed to a 15% increase in product adoption in the first quarter post-launch. This experience reinforced the importance of leveraging influence through communication and collaboration in steering engineering efforts effectively.