Give an example of when you made a decision that was unpopular.

Question Analysis

This question is designed to assess your decision-making skills, leadership qualities, and ability to handle dissent or criticism. The interviewer is interested in understanding how you handle situations where your decision may not be well-received by others, and how you communicate and justify your actions. It's important to focus on the rationale behind the decision, how you managed the team's response, and what the outcome was.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager, we were working on a high-stakes project with a tight deadline. The team was enthusiastic about pursuing a new feature that had received positive feedback from a client.

Task: As the project manager, it was my responsibility to ensure that the project was completed on time while meeting quality standards. After analyzing the project timeline and resource availability, I realized that including this new feature would risk delaying the project.

Action: I made the decision to postpone the implementation of the new feature until the next phase of the project. I communicated my decision to the team, explaining that while the feature was valuable, our priority had to be delivering the core project on time. I also ensured the team understood that the feature would be revisited once we had the capacity to do so without compromising the project's timeline.

Result: Initially, the decision was unpopular with the team, as they were eager to implement the client's feedback. However, by focusing on clear communication and the project's long-term success, the team understood the rationale behind my decision. Ultimately, we delivered the project on time and maintained a strong relationship with the client, who appreciated our commitment to quality and deadlines. The postponed feature was successfully integrated in the next phase, further strengthening the client relationship.