Tell me about a time where you were unpopular thanks to a decision you imposed on your team

Question Analysis

This question is assessing your ability to make difficult decisions as a leader, even when those decisions might be unpopular. It evaluates your decision-making skills, leadership qualities, and how you manage team dynamics in challenging situations. The interviewer is interested in understanding how you handle resistance and manage to engage your team through a potentially unpopular decision. The STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—can help structure your response by clearly outlining the context and the steps you took.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager, we were working on a critical project with a tight deadline. Halfway through, it became apparent that the current approach was not sustainable and would likely lead to delays.

Task: As the project lead, it was my responsibility to ensure the project stayed on track and met the deadline. I needed to make a decision that would pivot the project strategy, even though it would be unpopular among the team who were invested in the current plan.

Action: After analyzing the situation, I decided to implement a more structured project management methodology. I communicated the reasons for this change to the team, emphasizing the benefits and how it aligned with our ultimate goal. I also scheduled a series of workshops to help the team get up to speed with the new process and offered my support to address their concerns.

Result: Initially, the team was resistant and morale was low due to the additional work required to adapt. However, as we progressed, the new approach proved to be effective. We completed the project on time, and the final deliverables exceeded initial expectations. Over time, the team recognized the value of the new process, which improved our overall workflow in subsequent projects.