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Behavioralstandard
Describe a time you had to get buy-in from a senior leader who was skeptical.
How to approach it
Show how you found out what the leader cared about most and framed your proposal in those terms, not yours.
How a strong answer opens
“I needed our VP of sales to back a self-serve plan she thought would cannibalize her team's deals. I won her over by framing the plan around her goal, not mine.”
Outline of a strong answer
Try answering out loud for a few minutes before you open this.
- The proposal and the leader's specific doubts
- How you learned their priorities, for example from their staff or past decisions
- How you reframed the case around their goal, with data
- The compromise or small pilot you offered to lower the risk
- The decision and the result of the pilot
- What you would do sooner next time
Where this question usually goes wrong
Pushing more data harder at a skeptical leader instead of learning what they cared about and framing the case in their terms.
Learn the method
Influence without authority in Module 4, Behavioral and leadership.
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More behavioral questions
- Tell me about a time you influenced a decision without having authority over the people involved.
- Tell me about a time you failed to influence someone. What would you do differently?
- Tell me about a time you had to cut scope to hit a deadline.
- Describe a time you used data to change someone's mind.
- Tell me about a time you missed a deadline.