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Behavioralstandard
Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult stakeholder.
How to approach it
Do not paint them as the villain. Show that you worked out what pressure they were under and changed how you worked with them.
How a strong answer opens
“Our finance lead questioned every launch plan in public and blocked two releases late. Instead of working around her, I found out what she was being held accountable for and started a short weekly check-in with her.”
Outline of a strong answer
Try answering out loud for a few minutes before you open this.
- Who they were and why working together was hard
- The pressure they faced from their own boss or goals
- One thing you changed, such as a weekly 15-minute check-in
- How the working relationship shifted
- The project result
- What you now do early with new stakeholders
Where this question usually goes wrong
Painting the stakeholder as a villain and describing how you put up with them, instead of what you changed.
Learn the method
Conflict and disagreement in Module 4, Behavioral and leadership.
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More behavioral questions
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with an engineer about how to build something.
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager and turned out to be wrong.
- Describe a conflict between two teammates that you helped resolve.
- Tell me about a time you said no to a stakeholder.
- Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete data.