Question: Imagine this scenario: You are a manager of a team. You and your team have a major project due soon and it seem like your team will not meet the deadline. Your manager, the regional director, has suggested that you ask your team to work overtime to get the project done. If you take this advice, you will have to convince your team to work overtime. What do you do?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

You are managing a team with a big deadline coming up and need everyone to pitch in extra hours to meet the deadline. How do you approach your team?

Follow-up questions:

What incentives can you provide your team?
Has this ever happened to you?
How do you think your team would respond based on your approach?
How will you communicate this to your team?
How will you handle the objections or non-compliance from your team?
Would you decline to overwork your team? If so, what would your plan be?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Situational

Knowledge:

Management,Personnel and Human Resources

Skills:

Management of Personnel Resources,Management of Time,Social – Negotiation,Social – Persuasion,Systems – Judgment and Decision Making

Abilities:

Cognitive – Problem Sensitivity (Problem Recognition)

Other Factors:

Executive Level,Management Level,Motivation/Ambition/Aspiration,Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Team Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Assigning Tasks to Others (Delegation and Direction),Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Interacting with Others – Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others,Interacting with Others – Developing and Building Teams,Interacting with Others – Monitoring and Controlling Resources,Interacting with Others – Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others (Conflict Management),Mental Processes – Developing Objectives and Strategies,Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems,Mental Processes – Scheduling Work and Activities (Rostering)

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Coordinate or Lead Others,Interpersonal Relationships – Interacting with Upper Management,Interpersonal Relationships – Relationship With Subordinates,Interpersonal Relationships – Responsibility for Outcomes and Results of Others,Interpersonal Relationships – Responsible for Others’ Health and Safety,Job Structure – Consequence of Error,Job Structure – Freedom to Make Decisions,Job Structure – Frequency of Decision Making,Job Structure – Level of Responsibility (Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Organization Results)

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Achievement/Effort (Action/Result Orientation),Assertiveness/Courage,Dependability,Leadership/Command,Self Control

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

Look for good communication skills, leadership, conflict resolution, negotiation, and persuasion skills. Look at how the interviewee would convince their team despite the inevitable blowback or retaliation from team members.

Red Flags to Watch For:

Red flags are answers that show autocratic leadership, bullying techniques, and no understanding of conflict resolution techniques. The interviewee may also answer that they will not overwork their team, which is not a red flag, but it will mean that they need to have some alternative strategy in place.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-interview-questions