Question: Describe a time when you had to influence or persuade a senior manager, director, or board member. How did you approach the situation?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

When did you have to influence a senior manager, stakeholder or partner and how did you go about it?

Follow-up questions:

What preparations did you do before talking to them?
What was unexpected during the conversation and how did you handle that?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Social – Persuasion,Social – Social Perceptiveness

Other Factors:

Candidate Preparedness,Direct Job Experience,Management Level,Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit,Self-Awareness

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Assisting and Caring for Others,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Interacting with Others – Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships,Interacting with Others – Selling or Influencing Others,Mental Processes – Thinking Creatively (Creativity)

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

Interpersonal Relationships – Interacting with Upper Management,Interpersonal Relationships – Relationship With Supervisor

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Analytical Thinking,Assertiveness/Courage,Attention to Detail,Handling Ambiguity,Politeness

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

If the candidate has good persuading skills.
If the candidate speaks about important business terms they have used in order to influence the management.
If the outcome was in the favor of the candidate.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the candidate had never come across such situation.
If the candidate displays over confidence by saying that it wasn’t difficult at all for them to persuade upper management.
If the candidate’s example does not sound genuine.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.totaljobs.com/advice/most-common-competency-based-interview-questions