Question: What is your approach to situations where a coworker is disrupting or interfering with your work or project progress.

Alternative Question Phrasing:

What steps do you take when a colleague is impeding your progress at work?

Follow-up questions:

Why this approach?
How will these step help in preventing a colleague from impeding your progress at work?
How would you get around conflict?
Would you bring a third party to resolve a dispute? If so, who and why?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment),Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others),Social – Negotiation,Social – Rapport Buiding/Relating and Connecting with others

Abilities:

Cognitive – Problem Sensitivity (Problem Recognition)

Other Factors:

Personality-Team Fit,Practical Intelligence (Street Smarts)

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Interacting with Others – Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships,Interacting with Others – Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others (Conflict Management)

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

Interpersonal Relationships – Frequency of Conflict Situations,Interpersonal Relationships – Frequency of Contact With Others,Interpersonal Relationships – Work With Work Group or Team (As a member, not a leader),Job Structure – Frequency of Decision Making,Job Structure – Handling Competition

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Approachability,Assertiveness/Courage,Cooperation,Initiative,Integrity/Honesty/Ethics,Patience,Self Control

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for the interviewee’s practical intelligence in focusing on his/her objectives, yet at the same time confront a colleague without causing any overwhelming conflict or negative effects.

Red Flags to Watch For:

An interviewee who demonstrates a lack of practical intelligence in resolving such situations, such as choosing avoidance rather than addressing or correcting the issue, is a red flag.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.jobbankusa.com/interview_questions_answers/