Behavioral Interview Questions AI

Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult team member. How did you handle the situation?

During my internship at XYZ Company last summer, I was assigned to a cross-functional team working on a new product feature with a tight two-week deadline. One team member, a senior developer, was consistently missing our daily check-ins and submitting work late, which was putting our timeline at risk.

As the project coordinator, it was my responsibility to ensure everyone was aligned and meeting deadlines. I needed to address this issue while maintaining team harmony and ensuring we delivered on time.

I scheduled a private one-on-one meeting with the developer to understand if there were any underlying issues. During our conversation, I practiced active listening and learned he was overwhelmed with commitments from multiple projects. Rather than expressing frustration, I acknowledged his expertise and asked how we could make this project more manageable for him.

Together, we identified specific tasks he could focus on that leveraged his unique skills, while redistributing some of his other responsibilities to team members who had capacity. I also created a more structured check-in process with clear expectations and deadlines for everyone.

As a result, the developer became more engaged and started delivering high-quality work on time. We completed the project one day ahead of schedule, and our feature received positive feedback from stakeholders. This experience taught me the importance of addressing issues directly but with empathy, and how proper resource allocation can significantly improve team performance.

That's a good example. How do you typically approach giving feedback to team members?