TRAPS: This question and other hypothetical ones
test your sense of human relations and how you might handle office politics.
BEST ANSWER: Try to gauge the political style of the firm
and be guided accordingly. In general,
fall back on universal principles of effective human relations – which in the
end, embody the way you would like to be treated in a similar circumstance.
Example: “Good human relations would call for me to go
directly to the person and explain the situation, to try to enlist his help in
a constructive, positive solution. If I
sensed resistance, I would be as persuasive as I know how to explain the benefits
we can all gain from working together, and the problems we, the company and our
customers will experience if we don’t.”
POSSIBLE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: And what would you do if he still did not
change his ways?
ANSWER: “One thing I wouldn’t do is let the problem
slide, because it would only get worse and overlooking it would set a bad
precedent. I would try again and again
and again, in whatever way I could, to solve the problem, involving wider and
wider circles of people, both above and below the offending executive and
including my own boss if necessary, so that everyone involved can see the
rewards for teamwork and the drawbacks of non-cooperation.”
“I
might add that I’ve never yet come across a situation that couldn’t be resolved
by harnessing others in a determined, constructive effort.”
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