Decision Making
“Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision that you knew would be unpopular.”
- “I consider myself a strong manager who is open to suggestions.
I had one experience in which I had to make a decision that
was not well accepted by my staff. It involved cutting one of
the benefits they were receiving. I had a meeting and announced
the news to the staff. It was greeted with a great deal of anger
and frustration. I listened and addressed every question that
was asked of me. I had done my research and homework and was
able to use facts to demonstrate that the cost-benefit ratio
was not in line with good business decisions. They left less
upset than when they first heard the news, but it took some
time for the bad feelings to go away completely. I believe that
talking with them intelligently and using facts made a difference
in their feelings in the long run.”
- “There was a time when I hired a manager from outside the
organization. This was met with hard feelings by some of the
contenders for the job who had been passed over. I took a hard
stand, even though it was not a popular one. I talked to the
disgruntled individuals one-on-one and tried to explain my reasons.
Although it is not my preferred style, I had to exercise my
authority here. I have to admit there were some tense days to
live through at that time, but I firmly believed that I knew
what was best for the long haul, and it turned out I was right.”
- “As part of management, I realize that my decisions will
not always be viewed as positive. One of those times was when
I had to make a quick decision to buy advertising at a special
rate in order to achieve a quick roll out of a time-sensitive
product. I had analyzed the budget and was attempting to gain
maximum leverage. I was later criticized for not having consulted
the team and getting input. My decision was made based on getting
the most value for the least amount of money. Fortunately for
me,the project rolled out in a timely manner and was quite successful.”
阅读导航 Delegation