Сотрудники бизнес-школ признают, что далеко не все в нашей жизни идеально… Случаются в нашей жизни и ошибки. Перед нами встают проблемы. Порой мы принимаем плохие решения. Поэтому представители школы хотят, чтобы вы рассказали о том, как справлялись с ситуациями подобного рода, как вы преодолели препятствия, возникшие на вашем пути, или как вы исправили допущенную вами ошибку. Отвечая на подобный вопрос, помните, что их интересует не столько сама ситуация, сколько то, как вы с ней справились.

Confident, enthusiastic, and aggressive were among the words that described me when I first entered the workforce. I had experience in solving many technical problems and in leading diverse teams.

My assignment as an operations engineer for a team of field operators and one supervisor, however, proved to be very disappointing. The supervisor had a command-and-control leadership style that made it difficult for me to execute ideas. Scarred by years of neglect, apathy and arrogance from previous engineers, the operators had little respect and trust remaining, even for the abilities that), as a new employee, might provide to their team. One day, after a heated argument with the supervisor, I lost hope and found myself on the brink of resignation.

I decided, however, to try one last approach. First, I had a long discussion with the supervisor and focused on understanding his views. I realized that many of our conflicts stemmed from his perception that I wanted to undermine his authority. A similar conversation with the operators made me aware of the lingering effects of past experiences.

I decided to assume the role of a student. Rather than focusing on pushing forth my ideas, I spent countless hours with each individual listening and learning. This approach eliminated the perception that I considered myself superior and showed the team my genuine desire to contribute. Secondly, I focused on building credibility by delivering results. As my work improved the operation, my circle of influence expanded and eventually gained full acceptance. The incident taught me an important lesson: leadership is earned, not bestowed. I made the mistake of assuming that I could leverage my title and past achievements to be effective. The importance of communication and patience were also reinforced. Lack of dialogue among individuals breeds unnecessary tensions and erroneous assumptions. Building relationships with people is time-consuming, yet essential for long-term value.

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