A team member keeps missing deadlines on your project. How would you approach that conversation?

What the interviewer is looking for

• This question tests leadership without authority. Gets commitment from people who do not report to them through clarity, relationships and accountability, and handles performance issues with care.
• What to bring out: Talks privately and early, seeks to understand the cause, agrees clear expectations and support, and escalates to their manager only if needed.
• Expect a follow-up like: How would you handle it if it kept happening after that talk?

Another way it may be asked: Someone on your project has been late three times in a row. They do not report to you. What do you do?

A structure to follow: STAR, with the weight on Action and Result

1. Step 1

   Situation

   One or two sentences: where, when and what was at stake. Pick a real example you were close to.

2. Step 2

   Task

   What you personally were responsible for. Say "I", not only "we", so the leadership without authority you showed is visible.

3. Step 3

   Action

   The two or three things you did and why you chose them over the alternatives. This should be about half your answer.

4. Step 4

   Result

   What changed, in your own measure of it, and what you would do differently. Only use numbers you can stand behind.

This is guidance on shape, not a script. Use your own real experience and facts; never invent details to fill a gap. See the STAR guide and answer frameworks.

Common slips

• Describing what the team did without saying what you did.
• Choosing an example with no clear outcome, or one you cannot answer detailed questions about.
• Ending on the action and skipping the result and what you learned.

How to practise it

Write two bullet points for each STAR letter, then say the answer aloud in about two minutes.

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