Speaker 1: Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training website, PassMyInterview.com. And in this tutorial, I will teach you how to answer the difficult interview question, how do you handle conflict between team members? If you have an interview coming up, there is a strong possibility they will ask you this question, and to help you answer it correctly, this is what I will cover. I will tell you why the interviewer is asking you the question, How do you handle conflict between team members? I will give you three really important tips for answering this tough interview question with confidence. I will then give you two brilliant answers that you can use in your job interview. And I will finish off and tell you how you can get access to further interview training resources right here on YouTube to help you pass your interview. And just very quickly, please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to this channel. Lots of you are passing your job interviews as a result of the content and I don't want you to miss out. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.com. I've put my LinkedIn.com link in the description below the video. Please give the video a THUMBS UP. That tells me you find the content useful. Thank you very much. Now, this question can get asked in a number of ways. The first one is, how do you handle conflict between team members? I will give you an answer to that question very soon. But they may also ask you the question in this manner, too. Tell me about a time you resolved conflict in a team?" So, that question is slightly harder to respond to. But again, I am going to give you the perfect answer to it. Why is the interviewer asking you the question, how do you handle conflict between team members? Well, first of all, handling conflict takes skill and strong communication skills, so they want to make sure that you have those. Number two, the interviewer wants to see that you have the CONFIDENCE and the EXPERIENCE to handle team conflict when it does occur. Let me now give you three really important tips for answering this interview question with confidence, and I will then give you the two answers to help you pass your interview. Tip number one, say you will always tackle the conflict straight away. Don't ever say you will leave it to see what happens, because if you leave the conflict, it can manifest and then develop into a major problem. Tip number two, tell the interviewer, you will encourage the team members to resolve the conflict themselves first, but if they fail to do so, you will step in and sort it out for them. And then tip number three, if they ask you the question, tell me about a time you resolved conflict in a team? Make sure you use a STAR technique to structure your answer, and that is SITUATION, TASK, ACTION and RESULT. You start off and explain the situation you were in. You then briefly outline the task that needed doing. You then go into detail about the action you took and you then finish off with the result of your actions. And I will give you an example answer to that question in a second that uses the STAR technique. Let's start off with the first answer to that question. How do you handle conflict between team members? Take a note. Here we go. This is a brilliant answer. If conflict ever does occur, I will tackle it straight away. If you ignore conflict between team members, it not only has the potential to escalate, but it can have a negative impact on the other members of the team. I also believe it is a sign of weak management if you fail to act. To begin with, I would let the people in my team who were experiencing the conflict know that I was aware of it, and that they would need to resolve their differences quickly. I would then monitor the situation, and if things did not improve straight away, I would take control. I would speak to everyone concerned to establish the reasons for the conflict before giving them clear instructions on how to resolve it. At all times whilst dealing with a conflict, I would remain impartial, I would not take sides and I would use an open and positive style of communication to reach a successful resolution. Once the conflict was over, I would speak to all team members to reaffirm our values and to give guidance on how to work together harmoniously and collaboratively." So that is a really good answer. It shows that you are confident in your management capabilities and you won't let conflict take its own course. You are taking control and that is really important. Let me now give you an answer to this difficult question. Tell me about a time you resolved conflict in a team? And you will see that I will use a STAR technique to structure the answer. Situation, task, action and result. Here it is. Tell me about a time you resolved conflict in a team? When I first started managing a previous team, I noticed two people were often speaking to each other in a negative manner. They were both long-serving members of the team, so I was surprised to hear them speak in this way. It was my responsibility to speak to them both about the conflict, to get to the bottom of it and to find a resolution quickly and amicably. I spoke to them both collectively and I asked them to explain the reasons for the conflict. They said it was simply down to the fact they had never really got on and that they had built up a dislike for each other over time. I said that was a shame and that I would have expected better from more senior members of my team. I informed them that unless they started to get on better, I would consider moving them both from my team to another department within the company. I then said I wanted them both to work together on an important project for me and that I would be looking to see how they would perform over time. I then gave them a brief and a timescale for completion before sending them on their way. My talk clearly had a positive impact on them both because not only did they finish the project on time, they ended up working together constructively and positively from that day forward." That is a brilliant answer because you are tackling the conflict straight away and you are then giving them both a project to work on together to try to get them to improve their relationships. That's a clever management skill that you are demonstrating there. Now, if you would like to DOWNLOAD THESE SLIDES AND THE ANSWERS, and also 34 more great answers to tough manager interview questions, make sure you CLICK THAT LINK right now in the top right-hand corner of my website. It will take you through to PassMyInterview.com and you can DOWNLOAD THESE slides and also a PDF guide that contains no fewer than 34 great answers to tough manager interview questions. It's a great resource that will help you to pass your interview. I hope you enjoyed that tutorial. As I say, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE. Loads of you are passing your job interviews, which is great news. Connect with me on LinkedIn. I've put my LinkedIn.com link in the description below the video. And don't forget to give the video a THUMBS UP. Thank you for watching and I wish you all the best for passing your interview. Have a brilliant day.