People Management

One-on-one · 1:1 after results dropped: You manage a team of eight. How would you approach a 1:1 with a team member whose results dropped?They delivered results until six months ago. For two months now, they've missed targets and spoken up less in meetings.

1. AI: You've booked a 1:1 with this team member next week. How would you approach it?
2. Candidate: I wouldn't start with the numbers. I'd ask them, in their own words, what's gone well in their recent work and what hasn't.
3. AI: All they say is, “No real problems. I'll work harder.” What would you say?
4. Candidate: “Thanks. Let's set the numbers aside. Would changing anything about how you work make things easier?”
5. AI: After a pause, they begin, “Since I was moved to a new client, things haven't gone well.” How would you respond?
6. Candidate: “Thanks for telling me. What's different from before?”
7. AI: They say, “My old client left things to me, but the new contact checks every detail. I feel they don't trust me.” How would you proceed?
8. Candidate: I wouldn't answer right away. I'd ask for one specific moment they felt distrusted, then explore together whether the checking might come from the client's own circumstances.
9. AI: What if they insist, “I don't see it that way”?
10. Candidate: I wouldn't push them to change their view. I'd offer to sit in on their next client meeting once, to see together where the checking comes from.
11. AI: Couldn't you move them back to their old client instead?
12. Candidate: As a short-term fix, maybe, but I think they'd hit the same wall later. First, I want them to experience getting past it together.
13. AI: Why sit in on the meeting?
14. Candidate: Their account alone doesn't tell me why the client checks so closely. If I speak from what I've seen, we can discuss facts, not blame.
15. AI: At the end, what would you agree on with them?
16. Candidate: Before the next client meeting, we'd list together what the client is likely to care about. Afterward, we'd take just 15 minutes to review how it went.

Policy change · A team unsettled by new metrics: You manage a sales team of eight. Next month, company policy switches sales evaluation from “number of contracts” to “contract retention rate.”The materials show how the team is taking it. A team meeting is next week.

1. AI: The evaluation policy is changing and the team is unsettled. This memo shows where they stand. How would you approach next week's meeting?
2. Candidate: First, I'd explain in my own words the company's reasons for the change. Then I'd give each person time to share their worries.
3. AI: Anything you'd do before the meeting?
4. Candidate: I'd talk one-on-one beforehand with the three veterans who objected. They'll likely be more candid than in front of everyone.
5. AI: A veteran asks, “So my way of working, chasing contract numbers, isn't needed anymore?” How would you respond?
6. Candidate: I'd say, “I'm not saying it isn't needed. The skills that won you contracts will also help build relationships that keep clients renewing.” Then we'd review their long-standing clients together.
7. AI: Junior staff say, “The veterans' pushback makes things hard for us.” What would you do?
8. Candidate: I'd take the juniors' concerns seriously, but I wouldn't make the veterans the bad guys. I'd pair veterans with juniors to share examples of long-standing clients.
9. AI: Why pair them up?
10. Candidate: So they learn from each other: veterans' experience building relationships, juniors' new ways of working. I wanted to turn conflict into mutual learning.
11. AI: Finally, what would you commit to with the team?
12. Candidate: For the first three months, we'd review not just retention numbers but what we're actually doing. And I'd promise to tell them how it counts in evaluations once I've talked with my own manager.

Team conflict · A veteran and a junior clash: You lead a six-person project. A veteran and a junior disagree on how to prepare the documents, and work has stalled.The deadline is a month away. The materials show each side's view.

1. AI: The team is split on how to prepare the documents. Here's each side's view. As leader, how would you approach this?
2. Candidate: Before deciding who's right, I'd find out what each is worried about: quality and time. The project needs both.
3. AI: Would you talk to them separately or together?
4. Candidate: Separately at first. With the other person there, people focus on defending their position. Then I'd bring the three of us together.
5. AI: In the three-way talk, the veteran says, “The new tool can't handle detailed revisions.” How would you proceed?
6. Candidate: I'd suggest testing it on one real document to see if that's true. Deciding from results rather than arguing will be easier for both to accept.
7. AI: In the test, detailed revisions do take longer with the tool. What would you do?
8. Candidate: I'd propose a split: build the overall draft fast with the tool, and have the veteran handle final revisions. Rather than pick a side, I'd combine their strengths.
9. AI: As the leader, would you just decide the split yourself?
10. Candidate: I'd propose it but decide after hearing from both. An arrangement they chose themselves is easier to stick with until the deadline.
11. AI: Finally, how would you prevent similar conflicts in the future?
12. Candidate: I'd add time to our weekly meeting for everyone to share concerns before we decide how to proceed.

Mentoring a junior · A new hire who never asks questions: In your second year, you've been asked to mentor a new hire who rarely asks questions and sometimes keeps mistakes to themselves.Last week, you learned they'd told no one about an overdue document.

1. AI: You're mentoring for the first time. Your new hire rarely asks questions and sometimes keeps mistakes to themselves. How would you approach this?
2. Candidate: First, I'd share what I struggled with in my first year, so they feel it's okay to ask.
3. AI: Why talk about your own mistakes?
4. Candidate: If they see someone senior struggled the same way, I think they'll hesitate less to ask. I'd be easier to talk to than if I taught from above.
5. AI: Last week, you learned they'd told no one about an overdue document. What would you say?
6. Candidate: I'd ask why, without blame: “It helps a lot if you tell me as soon as you notice. Was there a reason it was hard to bring up?”
7. AI: They say, “You looked busy, so I didn't feel I could interrupt.” What would you do?
8. Candidate: First, I'd apologize for seeming busy, then set aside five minutes at the end of each day to ask what they're stuck on.
9. AI: Even with the five minutes, they keep saying, “Nothing in particular.” What would you do?
10. Candidate: Instead of asking what they're stuck on, I'd ask, “What took you longest today?” An easier question can get the conversation started.
11. AI: Finally, as a mentor, what matters most to you?
12. Candidate: That they learn to speak up on their own when stuck. Even when I'm not around, I want them to be able to lean on others.