Interview Insights | Key Question: What didn’t you enjoy about your former bosses or managers?
What didn’t you enjoy about your former bosses or managers?
Make sure to do extensive research on your new boss in anticipation of having to answer this question. Specifically, look them up on LinkedIn. Read their recommendations and endorsements to get a better sense for her leadership style. If you do not find anything then tread lightly. Ultimately, this question should not be sidestepped.
Instead, consider the following questions for inspiration:
- What project that you successfully led – did you and your manager originally disagree on?
- What responsibilities that belonged to your manager did you wish you had full control over?
- In what ways did you and your manager’s skills and experiences overlap?
- How was your favorite manager different than your least favorite manager?
- In what ways do you dislike / prefer to be managed?
Here is one example:
While working for Cardinal Health, my manager and I shared a love for analyzing data. As the VP of the FP&A division for the organization, I was responsible for closing the financials on a monthly basis. My reconciliation process involved validating the numbers with each business unit prior to sharing the results with senior leaders. However, I would often find that my then manager the CFO of the organization would data gather and number crunch on his own – solely out of habit even after my being there for a number of years. Although we always came to an agreement on the financial health of the firm, his focus on the trees rather than on the forest was frustrating every now and then.
As a result, I decided to include him during the data-gathering stage every month although I knew it was unnecessary. It was how I maintained a strong working professional relationship. Sometimes, it’s necessary to accommodate different personalities when working in a multi-layered organization and at the time I just figured out what would work for both him and I. I also did not take this personally which I think is critical in otherwise sticky interpersonal circumstances.
The key insight is that you learned something about yourself or how to handle the situation. It makes no sense to bad-mouth a former manager. The interview is all about you and the way you handle difficult personalities or situations.
OFFER: If you’re stuck then I encourage you to email me your intended response to this question. I’d be happy to provide feedback on your draft.
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