There is no “I” in group, but there is few times an “I” in “fail.” When you work as a supervisor or manager, you are going to find that every once in a while; you make an error or mistake that has critical outcomes. This may be because you were relying on other persons who may have disappointed you or you may have just made a worse judgment call. You are also not going to always give the correct activities to the correct persons, nor are you going to handle them all precisely.

Employers understand this, but they also need to know that you can learn from your errors. They want someone that is not overwhelmed by pride and someone with experience taking on a variation of challenges. That is why they may inquire you the following delegation interview query.

Behavioral Interview Query: Discuss a time when you delegated an activity or work that was not accomplished or successful. What would you do next time differently?

As is often the situation when you are asked about colleagues – particularly those that you direct yourself, like your subordinates – it is very significant to restrict your answers to those that:

• Do not say bad things about the staff.
• Do not say bad things about yourself.

That is clearly restricting. That is why you should concentrate on things that are universally comprehended – an individual quitting, making a mistake or error with an email – things that make neither of you look that worse. Then follow them up with what you have learned.

Sample Answer

“One of my best instances of this was when I was giving assignments for the software upgrade. I gave assignments to each Information Technology (IT) staff member, involving those who would manage UI, those who would manage coding, etc. We had a newer individual on staff and I gave them coding task X…

Regrettably, I forgot to inquire them if they were aware of how to do the coding, and at the time they were so new that they were too scared to say anything. After a few days when I checked in, the worker was literally in tears, and nothing had yet been done. I realized my mistake instantly. I should have followed up with everyone in relation to their confidence to complete their activities specifically a new worker whose strengths I did not know as yet. I apologized and altered their activities with another and we were still capable to complete the upgrade in time. As results of that project, I now make certain I check everyone is comfortable with their assignments at the initiation of each project and adjust the activities as essential to ensure this type of thing does not come up again. It has also made me much more alert of each person’s development requirements, which can be better taken and understood into account at the onset of any project. ”

Employers will identify that this mistake makes a lot of sense – the individual was new, you had made a worse assumption, etc. We all do that. The most primary part of their answer was that you at least realized it, you learned from it and you become an outstanding manager because of it.