Initiative and Leadership Flashcards
Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
“Situation: Hurricane Sandy early Nov 2012 - 10 resources scheduled onsite for last push of work before Thanksgiving/Christmas/New years break
Task: I was stressed because my project plan was at risk = kept my composure. Team had key meetings scheduled. Onsite work to be done. Team had deadlines and quarterly bonus to earn. Understandable but a setback if we had canceled work that week.
Action: I came up with a hurricane week plan to let those who were comfortable to travel, to travel, with me organizing and scheduling events and reworking the master plan to maximize onsite time. I presented the plan and risks to my supervisor and then the team for their buy-in and let them know that those who were worried or didn’t want to, could work remotely. I then tracked the flights of those traveling that week and scheduled daily calls and provided remote support and logistics (which public transportation was open, etc.), I reserved rooms at a single hotel for everyone, made sure hotspot and extra battery packs.
Result: incredible! 1/2 team ended up traveling and no one was injured. The customer was ecstatic that we still delivered on time. The team grew closer together through this difficult time.
Lesson: going above and beyond to come up with organized plans and following through on them, adjusting where necessary is a great way to ensure success!”
Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
• Established maturity-appropriate IT project delivery processes, artifacts, templates, and tools by identifying requirements, evaluating options, and then selecting and implementing systems in order to transition concepts into capabilities for operational success
o Took initiative and leadership to plan and organize our project process into 6 phases - starting with initiation (kickoff deck) through deployment and even customer satisfaction survey - so that the process could be reused over and over again. Tweaks to the process were then made as lessons learned were gained from each project. Ensured we had a pre-project meeting to assess culture fit of the process and adjust ahead of time where needed.
o Templates: Branding Guide, Activity Screen Template, Managing Your App training manual, Pilot process, Marketing & Communication checklist and plan, Proj Support process, In-motion Locking documentation
Give me examples of projects/tasks you started on your own.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
“• Established maturity-appropriate IT project delivery processes, artifacts, templates, and tools by identifying requirements, evaluating options, and then selecting and implementing systems in order to transition concepts into capabilities for operational success
o Took initiative and leadership to plan and organize our project process into 6 phases - starting with initiation (kickoff deck) through deployment and even customer satisfaction survey - so that the process could be reused over and over again. Tweaks to the process were then made as lessons learned were gained from each project. Ensured we had a pre-project meeting to assess culture fit of the process and adjust ahead of time where needed.
o Templates: Branding Guide, Activity Screen Template, Managing Your App training manual, Pilot process, Marketing & Communication checklist and plan, Proj Support process, In-motion Locking documentation”
Give an example of a successful project you were part of. What was your role? Why was the project successful?
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
”"”Situation: LU had 350 computers that faculty were using that were nearing the end of leased.
Task: we had to decide to send them back, renew the lease on the same machines, or some combination.
Action: I took the lead on analyzing what to do when they came off lease. My analysis showed that buying those computers at the end of the lease (given their specs, components, and remaining useful life over 5, 10, 15 years) would be a worse financial deal for the university. If we replaced the computers with newly purchased computers and sent back the leased computers, the university would be in a better position financially. I knew this decision would be unpopular with faculty who resisted change because they had the devices setup just like they wanted. So I knew we had to figure out a way to make the change be positive for the faculty. The best way to do that was to get their input so I worked with our Desktop Mgmt Group manager to identify new features in new laptops (lighter, bigger screen, better ports, better battery life, etc.) within our price range and I used that information to identify survey questions to ask faculty about. I then worked with our marketing team to create an email to announce the change (they would be loosing their laptop - so they knew it was coming) but also ask for their input on which new features they would want (giving them some say and input without giving them the ability to make a decision). With the survey results in, I analyzed, and then reviewed with Desk Mgmt manager.
Result: We then joinly presented chosen device to the CIO for final decision. With final decision, I then lead the team through the project of identifying who had the devices, setting up a schedule to get them in to get their new device, transfer data from old to new, etc. Final deliverable was reviewing that all devices had been turned in and we had a few that were MIA that we had to purchase outright.
Lesson: finding ways to present change as a benefit and highlight those items can change something from unpopular to popular.”””
Discuss a time when you had to make a decision you did not want to make.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
“Situation: Our testing spreadsheet had to be replaced by a tool that would scale with our hiring and new process needs.
Task: I had collected requirements via a survey I built in SurveyMonkey and reviewed/analyzed them. I then worked with my team to review each tool against the requirements we had.
Action: A recommendation had to be made about which tool best met the requirements but there was no clear winner. I decided I would review the top 3 tools again quickly myself making sure the team didn’t miss some aspect. Then I picked a tool hoping it was the right one.
Lesson: sometimes you don’t have perfect information or all the information but you have to decide anyway. Perfect can’t be the enemy of good. Getting something to use for the next sprint was key.”
Describe a time when you volunteered to do something to solve a problem even though it inconvenienced you.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
Rewrite faulty test cases at Eleos instead of waiting for the team to have time. Logging feature in backlog so developer didn’t have to. Move the meeting location for one of my meetings so someone elese can have the room.
Tell us about a time when you sacrificed your personal time to accomplish an important project.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
Preparing for this Oral Assessment!
Describe a situation when have you motivated yourself to complete an assignment or task that you did not want to do?
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
Staining my fence. Writing complex/complicated test cases that required an immense amount of thinking, analaysis, and effort.
Describe a time when you sought out new skills or knowledge for a job.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
This one! I’ve read Realities of Foreign Service and Career Diplomacy. I’ve spent 3 weeks with flashcards on A+ and Network+ certification topics which cover sofware, hardware, & network.
What would you do if your supervisor asked you to perform a task you did not feel competent to handle?
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
I would do the best of my ability and seek out resources to help provide me input and review of my plans, tasks, decisions.
Tell us about the last time you undertook a task or a problem that you knew nothing about. What difficulties arose and how did you solve them? Please be specific.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
“Situation: a series of steps and information had to be supplied in order to launch customer apps in the app store. Task: the development team previously handled this but asked if I would take it on. I agreed but didn’t know anything about it.
Action: I spent time with one of the developers who did this before and documented every step. I asked lots of questions about how to handle various situations. When a new situation came up I would get input from the development team and then incorporate that situation into my notes.
Result: the development team handles no app deployments and they all go through me, successfully, without taking time from the developers.”
Tell me about a recent situation in which you received a significant assignment that was confusing or unclear.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
Which problems do you believe are appropriate to bring to your manager? Give an example. How do you usually approach a manager with a problem?
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
Problems that are too urgent for me to solve. Or problems that I have had a chance to research solutions. FMCSA ruling that our product be branded in a certain way in a very short, not realistic, timeframe.
Tell me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
NYU budget. SWA project as mis-scoped!
Describe a situation when you or a group that you were a part of were in danger of missing a deadline. What did you do?
Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
“Situation: Hurricane Sandy early Nov 2012 - 10 resources scheduled onsite for last push of work before Thanksgiving/Christmas/New years break
Task: I was stressed because my project plan was at risk = kept my composure. Team had key meetings scheduled. Onsite work to be done. Team had deadlines and quarterly bonus to earn. Understandable but a setback if we had canceled work that week.
Action: I came up with a hurricane week plan to let those who were comfortable to travel, to travel, with me organizing and scheduling events and reworking the master plan to maximize onsite time. I presented the plan and risks to my supervisor and then the team for their buy-in and let them know that those who were worried or didn’t want to, could work remotely. I then tracked the flights of those traveling that week and scheduled daily calls and provided remote support and logistics (which public transportation was open, etc.), I reserved rooms at a single hotel for everyone, made sure hotspot and extra battery packs.
Result: incredible! 1/2 team ended up traveling and no one was injured. The customer was ecstatic that we still delivered on time. The team grew closer together through this difficult time.
Lesson: going above and beyond to come up with organized plans and following through on them, adjusting where necessary is a great way to ensure success!”
