If you knew your boss was 100% wrong about something how would you handle it

Depends first what's your position (unfortunately) and it also depends what's your boss "made of". If your position is "low", whatever you say and do won't be considered (it's very rare and it's very unfortunate). I think there are a lot of factors and cannot be generalized. But i'll make it simple in logical cases. If the boss is100% wrong and I know it, I'll just fix a meeting with him after work preferably, or have a coffee, and come up with a nice file for him to read, with all details and arguments that prove him wrong. If with all this he still sticks on his stance, I won't add more. I would've done my job, but I'll make sure to protect myself by going to higher managers and let them know what happened. Only then I'll back off. At the end, time will tell.

He's going to get laid down and I'll get laid up!


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If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it? This is a question most people HATE, however I feel it is a good question to be posed. It shows a lot about your character, and especially if the person who is interviewing you WILL be your boss, it may be best answered as personally as you feel. If you can relate this question to your current/previous boss that gives the interviewer the impression that not only are you a good judge of character, but also that you understand people are different and this situation may need approaching in a different way with a different boss, after all, how can you really say how you would deal with someone you don’t know yet?

If you knew your boss was 100% wrong about something how would you handle it

Example Answers

#1

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“If I were sure my manager was wrong about something I would talk to them about it and discuss my thoughts, after all, my boss is human, and may not realise they have made an error. I would explain why I thought they were wrong, and what I thought was wrong. If we reached a deadlock I would suggest conferring with other colleagues about the issue. My present manager is very good at listening when I feel he is wrong about something, and if it comes to division we always resolve it by asking the rest of the team and the majority vote goes. We learn by the results who was right.”

#2

“My current manager is very uptight and likes to always be right. If he asks me to do something and I know his way of carrying the task out will fail I will try and advise him of it, but he will usually demand I do it his way. So I obey his orders, and he does usually understand when it goes wrong that it is because of his instruction. He learns that the procedure he asked me to follow does not work, and I am not open to complaint of insubordination.”

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#3

“Having always been the ‘Boss’ I can appreciate that sometimes the boss can get it wrong. When I was the manager at the last bar I worked in, I had been changing the lines a certain way all the time. I hired a new supervisor who came in and I could tell when changing the lines he wasn’t comfortable about something, so I asked what. He explained that I was doing it wrong, and that he had been taught a much more efficient method. HE demonstrated his method and I had to agree it was better. I would like to think in a similar situation I could approach my manager and say “Try this”. At the end of the day there is nothing to lose by trying something new, and if it doesn’t work, I’m more than happy to do as the boss says.”

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Good luck.

Photo by: HansKristian

How would you answer “If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it?” job interview question wisely? Remember that its your boss or manager so handle the situation without getting into trouble.

If you knew your boss was 100% wrong about something how would you handle it

This type of question is asked to find out how you handle difficult questions.

You could answer by saying that it would depend on who the manager was and what the situation was because actually this is true. There are some Managers that you can criticise and will accept this and there are some that you really cannot.

Personally I would always try and give my opinion in a very calm way and hope that the Manager in question is listening and realises that he or she is wrong.

You have to weigh up how serious the mistake it and how much it needs raising in the first place. For example if it’s something relatively minor then I would probably mention it in passing and see if its noticed. If it’s something major I would do my research first and make sure that I was 100% right myself before talking to my Manager and saying that you have been looking into the matter and have found out XYZ to be accurate. Adding that you hope he or she does not mind you looking into it and mentioning it to them.

If they are a good Manager they will realise that what you have actually done is very brave and they will respect you for it. Just please remember you need a lot of tact and diplomacy to do this.

Never argue unless you have facts. Remember, even if they are your boss they are only human and can make mistakes just like the rest of us. If its something that effects you, then of course your going to want to fight your corner, but make sure you do it in a polite manor and have facts or evidence to back you up.

Good Luck.

Following is a tough interview question:

If your boss is wrong about something, how would you handle it?

Similar interview questions:
Have you ever pointed out a mistake to your manager? Have you ever corrected someone in the presence of others? Have you ever called out your boss on an error?

Why the interviewer is asking this question:
The interviewer is looking for two things: 1) your willingness (or lack thereof) to point out an error made by someone over you; and 2) how you handled the situation. Some interview books say that you should not call out your boss on an error, which shows a lack of willingness to be under authority and therefore may mark you as a potential problem. However, that is a wrong analysis of the question. Great managers want to be challenged by their team members. And if you are speaking to a manager who does not want to know about their errors (or have them pointed out), you should likely exclude that manager and/or company from your list of potential employers.

The best approach to answering this question:
Use a practical example in your work where you pointed out something wrong to your boss. Yet equally important is that you show how you handled a situation. It should always be a private one-on-one discussion with your boss, rather than in front of others. You are helping and serving your boss by showing him/her the error. The best examples are ones that directly affect you and/or your team in their deliverables by making sure your boss has the most current and accurate data. Avoid examples which might be considered small or petty (such as correcting spelling errors in a memo from your boss).

An example of how to best answer this question:
"Yes, it has happened, although not very often. Recently, we had a very important decision about pending government contracts which would be decided at the executive committee level at our company. When I first my boss' view on taking the contracts, it was in the context of a meeting with several of his peers. I could see that he was working with old and inaccurate information, which could lead others to a wrong end decision. Since I had previously worked for a government contractor, I asked to meet with my boss privately to discuss the most recent data related to the decision and how it might affect our company. There were new government rules and regulations about which he was not yet aware. I spent time before the meeting updating my own recent information with the most current sources and presented it to my boss with all of the backing details. He was surprised to learn of the recent changes in government regulation and thanked me for taking time to bring him up to speed on these changes. Because of this, he influenced his peers in a very different way in the next meeting, even using some of my research data to reinforce his newly updated position."

An example of how you should not answer this question:
"If someone is wrong about something, I call them out on it right away. It doesn't matter where or when it is, I just speak my mind. Many people tell me how refreshing it is to work with someone who speaks his mind. Sometimes, I will take a contrary position just to stir things up, so that they don't just act on their assumptions. I really like playing devil's advocate and I think it makes us all better when I am there in a meeting challenging others, whether it is my boss or my peers. Sometimes I realize that I can be a thorn in their side, but most of the time I end up being right."

Remember to answer each interview question behaviorally, whether it is a behavioral question or not. The easiest way to do this is to use an example from your background and experience. Then use the S-T-A-R approach to make the answer a STAR: talk about a Situation or Task (S-T), the Action you took (A) and the Results achieved (R). This is what makes your interview answer uniquely yours and will make your answer a star!