Interview question
How to answer: "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision"
Quick answer
Answer with a STAR story where you disagreed professionally — made your case with evidence, listened to the reasoning, and then either changed the decision or committed fully to it. The winning pattern is 'disagree and commit': challenge constructively, then execute without undermining.
Why interviewers ask this
Interviewers test backbone and maturity together: can you challenge ideas with evidence, and can you commit gracefully when the call goes the other way?
How to structure your answer
- Situation: a real decision you thought was wrong.
- Action: how you made your case — privately, with evidence, respectfully.
- Show you genuinely listened to the other side.
- Result: the decision changed, or you committed fully — both are good answers.
Example answer
Example answer to: “Tell me about disagreeing with a decision”
Mistakes to avoid
- Stories where you undermined the decision after losing.
- Emotional rather than evidence-based disagreement.
- Public confrontation.
- Pretending you've never disagreed with anything.
Frequently asked questions
What if I disagreed and was wrong?
That works too — showing you challenged with evidence, then updated your view, demonstrates exactly the maturity being tested.
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