13. Behaviour & Work Approach Flashcards
How would you describe your leadership style? How does it help you guide, motivate and manage a team?
I guide, motivate and manage my team through a variety of leadership styles that allow me to collaborate, inspire and motivate. My leadership style would be a combination of Democratic, Transformational and Situational leadership approaches.
Democratic, where I involve the team and value their input in structuring of the tasks for the day, to encourage collaboration and trust-building.
Transformational, where I look to inspire and motivate team members. High levels of encouragement and engagement, helping promote personal and professional growth.
Commendation, being thankful for their input/work.
Situational, where I can adapt my leadership based on the situation or the needs of my team. I am flexible and responsive allowing tailored approaches to different challenges.
What aspects of a company culture are most important to you, and how do you see that aligning with our organisation?
- Safety
- Collaboration and teamwork; Being part of a positive workforce, encouraging open communication, innovation and problem-solving. An organisation that values ‘one-team’, is important in creating a ‘family-like’ feel and passion, working together towards the same goals. MVOW
- Trust and Transparency; I have a strong focus on building trust among team members, where being open and honest is fundamental to a powerful partnership among employees. Focus on empathetic and personal touch among team members - People are important!
- Diversity and Inclusion; I like to understand, learn and promote a range of perspectives and experiences as I’m very interested in other people. I believe it can also lead to better decision-making and creative ideas that could be beneficial in difficult scenarios.
- Professional Development; I am highly driven and passionate towards my self development and an organisation that looks to support this is important to me. This benefits both parties as it motivates me to do more and become more proficient in my role, while meaning I can perform to the best of my abilities towards the organisations needs.
- Passion; I have a strong sense of passion towards my career which is also reflected through my high standard of work. It is important that an organisation shares a strong passion too as this means we are both aligned and on the same trajectory working towards our goals.
I know that…
Vestas Values - Simplicity, Collaboration, Accountability, Passion
Simplicity - Safety/Code of conduct, Creating customer value, Continuous improvement/Agile/Focus, Goals and objectives as clear as possible.
Collaboration - ‘We win and lose together’… We operate with Integrity and respect, transparent, Inclusive, listen and learn/feedback culture.
Accountability - Acknowledge responsibility and accountability, Understanding and serving business needs, Courage to ask and seek clarity, Keep your word.
Passion - Motivated to make the world a better place, Courage to think differently/intelligently, Inspire and enable colleagues, Show perseverance.
How do you handle making tough decisions under pressure?
- Stay calm and composed.
- Gather relevant information.
- Evaluate options.
- Trust your instincts.
- Make the decision.
- Reflect and learn.
When faced with tough decisions under pressure, I believe it vitally important to remain calm and composed; I think I have a mental strength that allows me to stay focused on forming solutions and being decisive in the circumstance.
Being calm and focused allows me to gather relevant information surrounding the event/task etc. Which will lead to me making an informed decision.
I will consider Pros and Cons of each of my options, looking at benefits and risks and assessing which best align with my goal and values.
I will also trust my instincts, and leverage any past experiences that could correspond to the scenario in any way. Also, try to balance logic and emotion taking into consideration data and any potential emotional impacts.
After weighing up my options and being decisive, I will make a decision knowing that I have done so based on the best information available. This will be communicated clearly with the relevant persons i.e. Commissioning manager, client etc.
Finally, I think it is important to reflect and learn from the experience as exposure to these events are opportunities to educate myself for difficult scenarios in future.
Examples: Servicing when weather is approaching.
fight or flight, take the time as the issue may arise again multiple times.
How do you handle feedback from team members or supervisors? Can you give an example of how you’ve used feedback to improve your work?
- Stay open and receptive.
- Ask clarifying questions.
- Reflect and evaluate.
- Implement Changes.
I handle feedback by embracing and seeing it as an opportunity to develop and grow as it isn’t always easy to identify your own flaws.
I find it important to actively listen and ask clarifying questions to gain deeper insight.
I will evaluate the feedback and reflect on it, considering its validity and assess how it aligns with my observations and goals. From here, I will identify steps I can take to address the feedback, setting measurable goals to track progress… I may also need to seek additional support or resources.
I will then look to integrate and act on my feedback within my work, implementing the steps previously identified.
Example: Not delegating effectively, taking on a larger workload that could otherwise be shared.
Can you give an example of a time where you have had to deal with a difficult colleague? How did you handle the situation?
In a previous role, I worked with a colleague that received a lot of pressure from executive management. With these stresses and pressures pushed on to him, myself and others would sometimes be the target of his frustration and anger.
- I recognised the importance of approaching the situation with tact, where I would remain calm and show empathy towards his feelings. I would discuss the scenario and try to understand the cause of the frustration, giving him an opportunity to vent and verbalise his emotions; sometimes someone to speak to can help alleviate a build up of stress.
- I would try to propose ideas or solutions and help in any way I could.
- This is one example of many… Working as a bar supervisor while studying, I would deal with different members of the public on a daily basis. I have had the opportunity to develop my emotional intelligence as it gave me the skills to identify and act accordingly to different people/moods and difficult situations.
Describe a situation where you had to adapt your communication style to work effectively with someone?
- On the turbine I have had to work closely with our apprentices over the past few months. To work alongside them effectively, I have had to be mindful of their competencies and their knowledge of the industry/turbine and adjust accordingly.
- As they have not been in industry very long, I have had to adjust my language to ensure I am being clear and simple with my explanations. I will avoid technical jargon and be as straightforward and precise as possible. If technical terms are needed, I will explain them thoroughly and clarify their understanding.
- I have had to break-down work into smaller and manageable steps, this is to help them process new ideas and tasks that they are having to learn. This also leads to explaining the system/components they are going to be working on, in a simple to understand way, to help them build their knowledge.
- I have also had to use visual aids in circumstances to illustrate concepts or in situations where schematics are to be followed.
- I have had the opportunity to work on the turbine with individuals from diverse backgrounds, where I have had to manage language barriers.
- In these circumstances I have been mindful of using abbreviations and technical jargon. Instead, I use clear and simple language when giving information and clarify the understanding afterwards.
- In circumstances where possible, I will choose to use non-verbal means of communication if it suits the dialogue. For example, nodding, thumbs-up or other positive gestures to help convey agreement and support.
- Potentially make use of technology i.e. translation tools on mobile devices if there is a particular snagging point in a dialogue.
- I will also encourage team collaboration, for example, if there is another member of the team who may speak the same language, peer support could help bridge communication gaps.
How do you maintain good working relationships within a team?
To maintain good working relationships at work I…
- Make efforts to listen to other team members, valuing their opinions and encouraging their engagement. Further to this, I show an interest in their personal lives, hobbies, family etc.
- I try to build rapport and trust through showing respect and recognising their value and contributions within the team.
- I think it is important to celebrate successes within the team, to foster a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
- I will offer help and make myself available and open to questions, showing empathy and understanding when approached.
- When there is opportunity I like to make an effort to make plans outside of work. I like to attend work events, award events and seeing colleagues outside of the workplace.
How do you manage stress or pressure at work?
If an stressful scenario presents itself in the workplace, I will take a step back, taking a few minutes to collaborate my thoughts before re-introducing myself into the situation. I few ways in which I manage and deal with stress are…
- Through staying focused and mindful, where I identify and minimise distractions in the workplace. This helps me maintain productivity throughout a task. Further to this, incorporating breathing techniques can help center my thoughts and reduce anxiety in stressful environments.
- Engaging in physical activity releases endorphins which help boost my mood, and I try to regularly attend the gym or at the very least, go for a run. This keeps my body and mind awake, alert and healthy.
- I will seek support if needed, reaching out to colleagues, friends or family to share my feelings and alleviate the build up of pressure and provide perspective. Further to this, I will ask for help if needed.
- I will also maintain a healthy work-life balance, setting aside time for hobbies and social activities outside of the workplace. I also try to set boundaries between my working hours and personal hours, ensuring they do not affect or intermingle with one-another.
With a combination of these methods, practicing self-care and recharging, I can effectively manage stress and pressures at work.
What steps do you take to ensure a high quality of work?
- Naturally as a person, I look to carry out tasks to the best of my ability, with safety being the top priority followed by quality. I take a lot of pride in my work and see the standards to which I complete a task a measure of how I am viewed and valued by others. To achieve a high standard, I will use a combination of planning, execution and continuous improvement.
- Prior to carrying out the work, I will look to fully understand the task and what steps are involved, asking any clarifying questions to determine objectives and outcomes.
- I look to plan effectively ensuring I have the the correct equipment, most relevant documentation and correct tooling to carry out the task.
- I maintain a tidy and organised work environment to ensure no tools or components are lost or misplaced. I will also ensure that the working area is as clean as can be allowed, cleaning as I go. This is to prevent cross contamination within the workspace.
- I will also focus on continuous improvement and what can be improved in the work process to make it more efficient. Further to this, I I think its important that I’m updated with best practices relevant to my tasks, through training or workshops etc.
My approach to my high standard of work has stemmed from my apprenticeship, where my engineering manager would ingrain the importance of having an organised work area, laying out all tooling and parts and ensuring everything was accounted for at the end of the task. This approach would create a sense of pride towards my work and drive me towards completing it with in a timely, organised and precise manner. Also, working in a bottling plant I would be working with products that are made for human consumption and therefore strict protocols were in place to ensure a high degree of hygiene was adhered to when working on the machinery.
Working in these sterile environments never leaves you and I have carried this approach going forward into every role I have been in.
What expectations do you have of your team leader?
- I think it is important to have clear communication to establish clear objectives and expectations, as well as strategic planning so that I am informed with where I am needed and when.
- It is also important that we have open dialogue where we can approach each other with concerns or questions, I believe this will build a level of trust and collaboration.
- As a team leader I would also expect support with professional and personal development, giving an insight on how to excel in my role and giving feedback on my goals and areas I need to work on.
- I would also expect that my team leader would foster a positive, inclusive team culture that encourages innovation and collaboration.
With these expectations I believe it will create a foundation for a productive and supportive relationship where we are both informed, aligned and correlate with company goals while forming and maintaining a positive working culture.
