CSJT Leadership and Influencing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A team member consistently delivers excellent work but refuses to share knowledge with colleagues. What is the most effective leadership response?
- Praise the individual work and ignore the team dynamic issue
- Address the behavior privately and explain how knowledge-sharing benefits the individual's career and the team (Correct answer)
- Publicly criticize the employee to encourage change
- Transfer the employee to a solo role
Correct answer: Address the behavior privately and explain how knowledge-sharing benefits the individual's career and the team
Private coaching that connects behavioral change to the employee's own interests is more effective than public criticism.
Question 2: You are facilitating a cross-agency task force with no formal authority. A key member frequently misses meetings and deadlines. What is the best approach?
- Remove the member from the task force
- Have a direct conversation with the member to understand barriers and reaffirm commitments (Correct answer)
- Report the member to their supervisor immediately
- Continue without engaging the member
Correct answer: Have a direct conversation with the member to understand barriers and reaffirm commitments
Direct, respectful communication to identify and resolve barriers is the first step before escalating in a cross-agency context.
Question 3: Your supervisor assigns you a task you believe is flawed in its approach. What is the best way to handle this?
- Complete the task exactly as instructed without comment
- Refuse the task and explain your objections
- Complete a portion of the task and stop when you identify a flaw
- Express your concerns professionally to your supervisor before starting, then follow their final decision (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Express your concerns professionally to your supervisor before starting, then follow their final decision
Raising concerns respectfully before acting allows for course correction while maintaining professional accountability.
Question 4: During a staff meeting, a junior employee proposes an innovative solution that challenges current leadership policy. How should the senior leader respond?
- Dismiss the idea to maintain authority
- Thank the employee, acknowledge the idea's merits, and commit to reviewing it through appropriate channels (Correct answer)
- Implement the idea immediately to show openness
- Privately ask the employee not to raise such issues publicly
Correct answer: Thank the employee, acknowledge the idea's merits, and commit to reviewing it through appropriate channels
Acknowledging good ideas publicly encourages innovation while directing the process through proper channels maintains order.
Question 5: You are asked to lead a team through a crisis with incomplete information. What is the most effective leadership approach?
- Wait until you have full information before acting
- Make decisions based on available information, communicate transparently, and adjust as new information emerges (Correct answer)
- Delegate all decision-making to avoid accountability
- Assure the team everything is under control even if it is not
Correct answer: Make decisions based on available information, communicate transparently, and adjust as new information emerges
Decisive action with transparency and adaptability is the hallmark of effective crisis leadership.
Question 6: A senior colleague with more organizational tenure consistently overrules your decisions in front of your team. What is the best response?
- Defer to the senior colleague to avoid conflict
- Address the situation privately with the colleague and clarify decision-making boundaries (Correct answer)
- Overrule the colleague publicly to reassert authority
- Report the colleague to HR immediately
Correct answer: Address the situation privately with the colleague and clarify decision-making boundaries
Resolving authority conflicts privately preserves team cohesion and professional relationships.
Question 7: You want to build stronger influence with a stakeholder who has historically been uncooperative. What is the most effective strategy?
- Avoid the stakeholder to minimize conflict
- Find common goals and start with small, low-risk collaborations to build trust incrementally (Correct answer)
- Go around the stakeholder by working with their subordinates
- Request a formal mandate from senior leadership to force cooperation
Correct answer: Find common goals and start with small, low-risk collaborations to build trust incrementally
Identifying shared interests and building trust gradually is more sustainable than forcing cooperation.
CSJT Leadership and Influencing 3
A team member consistently delivers excellent work but refuses to share knowledge with colleagues.
What is the most effective leadership response?