Certainly. At TechSolutions Inc., my previous manager, Sarah, was very hands-off, trusting us to manage projects with a high degree of autonomy. When she transitioned to a new role, David took over as our team lead. David was significantly more detail-oriented, preferred frequent updates, and liked to be involved in every stage of a project, which was a marked shift from my accustomed independence.

My primary objective was to quickly understand David's expectations and adapt my communication and work style to ensure continued project success and build a strong, productive working relationship with him, rather than letting the difference in styles become an impediment.

To achieve this, I first scheduled an initial 1:1 meeting to understand his priorities, preferred communication cadence, and decision-making process. I observed how he interacted with others in team meetings and how he preferred information to be presented. I proactively began providing daily brief updates, even for smaller tasks, and started presenting detailed outlines and potential risk assessments for new projects before commencing work, which I hadn't routinely done before. For instance, during the 'Project Phoenix' migration, I initiated a daily digest email detailing progress, identifying any blockers, and outlining my next steps, anticipating his need for granular visibility. When presenting solutions, I made a conscious effort to include more supporting data and potential contingencies.

Within the first month, David expressed appreciation for my proactive communication and adaptable approach, noting that it significantly eased his oversight and built his confidence in my work. Our working relationship quickly became very strong, built on trust and clear, consistent communication. Project Phoenix was delivered on time and within budget, and I continued to be a consistently high performer on the team, demonstrating my ability to thrive under different leadership styles.

The STAR method is a structured approach to answering behavioral interview questions. It stands for:

Situation: Set the scene and provide necessary details about the context. Task: Describe your role and what you needed to accomplish. Action: Explain the specific steps you took to address the situation or complete the task. Result: Share the outcome of your actions, including what you learned.