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Behavioral question

Tell me about a time you influenced without authority

This is a persuasion story with a constraint: you could not order the outcome. Pick someone outside your team or above you, show the artifact you used, and end on their decision, not your hope.

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Question (optional) Your answer In July 2024 the data team owned the warehouse, and my team needed a column added before a pricing test. I had no ticket priority with them. I was responsible for getting the column without jumping their queue by complaining. I wrote a 1-page note with the query they would otherwise run by hand, the 3 dashboards that were wrong without the column, and a draft schema change. I then asked their manager for 20 minutes and walked the note, not a slide. They scheduled the column that sprint. The result was the pricing test starting on time, the 3 dashboards corrected, and the data team reusing the note format for the next 4 cross-team asks. I left the one-page note in their team folder, which is the copy they reused for those later requests.

Check answer Tighten with AI

86/100

Strong

About 55 seconds spoken · 138 words. Spoken time uses 150 words per minute.

Situation70

Task74

Action94

Result92

Feedback

• This has a clear STAR shape. Only keep numbers you can defend out loud.

Which sentence is which

In July 2024 the data team owned the warehouse, and my team needed a column added before a pricing test. Situation I had no ticket priority with them. Unclear I was responsible for getting the column without jumping their queue by complaining. Task I wrote a 1-page note with the query they would otherwise run by hand, the 3 dashboards that were wrong without the column, and a draft schema change. Action I then asked their manager for 20 minutes and walked the note, not a slide. Action They scheduled the column that sprint. Unclear The result was the pricing test starting on time, the 3 dashboards corrected, and the data team reusing the note format for the next 4 cross-team asks. Result I left the one-page note in their team folder, which is the copy they reused for those later requests. Action

Tightened draft

Copy

In July 2024 the data team owned the warehouse, and my team needed a column added before a pricing test. I was responsible for getting the column without jumping their queue by complaining. I wrote a 1-page note with the query they would otherwise run by hand, the 3 dashboards that were wrong without the column, and a draft schema change. I then asked their manager for 20 minutes and walked the note, not a slide. I left the one-page note in their team folder, which is the copy they reused for those later requests. The result was the pricing test starting on time, the 3 dashboards corrected, and the data team reusing the note format for the next 4 cross-team asks. I had no ticket priority with them. They scheduled the column that sprint.

Why this example holds up

You did their thinking for them. That is the usual shape of influence without authority: a smaller job for the person who has the power.

How to answer “Tell me about a time you influenced without authority” with STAR

1. Situation. Set the scene in one or two sentences: when it was and what was already wrong. For example: In July 2024 the data team owned the warehouse, and my team needed a column added before a pricing test.
2. Task. Say what you personally owned. For example: I was responsible for getting the column without jumping their queue by complaining.
3. Action. Say what you did, in order, with I. For example: I wrote a 1-page note with the query they would otherwise run by hand, the 3 dashboards that were wrong without the column, and a draft schema change.
4. Result. End on the change, with a number you can defend. For example: The result was the pricing test starting on time, the 3 dashboards corrected, and the data team reusing the note format for the next 4 cross-team asks.

Mistakes on this question

• Escalating to an executive as the first move. That is authority, borrowed.
• A story where you are actually the owner and people had to listen.
• No artifact. Influence that is only a conversation is hard to believe and hard to repeat.

How to practice it

Name the org boundary in the first two sentences. If there is no boundary, choose a different story.

FAQ

Does a senior title ruin this story?

Not if the other person did not report to you. Senior people influence without authority all the time, across teams.

What if they said no?

A no can work if you changed the proposal and the second version was accepted. A flat no with no change is a thin result.

Related questions

• Tell me about a time you persuaded someone
• Tell me about a time you handled a difficult stakeholder
• Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager

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