Question 4Discovery and scoping
A senior executive and the hands-on team want different things. How do you handle it?
Enterprise deployments have several stakeholders. Senior FDEs are expected to align them, not pick a side quietly.
“Customer-facing engineering experience with direct responsibility for technical delivery and stakeholder communication. You build trust, clarify requirements, negotiate scope, and keep stakeholders aligned”Infrastructure Engineer, Customer Delivery · Distyl AI
The answerFour steps
- 1
Meet each side to learn what they need and why
Say it like this
“I'd meet each side alone first, because people give the real reason in a one-to-one.”
Why it scores
Separate meetings surface real concerns. In a shared room people defend positions.
- 2
Find the shared goal (usually the business metric the executive owns)
Say it like this
“Then I'd find the number the COO answers for, say branch wait time.”
Why it scores
Anchors on the metric the executive owns, which is what makes the plan easy to approve.
- 3
Propose a plan that meets that goal and removes the team's biggest pain
Say it like this
“The plan: four weeks cleaning the two forms behind 70% of the bad data, then the assistant goes live in three branches.”
Why it scores
Sequences both asks instead of picking a winner. The team's pain gets fixed first, with a date.
- 4
Get a written decision so the project doesn't stall later
Say it like this
“I'd send that plan to the COO and the ops lead and ask for a yes in writing…”
Why it scores
A written decision stops the project stalling when someone changes their mind.
StrongAll together
About a minute, out loud. The marked parts are the four steps; hover one to find it above.
Say the COO of a regional bank wants an AI assistant in every branch by June, and the operations team says the loan application data is so messy the assistant will give wrong answers. I'd meet each side alone first, because people give the real reason in a one-to-one.1 Then I'd find the number the COO answers for, say branch wait time.2 The plan: four weeks cleaning the two forms behind 70% of the bad data, then the assistant goes live in three branches.3 Both get what they asked for, in an order that works. I'd send that plan to the COO and the ops lead and ask for a yes in writing,4 so nobody reopens it in month two.
WeakThe answer that fails
Sounds fine. Common. Scores low.
“I'd go with the executive, since they own the budget and the final call, but I'd make sure the team feels heard and put their concerns in the backlog for later.”
Interviewer's note
Sides with the budget and parks the team's concern. That team will slow the rollout quietly.
PracticeTwo minutes, then they push back
Your turn
A senior executive and the hands-on team want different things. How do you handle it?
Answer like you're in the room: about two minutes, no notes. Say it out loud, even alone. It feels different from thinking it. Then check your answer against what interviewers score.