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Tell me about a conflict you had to resolve among teams and one that you had with your manager.
Asked at:
Oracle
Meta
What is this question about
This question probes how you diagnose and resolve disagreements both horizontally (across teams) and vertically (with your manager). Interviewers want to see your judgment around incentives, your ability to create safety and own your part, and whether you can choose an effective path to resolution without damaging relationships. It also reveals whether your approach scales appropriately to your level and whether you leave the system stronger afterward.
Key Insights
- Conflict doesn’t need to be emotional. It’s often misaligned incentives, constraints, or risk tolerance differences. Explicitly name those in your story.
- Honest ownership of your contribution is a fast signal of maturity. Defensiveness, blame, or omission of your role is a red flag.
- Have two crisp stories ready: one cross-team and one with your manager. For each, state the stakes, your diagnosis, your actions, the decision made, and what changed afterward.
What interviewers probe atlevel
Top Priority
Admit your part early and invite feedback to lower the temperature.
Good examples
🟢I realized my request lacked context and a clear deadline; I apologized and sent a concise spec with impact and a realistic ask.
🟢With my manager, I shared I felt rushed and owned that I’d been giving last-minute updates; we agreed on a weekly demo and clearer milestones.
Bad examples
🔴I cc’d the other team’s manager when they didn’t respond fast enough so they’d take me seriously.
🔴I told my manager they were micromanaging and that I work better without constant check-ins.
Weak escalates pressure or labels behavior; strong takes responsibility for clarity and process, which builds safety.
Pick a small, safe experiment or clear decision owner instead of debating endlessly.
Good examples
🟢I proposed a one-day A/B spike and defined success as scroll depth and load time to decide pagination vs. infinite scroll.
🟢I checked their on-call calendar, offered two options with timelines, and only escalated after we missed the second commitment.
Bad examples
🔴We argued for days about pagination vs. infinite scroll until my lead decided; I didn’t propose any way to test it.
🔴I escalated to my manager right away when the other team didn’t respond within a day.
Weak relies on authority or opinion; strong uses small tests and clear options with rationale.
Valuable
Keep scope small and involve your lead early; don’t try to solve org-level issues solo.
Good examples
🟢I asked my TL to join a quick sync with the one partner engineer; we agreed on a small sequencing change to unblock both of us.
🟢I framed my disagreement with my manager around my task’s risks and asked for a smaller experiment.
Bad examples
🔴I tried to rework how three teams planned dependencies and booked a big meeting without my TL.
🔴I argued with my manager about the roadmap priorities rather than focusing on my task’s impact.
Weak overreaches and invites chaos; strong right-sizes the audience and decision to the problem.
Close the loop with a small improvement or checklist you’ll reuse.
Good examples
🟢I added a pre-PR checklist for risky changes and shared it with the team.
🟢I summarized our agreement in a doc and referenced it in future planning to avoid rehashing.
Bad examples
🔴We fixed the bug but I didn’t change how I’d request reviews next time.
🔴After disagreeing with my manager, I just tried to avoid similar tasks.
Weak treats conflict as one-off; strong installs a tiny habit or artifact that reduces repetition.
End with a small artifact or habit that makes next time easier.
Good examples
🟢We created a small interface contract in the README and a Slack alias for questions to avoid future one-off pings.
🟢I proposed a checklist for when I’d ask for unblocking help and set a monthly sync to review progress.
Bad examples
🔴We shipped after a heated debate, but now that team doesn’t respond to my messages.
🔴I got my manager to agree to fewer check-ins, but we didn’t define what success looked like.
Weak wins the moment but harms trust; strong creates lightweight agreements that improve future interactions.
Question Timeline
See when this question was last asked and where, including any notes left by other candidates.
Early September, 2025
Oracle
Manager
Early May, 2025
Meta
Manager
Late April, 2025
Meta
Staff
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