Tell us a time you had to share unfavorable project update with your C-suite.

This question is designed to evaluate your communication skills, particularly in tough scenarios. It wants you to provide an example of a professional situation where you had to provide senior executives with an unfavorable update about a project - basically sharing bad news. The interviewer is looking for your ability to handle pressure situations, communicate effectively, and manage the expectations of senior leadership.

Your response should include the following key elements:

1. Situation: Describe the context or the situation. What was the project about? Why was the update unfavorable?

2. Task: What needed to be done to resolve the issue or to mitigate the risks? What was your role in that?

3. Action: How did you approach the C-suite about it? How did you communicate the bad news?

4. Result: What was the outcome? Were you able to effectively manage the situation and handle the reaction of the C-suite?

Last year, while leading the software update project for our key client, we hit a major setback due to an unforeseen technical glitch which set us a week behind our delivery timeline.

My responsibility was to get the problem resolved and update the C-suite about the unexpected delay. I needed to strike a balance between being transparent and avoiding unnecessary panic.

I drafted an update report highlighting what precipitated the issue, our projected new timeline, and steps we were taking to address the situation, ensuring it wouldn't happen again. I requested a meeting with the respective executives and took them through the situation in detail, accepting our team's accountability but also emphasizing our problem-solving approach.

As a result, the executives appreciated our forthrightness and proactive handling of the situation. Although they were initially worried, our proposed solutions and new timeline reassured them. We ultimately delivered the project on the revised timeline without further delays.

On a marketing campaign project I was overseeing, the initial results we were observing were quite below our projections. As the project manager, it was my responsibility to keep the C-suite informed about the progress.

I decided to call a meeting to share these outcomes, but I first made sure I conducted a thorough analysis of the situation and had plausible explanations and remedies for the shortfall.

In the meeting, I presented the results, underscored our learning from the deviation from our targets, and outlined a recalibrated plan with a set of corrective measures. I made it clear that while we were not on track to meet the original goals, we were strategically adjusting to ensure improved performance moving forward.

The meeting was a success and the C-suite acknowledged the fact that I openly shared the disappointing news and was ready with a recovery plan. They were satisfied with the proposed changes and the project eventually proved to be a success in the company."