Tell me about two teammates whose conflict was starting to hurt the work. What did you do about it as their peer?
Why this works
Stepping into other people's conflict as a peer is optional, which is exactly what makes it signal. The question shows whether the candidate treats team friction as their problem too, and whether they can help without authority and without taking a side.
Follow-up probes
- How did each of them describe the problem to you?
- Did either of them resent you getting involved?
- What changed for the work itself, not just the mood?
What good looks like
They heard both sides and can restate each fairly, intervened on the work impact rather than the personalities, and got the two talking to each other again instead of through an intermediary.
Red flags
They reported it to the manager and considered the job done, picked a side and helped it win, the fix was avoidance dressed up as harmony, or they claim teams they're on simply don't have conflict.
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