Tell me about a customer or stakeholder relationship you lost — they left, went around you, or stopped trusting the work. What happened?
Why this works
A single missed deadline has a script; a lost relationship doesn't, because it usually died over months and the candidate had chances to notice. What they saw and when — and whether the loss changed how they run other accounts — is signal no success story produces.
Follow-up probes
- When did you first sense it going wrong, and what did you do?
- What reason did they give — and what was the real one?
- What did you try that didn't work?
- What do you watch for now in other relationships?
What good looks like
Early warning signs named honestly, including the ones they ignored, a real attempt at repair, their own contribution stated without prompting, and a specific practice changed since — not just "communicate more".
Red flags
The loss is explained entirely by price, politics, or an unreasonable contact; no attempt at recovery; or no example at all — nobody senior has a clean record.
More Customer & stakeholder orientation questions
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