Tell me about a decision you made knowing it would be unpopular. How did you make the call, and what happened once it landed?

Popularity is the easiest wrong input to a decision. This shows whether the candidate can separate right from liked — and whether they did the second half of the job: absorbing the reaction without quietly walking the decision back.

• Who pushed back hardest, and what was fair about their case?
• What would have made you reverse it?
• Did it stick — and what did holding it cost you?

Reasoning that stands on its own rather than on rank, the objectors' interests stated fairly, the decision explained in person instead of hidden behind process, and a straight answer about the cost.

Unpopularity treated as proof of being right, dissent written off as resistance to change, or a decision that quietly eroded as soon as the pushback started.