Tell me about a piece of critical feedback you disagreed with when you first heard it. What did you do with it?
Why this works
"Tell me about feedback" invites the polished growth story; adding disagreement forces the harder account — sitting with a judgment that felt wrong and working out which part of it was true anyway. Whether anything visibly changed afterward separates absorbing feedback from surviving it.
Follow-up probes
- What was the feedback, as close to word-for-word as you can?
- Which part turned out to be right?
- What did the person who gave it see you change?
What good looks like
The feedback restated fairly rather than caricatured, a real reckoning — part accepted, the genuine disagreement raised with the giver directly — and a specific change the giver could verify.
Red flags
The giver was simply wrong and that's the whole story, agreement performed in the room and dropped afterward, or the only example on offer is praise lightly disguised as criticism.
More Adaptability questions
Related across competencies
Build the interview around it
One vetted question is an ingredient, not the meal. Plan the interview and three short steps will work out which competencies your role needs, no account required. Or subscribe and get new vetted questions and interview guides as we publish them.