Characterizing the Working Norms and Values of Teams You Have Been Part Of

Looking back at the teams you have been a member of, how would you characterize the way each one worked: its norms, its values and its day-to-day habits? ```hint Show, do not label For each team, pick two or three concrete practices that reveal its norms, such as how decisions got made or how disagreement and failed launches were handled, instead of adjectives like collaborative or fast-paced. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should I cover every team I have been on, or compare the two or three most recent ones in more depth? - Do you mean the product team alone, or the wider group of engineering, design, data and business partners I worked with every day? - Is it useful to include a team whose culture did not suit me, and what I did about it? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Observable norms for each team (how decisions were made, how conflict and mistakes were handled, how close the team stayed to customers) rather than generic adjectives - The candidate's own part in the culture: what they reinforced, adapted to or deliberately changed - A balanced, professional view of what each culture did well and what it cost, without disparaging former colleagues - Self-awareness about the environment in which the candidate does their best work, and how that relates to the team they are interviewing for ### Follow-up Questions - Tell me about a time one of those team norms worked against the customer or the product. What did you do? - Which of those cultures would you recreate if you were building a team from scratch, and what is the first practice you would put in place? - How would you find out quickly whether a new team's culture is one you will thrive in?