Behavioral question

How do you handle disagreements with the CEO or other execs about product direction?

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Ability to push back constructively on senior leadership while maintaining the relationship and ultimately aligning the team.

Describe your first move: understand the exec's reasoning fully before disagreeing, since their view may include context you lack.
Explain how you bring your counter view: with data or user evidence, not just opinion, framed around the shared goal.
Describe the escalation path if disagreement persists: propose a small test or pilot to resolve it with evidence rather than authority.
Explain how you commit once a decision is made, even if it was not your preferred direction, to keep the team aligned.
Give a concrete example following this structure, including what data or story changed the outcome.

Leads with genuinely understanding the exec's reasoning before disagreeing, not an I pushed back and won narrative.
Uses evidence, a pilot or a data point, to resolve disagreement rather than relying on hierarchy or persistence alone.
Shows disagree and commit once the decision is made, a sign of maturity interviewers look for.

A story where the candidate simply won the argument with no acknowledgment of the exec's reasoning.
No example of committing to a decision they did not originally agree with.

Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.