Describe a setback or a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself?

Sample One

When I first began working with our programs in Macaronesia , in our quest to put together the best biodiversity plan possible for Macaronesian fauna and flora, our team pushed too hard on a particular method for identifying new conservation areas in the country. Prior to our involvement, the local Macaronesian team had done a great deal of work aimed at identifying important sites for conservation. However, as we examined their data, we soon realized there were considerable flaws with the Macaronesian team’s work. Most importantly, they neglected to use any data whatsoever on species, the fundamental building block of biodiversity. Consequently, I worked with my own team to develop a revised process that more accurately captured the full range of biodiversity in the country. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the local office for our meeting with the Macaronesian team, we focused on all the negatives: the inaccuracies in their work, the errors in their algorithms and methodology, and their failure to adequately capture the range of conservation options in the country. Our approach put the Macaronesian team on the defensive causing the tone of the meeting to deteriorate. The result was that both teams ultimately failed to reach their respective goals. Starting the meeting by highlighting our differences rather than capitalizing on our similarities, of which there were many, was clearly a mistake. In hindsight, we actually agreed on over 85% of the various areas confronting us and merely disagreed on which methodology to use and how to arrive at a set of priorities. Our mistake resulted in strained relationships with our Macaronesian team which took us time to rebuild. Had we simply focused on what the Macaronesian team had done well, where our thinking overlapped, and offered simple suggestions for improvement, we would have been far more successful in achieving our goals. Due to this experience, I now approach each new situation, project, and group with an open mind. My initial goal is to build a strong rapport with partners, without which nothing else will matter. I have learned that focusing on the positives and the things that teams have done well is most effective way create the context for constructive criticism. In addition, when managing staff members it is essential to highlight strengths before discussing any areas for improvement. More recently, I made a presentation at the Biodiversity Action Workshop in which I focused on how similar our work was. I offered suggestions how both sides of our work could be improved upon by using the best of both approaches. By focusing on the positive, I have been able to develop numerous positive and productive collaborations. Clearly we have recovered and are now working smoothly with the Macaronesian team on various projects in the region which will likely result in an eight-fold funding increase over our current investments in the region.

Sample Two

We had to move quickly; it was 05:30, the helicopter had crashed 45 minutes ago, and every minute counted if we were going to rescue the pilot trapped behind enemy lines. For this training mission at the U.S. Army Ranger School, I was the patrol leader responsible for leading my 40 Ranger students to the crash site to extract the pilot. Though bleary-eyed from having slept only seven hours in four days and light-headed from malnutrition, I had assessed the situation and developed my Rangers’ course of action. Now, we were moving rapidly through treacherous terrain. As we ascended the ridgeline, machine-gun fire broke out. I called for the lead squad to maneuver and for the rear squad to suppress the enemy. I moved with the lead squad back to link up with the rear squad, but the rear squad was out of position, and we crossed directly in front of the rear squad’s line of fire. Had this been a real combat situation, soldiers could have been hit by “friendly fire.” The entire patrol was out of position, and I had lost control. As a result, I failed this critical Ranger mission and received a “No-Go.”

In Ranger School, leadership is taught and assessed by simulating combat stress through sleep deprivation, malnutrition, and nearly impossible timelines. To succeed in this leadership challenge, I would have to learn to access unfathomed reserves of strength to inspire and motivate my team even when I could barely hear myself think over my body’s demands for food and sleep. The most important lesson I learned was that working as a team is the only way to overcome stresses that are sure to hobble even the strongest individual. Being a solo-leader would never work in these situations. I failed in part because I took complete control of planning and spent so much time crafting the “perfect” plan that I had left no time to refine or rehearse the plan with my team. The experience taught me that a good solution with strong implementation is better than a perfect solution not implemented. The painstaking care I took perfecting my plan meant that I missed out on input from my team that would have helped the mission succeed. Fortunately, I got a chance to apply these lessons during a second mission.

Learning from my mistakes, I dug deep to harness my inner reserves and motivated the team by involving them in the planning. Our collaboration distracted us from our exhaustion and hunger pangs. I managed time more effectively, leaving time for training exercises. I utilized two respected Ranger students to assist in planning the mission and delegated specific tasks to the rest. Each student had a part in the plan, which meant that we had shared ownership and were all motivated to work harder and see the plan succeed. Was the plan perfect? No. But we worked together, the mission succeeded, and I got my “Go.”

Sample Three

I was supervising a group of peer-level attorneys on the due diligence review for the financing of the impending sale of an Boston-based Equity Office Portfolio. The deal could not close without acceptable estoppels from tenants and the expected closing date was only three days away. All one hundred and twenty estoppels arrived at the same time, so I divided the work evenly between the two other team members and myself. Two of us finished our sections and continued working on another aspect of the transaction when our third team member arrived. He knew he was the last one to finish and assured me that he had taken so long because he was double-checking his work. It was two in the morning and I knew I needed at least another hour to finish the mortgages I was drafting. I spot checked some of his work and sent the chart out to our client.

The following day I was called into the partner’s office and was reprimanded. Though I was initially irritated with my co-worker for assuring me that everything was correct, I quickly realized it was my oversight, and I accepted responsibility without mentioning who had done what. I recognized that this was simply one project in the giant scheme of things and that destroying group chemistry would be counterproductive. I recognized that when I am in charge of a team, even a group of my peers, the end product is ultimately my responsibility.

After some time passed, I thought quite a bit about leadership and was disturbed at how my collegial style was so ineffective in this instance. I observed other successful senior attorneys in the firm and their styles. I even tried emulating a few of them, but their styles weren’t right for me. I eventually reached the conclusion that I had to be true to my value system if I was going to go anywhere as a leader even if I hit some bumps along the way. Since that point in time, I’ve experienced a lot of success leading teams and made some great friendships in the process, but the most important thing I learned from this experience was that while I have leadership experience and potential, I still have a lot to learn about management techniques. Even if I had discovered all of the errors in my colleagues work product, I likely would have corrected them myself and moved on. The difference between being good at your job and being a good manager of people doing a similar job is considerable. In order for me to reach my leadership potential, I need to bridge this gap with formal organizational management theory as well as practice. I look forward both to learn from Wharton’s curriculum as well as from the managerial approaches used by members of my learning team. I am confident that this will enable me to grow as a professional manager to more effectively lead my teams in the future.

Sample Four

I believe in the transformative power of green design and constantly seek opportunities to soften the environmental impact of the modern commercial landscape. During my tenure as a Project Architect with Thompson Architecture, I have consistently been very successful in my efforts to develop our clients’ understanding of sustainable construction. In 2005, I decided to broaden my influence and attempted to initiate a firm-wide environmental awareness program that would eventually reach our clients around the world.

After my initial lobbying, Thompson’s Board granted me four weeks to develop a detailed program presentation. The complexity of the project meant that I would need the expertise of my colleagues in order to develop a compelling presentation, so I quickly delegated several cross functional tasks, created a schedule of deadlines, and made it clear that I was willing to help out with any aspect of the project. I was confident that this initial correspondence was sufficient and excitedly began my own portion of the work. However, when I gathered the teams two weeks later for a status update, I was stunned by their lack of progress. To my surprise, my co-workers did not have a clear understanding of my expectations as their contributions lacked a consistent message with my findings. I worked late nights through the following days in an effort to salvage the project, but I simply could not make up for all of the lost time. Ultimately, the Board questioned important aspects of the analysis and concluded that my initiative could not feasibly be implemented.

While I was tremendously disappointed by this outcome, I refused to let it prevent me from accomplishing my goals and worked to remediate the situation. When I solicited feedback from my colleagues in order to better understand the failure, I learned that they were already faced with tight schedules and were simply not able to prioritize my requests. To better define our individual roles and fuse our talents towards a common goal, I realized that I needed to clearly communicate my passion for the project before I would receive more energetic support. To do so, I took the initiative to arrange individual meetings with my peers from various departments and explained in detail the valuable contribution our efforts could make to the environment if the proposal was accepted. Members of the team responded by taking much more pride in their individual assignments while also beginning to cooperate more effectively. Six months after the initial disappointment, I was able to approach the Board again and was thrilled to receive a $50,000 grant to support further environmental research and staff education.

From this experience, I recognized the importance of adapting my communication style to effectively yield results, especially when I have no official authority over my cross-functional peers. I also learned to exert influence by engaging my co-workers and considering their needs first. It was a valuable lesson that I expect will serve me well as I join and lead the diverse and talented teams that characterize the Wharton MBA experience.

Sample Five

In 2003, my firm, Cartwright Capital Corp., a boutique investment bank in San Diego, CA was engaged by a prominent entrepreneur to recapitalize his company. Our client’s company was a highly successful direct marketer of a variety of well-known household appliances. Having built close to $200 million in value, he desired to bring in a financial partner that would allow him to take some of his risk out of the company.

I was chosen to lead the deal team in a transaction that could potentially generate $5 million in fees for our firm. I had just been promoted to Associate, and I was eager to make a good impression. I spearheaded much of the due diligence and financial analysis for Cartwright and the private equity sponsor. The night before the client and private equity sponsor were supposed to finalize the deal structure, I was completing one last review of the valuation model. I remember quite vividly the panic that set in. To my utter disbelief, I discovered a small, but critical formula error in the Excel model that was overestimating revenues by almost 10% in the 2nd year; the effect was compounded through the 5th year of the model. The valuation model was a collaborative effort of Cartwright, the company and the private equity sponsor, but ultimately the model was my responsibility. The potential effect of the error would be devastating. The valuation would have to be lowered, directly impacting our client. I was caught up in the logistics of coordinating the closing and had lost focus on what was most important—painstaking due diligence on the numbers.

I could have easily ignored the error because it would have most likely gone unnoticed in the five megabyte, 30-tab Excel model, but to have done so would have gone against everything I had learned in my personal, professional and academic life. I have always believed that success shouldn’t come at the cost of integrity, even if the decision that must be made in a given moment is not the most convenient or expedient. I phoned my managing director and relayed the news, and we agreed we would notify our client the next morning. Fortunately, the error in the model was overshadowed by our client’s 11th hour request to revise the structure of the deal. This brush with disaster led me to adopt a new philosophy in my work life. I promised myself that I would never assume that data could be accepted at face value; it is necessary to always do my own research and fact checking. I also committed myself to take more time with critical tasks. This has required me to do a better job of prioritizing my tasks and managing my time. Before that incident, I would wake up in the morning and plan my day by tackling what was most urgent, but now, I have learned to focus on what is most important. (2007)

Sample Six

Recently, as part of a large project team at a luxury department store, I led a work stream to evaluate its marketing practices and processes. I prepared detailed charts and PowerPoint slides to outline the roles, responsibilities, tools, and processes that would help successfully execute planned marketing initiatives. I walked into a meeting with the client SVP of marketing brimming with confidence and poise; I left feeling dejected and disappointed. My colorful charts and slides did not convince this marketing executive to buy into our recommendations.

I reflected on why I was unable to achieve my desired results. I needed to gain the buy-in of the SVP of Marketing, a creative guru who lacked knowledge on technology and process; with his support, the team would follow his direction. Uninterested in my process maps, charts, and tables, he was not concerned with hearing the technical and consulting jargon. Rather, he preferred to speak about his new concept for the winter catalogue, “snow people, blanketed in white,” and to discuss which famous graphic designer would create the cover. The key to my success for the next meeting would be to translate the consulting jargon into a language that this individual could understand.

For our next meeting, I chose to walk the flagship store with him, perusing the products and relating examples of how different tools could improve his organization. At the handbag counter, I did not launch into the benefits of a customer relationship management system which I had previously presented at our initial meeting. Instead, pointing to the Coach handbag, I told him how the in-store business could share information with the online business about the shopping tendencies of Coach customers. This information sharing would enable both departments to better target Coach handbag customers with promotional coupons, emails of future handbag sales, and news of product launches. I crafted similar vignettes for each of our recommendations. His nods affirmed that he understood how our recommendations around technology and process could help him realize his marketing dreams.

This experience taught me to be more conscious of my audience and each stakeholder’s motivations and interests. By understanding the SVP’s character and altering my approach, I was able to connect with him, gain his respect, and persuade him to support our recommendations. I learned the importance of tailoring information into terms that each business user understands. By walking through the store and focusing on the products and customer experience, rather than using charts and graphs in a board room, I also realized the power of changing a group’s environment to better demonstrate a point. I am now more aware of my audience and how to adapt my communication style and approach to be more effective in persuading others of my argument.

Sample Seven

My experience during the technology bubble burst of 2001 was like being caught in the riptide of a furious ocean. The waves of despair and bad news kept coming, thrashing my already fatigued body, albeit strong will, with more surprises.

I moved to Silicon Valley in a spirit of optimism and entrepreneurial excitement a few months before the dot-com bubble burst. My first company Tantone Systems filed for Chapter 11 within a year of my start date. The owners sold the bankrupt company to Shinay Corporation. A year after the acquisition, Shinay Corporation began a round of layoffs, of which I was a victim. To make the pressure to remain employed more severe, in early 2000 I had promised my sister, Sara, that I would financially support her if she pursued her undergraduate education in an American university. I realized early in life that one way for Muslim women to achieve independence from a male-dominated culture was through a liberating educational experience. Having received my education from the USA, I wanted Sara to have similar career and personal growth opportunities. Sara was a sophomore at Cal State University when I lost my job. I was determined to fulfill my commitment to her and allow her to remain in school.

Luckily, I was offered a job outside Silicon Valley within a week of the layoffs, with a significant pay cut. I reluctantly accepted the offer. Working at Tendec Inc., I eagerly longed for the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. After fifteen months at Tendec, I decided to move back to Silicon Valley to meet my long-term goals and establish my network here. In 2003, I accepted a job at DS Communications, a Silicon Valley company, and have thrived in my career there since.

The improved economy has stabilized my personal job situation and my commitment to Sara finally came to an end when she graduated in 2005. Embarking on this journey through a tumultuous career of startups has been one of my most significant learning experiences. Though I initially panicked, I accepted my journey as a learning opportunity, and traversed my path with passion and optimism.

It was difficult to survive a tough market, but the experience helped me grow in ways that would have been impossible otherwise. Because of the unfavorable business conditions, I am now aware of macroeconomics, business cycles, Fed policies, and the interdependencies between these factors. I had the opportunity to work under different management styles, diversifying my knowledge of business management and strategies. Through this experience, I learned that I am resilient in my thoughts, patient with my experience, and persistent in my actions. I now seek new challenges because I see them as growth experiences. The invaluable lessons of perseverance, patience, optimism, and survival against odds can only be learned first-hand and I am grateful that I learned them early in life. Recently as a board member for Bay Area SOW I was challenged to increase our corporate-based fundraising. At first I was frustrated by the denial of my requests for funding. However, I drew upon my earlier experience, persevering with an optimistic and focused outlook. After several weeks, I received my first check of funding.