A teammate consistently misses deadlines, and it affects your work. What do you do?

This is a hypothetical scenario question — the interviewer wants your decision framework, not a war story. Here is a model answer, the mistakes to avoid, and the follow-ups to expect.

A strong example answer

Before concluding anything, I talk to the teammate privately. Consistent misses usually have a cause I cannot see — unclear priorities, an overloaded plate, something personal — so I frame it around the work, not the person: "The last few handoffs arrived after my testing window and I had to cut verification short. Can we figure out what is getting in the way?" More often than not the fix is coordination rather than character: earlier soft deadlines, reshuffled dependencies, a shared plan they helped build. People hit dates they set themselves far more reliably than dates handed to them.

If the pattern survives a direct conversation and adjusted planning, then I go to my manager — framed as delivery risk, with specific instances noted, never as a complaint about the person. What I refuse to do is vent to peers or quietly absorb the impact while resentment builds; silence is not teamwork, it is conflict avoidance with extra steps. Direct conversation first, process changes second, escalation last — with evidence at each step.

A framework for your own answer

• Situation: Describe the impact on your work factually, not emotionally.
• Task: Define your goal: unblock your work while preserving the relationship.
• Action: Talk to the teammate first, adjust coordination, escalate only if needed.
• Result: Show the outcome for both the work and the relationship.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Going straight to the manager reads as backstabbing — the direct conversation comes first.
• Don't say nothing while absorbing the impact; that is conflict avoidance, not teamwork.
• Candidates often assume laziness when the real cause is invisible — explore it before concluding.
• Why vent to other teammates? It poisons trust and solves nothing.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

Interviewers use follow-ups to verify your story is real. If you get this question in a real interview, expect probes like:

• What if the teammate is a friend outside work?
• What if the teammate is more senior than you?
• What if the manager does nothing after you escalate?

Related practice questions

Keep drilling with these, or browse the complete question bank.