What do people assume about you that would be wrong?

I recently read the title question in a blog post about job interviewing and it captured my attention for several reasons.

Here is the link to the full post titled, “The Interview Question That Stumped Me.”

Reading this post and in particular this question was a catalyst for me to think about how I might answer that question and what that would say about me and how I relate to others. The author of the post states that this appears to be a trick question on the surface but after thinking it through I found it to be a brilliant challenging question.

The question requires you to think on your feet and your answer will reveal a lot about how self-aware you are as a person. It will also provide some insight as to how you believe that others perceive you as a person. This can provide some valuable insights into who I am as a person and how that is received by those around me.

No matter what business or line of work you are in, at the end of the day it is a people business. Even if you work in a highly automated industry there are still people who have to relate and deal with other people at some point in the process. It often amazes me at how little attention many organizations pay to the selection of their team members.

Some people will answer with a vague answer that will be obvious to all that it is a self-serving attempt to please the audience. Others will try to be overly analytical in an attempt to impress the questioner with their ability to self-analyze themselves. While others will provide an honest self-appraisal that provides you with some insight to how they might fit in with your team.

This question raises a multitude of other questions for me as I contemplate my answer:

How about you? Does this question prompt any new ways of thinking about yourself and how you relate to others? How does this impact your leadership?