Free CSJT Working Together and Collaboration Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You have joined a cross-departmental project team. During the initial meetings, you observe that team members are hesitant to share ideas and tend to defer to the most senior person in the room. What is the most effective action to foster a more collaborative environment?
- Propose using a structured brainstorming technique, like a round-robin, where each person has a dedicated turn to speak. (Correct answer)
- Privately message the senior person and suggest they take a less active role to allow others to contribute.
- Focus on delivering your own tasks to a high standard to demonstrate your competence and lead by example.
- Wait for the project manager to identify the issue and implement a solution for the team's communication.
Correct answer: Propose using a structured brainstorming technique, like a round-robin, where each person has a dedicated turn to speak.
Proposing a structured technique is a proactive, inclusive, and respectful way to improve collaboration. It creates a formal space for every team member to contribute, regardless of seniority, without singling anyone out. This aligns with the 'Working Together' behaviour of contributing to an inclusive working environment where all opinions are heard.
Question 2: A colleague from another team, with whom you work on an ad-hoc basis, asks for your help with a task. You are currently very busy with your own team's urgent priorities. What is the most appropriate response?
- Explain that you are unable to help at the moment due to your workload but direct them to another colleague or resource that might be able to assist. (Correct answer)
- Agree to help them immediately, as fostering good inter-team relationships is a top priority.
- Inform them that you are too busy and that they should ask their own line manager for support.
- Ask your line manager for permission before agreeing to help the colleague from the other team.
Correct answer: Explain that you are unable to help at the moment due to your workload but direct them to another colleague or resource that might be able to assist.
This response is collaborative and supportive while still respecting your own team's priorities. By explaining your current constraints and offering an alternative source of help, you maintain a positive relationship and contribute to wider objectives without jeopardizing your own deliverables. This demonstrates forming effective relationships and sharing resources where possible.
Question 3: Which of the following statements BEST describes the core principle of 'Working Together' within the Civil Service framework?
- To build a network of contacts to make your own work easier to deliver.
- To ensure a pleasant and conflict-free working environment for all staff.
- To form effective partnerships with a diverse range of people to share information and support the delivery of better public services. (Correct answer)
- To divide tasks among team members to ensure workloads are distributed fairly and evenly.
Correct answer: To form effective partnerships with a diverse range of people to share information and support the delivery of better public services.
The primary goal of 'Working Together' in the Civil Service is to achieve better outcomes for the public. This is done by forming effective partnerships and relationships with a wide range of people, both inside and outside the Civil Service, to share information, resources, and support. The other options are potential benefits but not the core purpose.
Question 4: Your team is collaborating with another department on a policy document. The other department consistently misses deadlines for their contributions, which is putting the entire project at risk. What is the most effective initial step?
- Immediately escalate the issue to your line manager and the project sponsor.
- Take on the other department's work yourself to ensure the project is completed on time.
- Send a strongly worded email to the head of the other department, copying in your own manager.
- Arrange a meeting with your counterpart in the other team to understand the reasons for the delays and collaboratively agree on a new timeline or way of working. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Arrange a meeting with your counterpart in the other team to understand the reasons for the delays and collaboratively agree on a new timeline or way of working.
A collaborative approach is the best first step. Seeking to understand the problem from the other team's perspective and working together on a solution preserves the working relationship and is more likely to lead to a sustainable resolution. Escalation should be reserved for when direct collaboration fails. This aligns with building trust and managing conflict constructively.
Question 5: You discover a more efficient way to process a type of data that is common across several teams in your directorate. What is the most effective way to share this best practice?
- Offer to host a short, informal session or workshop for any interested colleagues to demonstrate the new process. (Correct answer)
- Keep the process within your team to improve your own team's performance metrics.
- Wait to be asked about your team's high performance before sharing the new method.
- Write a brief email to your manager outlining the new process and suggest they share it.
Correct answer: Offer to host a short, informal session or workshop for any interested colleagues to demonstrate the new process.
Proactively offering to share knowledge in a practical, accessible way is a hallmark of effective collaboration. It demonstrates a commitment to organisational improvement over individual or team-specific gains and helps build professional relationships. This is more impactful than a passive email or waiting to be asked.
Question 6: When working on a project with external stakeholders from the private sector, a civil servant's primary collaborative goal should be to:
- Ensure the external partners deliver exactly what is in their contract, with no deviations.
- Build a relationship based on shared understanding and trust to achieve the best possible outcome for the public. (Correct answer)
- Learn about private sector methodologies to apply them within the Civil Service.
- Assert the government's position clearly to ensure the project aligns strictly with departmental priorities.
Correct answer: Build a relationship based on shared understanding and trust to achieve the best possible outcome for the public.
The Civil Service behaviour 'Working Together' explicitly mentions forming effective partnerships with people both internally and externally. The goal of this is not just contractual compliance but building genuine partnerships based on trust and shared objectives to deliver superior results for citizens. While the other options are relevant, they are secondary to the core goal of achieving the best public outcome through collaboration.
Free CSJT Working Together and Collaboration Questions and Answers
You have joined a cross-departmental project team.
During the initial meetings, you observe that team members are hesitant to share ideas and tend to defer to the most senior person in the room.
What is the most effective action to foster a more collaborative environment?