PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A project manager is building a new project team. Several team members have never worked together before. The project manager wants to accelerate team development and improve collaboration. Which approach is most effective?
⚠ Common exam trap
PMP often tests the distinction between proactive team-building (kickoff, charter) and passive or generic approaches (training, natural development)—candidates pick training because it sounds formal, but the exam rewards the option that directly accelerates team development and collaboration.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Organize a team kickoff workshop with icebreakers and create a team charter together
A kickoff workshop with icebreakers and a collaboratively created team charter accelerates Tuckman's forming and storming stages by building trust, clarifying roles, and establishing shared norms and ground rules up front. Co-creating the charter gives team members ownership and reduces later conflict over expectations, which is especially valuable when members have never worked together.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assign tasks individually and monitor progress closely
Why it's wrong here
While individual task assignment is necessary for project execution, relying solely on this approach for a new team fails to establish foundational team dynamics. It promotes an individualistic mindset, hindering the development of shared purpose, trust, and collective problem-solving essential for a high-performing team. This method overlooks the critical need for initial team-building and norm-setting activities, which are crucial during the forming stage of team development.
- ✓
Organize a team kickoff workshop with icebreakers and create a team charter together
Why this is correct
A team kickoff workshop, incorporating icebreakers and collaborative charter creation, is highly effective for forming a new project team. Icebreakers facilitate initial rapport and personal connections, while jointly developing a team charter establishes clear operating guidelines, shared values, and and mutual commitments. This proactive approach aligns the team on expectations, roles, and communication protocols from the outset, accelerating the transition through the forming and storming stages of team development.
- ✗
Send the team to a formal training on teamwork
Why it's wrong here
While formal training on teamwork principles can provide valuable theoretical knowledge, it typically lacks the immediate, experiential application necessary for a newly formed team to bond and establish working relationships. Such training often occurs in an artificial environment, failing to address the specific dynamics, personalities, and project context unique to the new team. Practical, interactive activities that require real-time collaboration are more effective for initial team cohesion than passive learning.
- ✗
Let the team naturally develop norms over time without intervention
Why it's wrong here
Allowing a new team to naturally develop norms without proactive intervention is a passive and often detrimental approach. This can lead to ambiguity, conflicting expectations, and the formation of inefficient or counterproductive habits, significantly delaying the team's progression through the forming and storming stages. A lack of defined norms can foster misunderstandings, reduce psychological safety, and ultimately impede the team's ability to achieve its objectives efficiently.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
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