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?
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
Initiating team-building activities and setting clear expectations early helps form a cohesive team quickly. This aligns with the Forming stage of Tuckman's model and PMI's emphasis on team charter.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Team Building
Team building is the process of creating a cohesive group of people who work together effectively toward a shared goal.
Key term
Project Management Plan
A formal, approved document that defines how a project is executed, monitored, controlled, and closed, serving as the single source of truth for the project team.
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