PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A project manager notices that two senior developers have conflicting work styles, causing delays. What is the best approach to resolve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose 'assign them to separate tasks' (C) thinking it's a quick fix to avoid conflict, but the PMP exam emphasizes that avoidance is a temporary solution that fails to resolve the root cause, whereas facilitation aligns with the servant leadership mindset.
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
✓
Facilitate a meeting to discuss and resolve differences.
Facilitating a meeting to discuss and resolve differences (D) is the best approach because it directly addresses the root cause of the conflict—work style incompatibility—by fostering open communication and collaborative problem-solving. As a project manager, you act as a servant leader, using conflict resolution techniques like 'confronting' or 'problem-solving' to turn the disagreement into a constructive dialogue that aligns the team toward project goals. This approach preserves team cohesion and leverages the developers' expertise without escalating or avoiding the issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Escalate to the functional manager for reassignment.
Why it's wrong here
Escalation should be a last resort; the PM should attempt resolution first.
- ✗
Ask the team to vote on which style to adopt.
Why it's wrong here
Voting is not appropriate for resolving interpersonal conflicts.
- ✗
Assign them to separate tasks to avoid interaction.
Why it's wrong here
Avoidance does not resolve the conflict and may cause further issues.
- ✓
Facilitate a meeting to discuss and resolve differences.
Why this is correct
Direct conflict resolution is a key PM skill.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Project Team Management
Project Team Management is the process of leading, coordinating, and supporting a group of people to complete project tasks and achieve project objectives.
Key term
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the process of addressing and resolving disagreements between team members or stakeholders to maintain a productive and collaborative project environment.
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This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.