PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A project team has low trust and poor collaboration. The project manager wants to build a high-performing team. Which of the following is the MOST effective first step?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often mistake reactive conflict resolution (Option B) or tactical tools like stand-ups (Option D) as the first step, when the PMP exam emphasizes that building a high-performing team requires establishing foundational norms and values through a team charter before addressing specific issues or implementing processes.
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
✓
Develop a team charter that defines values, communication norms, and conflict resolution processes.
Developing a team charter is the most effective first step because it establishes a shared foundation of values, communication norms, and conflict resolution processes, which directly addresses low trust and poor collaboration by creating psychological safety and clear expectations. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on team charter as a key tool for forming a high-performing team, as it proactively prevents conflicts rather than reactively resolving them.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Conduct a team-building event, such as a social gathering.
Why it's wrong here
Conducting a team-building event, such as a social gathering, is generally a superficial intervention that does not address the root causes of low trust and poor collaboration. While such events can temporarily boost morale, they lack the structured framework and explicit agreements necessary to establish lasting communication norms, shared values, or effective conflict resolution processes. Without addressing these underlying systemic issues, a social event alone will not build deep trust or fundamentally improve dysfunctional team dynamics.
- ✗
Identify and resolve the biggest conflict in the team.
Why it's wrong here
Identifying and resolving the biggest conflict in the team treats a symptom rather than the underlying disease of low trust and poor collaboration. While conflict resolution is important, focusing on a single instance without establishing clear communication norms, shared values, and a consistent conflict resolution process means new conflicts are likely to arise. This approach fails to build a sustainable foundation for future interactions and does not proactively prevent recurrence of trust issues.
- ✓
Develop a team charter that defines values, communication norms, and conflict resolution processes.
Why this is correct
Developing a team charter is the most effective approach because it proactively establishes the foundational elements required for high-performing teams. By collaboratively defining shared values, communication norms, decision-making processes, and conflict resolution procedures, the team creates a mutual understanding and commitment to how they will work together. This structured agreement fosters psychological safety, builds trust, and provides a clear framework for effective collaboration, directly addressing the core problems.
- ✗
Introduce daily stand-up meetings.
Why it's wrong here
Introducing daily stand-up meetings primarily serves to improve information flow, coordinate tasks, and identify immediate impediments in an agile context. While they promote regular communication, stand-ups do not inherently build deep trust or establish collaborative norms if those foundations are absent. If trust is low and communication is dysfunctional, simply providing a forum for status updates can even exacerbate existing issues rather than resolve the underlying behavioral and relational problems.
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
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.
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.
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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.