- A
Provide individual rewards for top performers to motivate competition
Why wrong: Individual rewards can undermine teamwork and collaboration.
- B
Assign a mentor from outside the team to guide team members
Why wrong: External mentors may not address internal team dynamics.
- C
Set clear team goals and define success criteria together
Shared goals align efforts and build commitment.
- D
Facilitate a team charter workshop to establish shared values and norms
A charter promotes ownership and alignment.
- E
Organize team-building activities that focus on collaboration and trust
Team-building activities help break down barriers.
Question 84 of 892
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A project manager is leading a team that is newly formed and includes members from different functional areas. The team is experiencing low trust and reluctance to share ideas. The project manager wants to build a high-performing team. Which THREE actions should the project manager take? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Set clear team goals and define success criteria together
Setting clear team goals and defining success criteria together (Option C) is correct because it aligns the team around a shared purpose, which is essential for building trust and collaboration in a newly formed, cross-functional team. This action ensures that all members understand what they are working toward and how their contributions fit into the bigger picture, directly addressing the reluctance to share ideas by creating a common ground.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Provide individual rewards for top performers to motivate competition
Why it's wrong here
Individual rewards can undermine teamwork and collaboration.
- ✗
Assign a mentor from outside the team to guide team members
Why it's wrong here
External mentors may not address internal team dynamics.
- ✓
Set clear team goals and define success criteria together
Why this is correct
Shared goals align efforts and build commitment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Facilitate a team charter workshop to establish shared values and norms
Why this is correct
A charter promotes ownership and alignment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Organize team-building activities that focus on collaboration and trust
Why this is correct
Team-building activities help break down barriers.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may mistakenly choose individual rewards (Option A) thinking it motivates performance, but PMP exams consistently test that team-based recognition and collaborative goal-setting are critical for building trust in new teams, not competitive incentives.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Tuckman model (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing) is foundational here: in the Forming stage, team members are polite but guarded, and a team charter workshop (Option D) establishes shared values and norms, accelerating the transition to Norming. Team-building activities (Option E) that focus on collaboration and trust directly target the emotional safety needed for idea sharing, as per the Drexler/Sibbet Team Performance Model, which highlights trust as a prerequisite for productive work.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PMP exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
People — Leading Projects — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PMP question test?
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set clear team goals and define success criteria together — Setting clear team goals and defining success criteria together (Option C) is correct because it aligns the team around a shared purpose, which is essential for building trust and collaboration in a newly formed, cross-functional team. This action ensures that all members understand what they are working toward and how their contributions fit into the bigger picture, directly addressing the reluctance to share ideas by creating a common ground.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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