PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
During a project retrospective, the team identifies several obstacles that are slowing them down, including unclear requirements and lack of access to a testing environment. As a servant leader, what should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the servant leader role with a passive facilitator (Option A) or incorrectly apply risk management (Option B), failing to recognize that immediate impediment removal is a core duty, not a deferred or delegated task.
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
✓
Work with the team and relevant stakeholders to remove the obstacles
As a servant leader, your primary responsibility is to remove impediments that hinder the team's progress. By working directly with the team and relevant stakeholders to address unclear requirements and lack of access to a testing environment, you enable the team to maintain velocity and focus on delivering value. This aligns with the PMI's focus on empowering teams through proactive obstacle removal rather than deferring or delegating 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.
- ✗
Document the obstacles and review them at the next retrospective
Why it's wrong here
This approach is passive and reactive, contradicting the proactive nature of effective project management. Obstacles are current impediments requiring immediate attention and resolution to prevent further impact on project progress and team morale. Merely documenting and delaying review until a future retrospective postpones critical problem-solving, potentially escalating issues and hindering project success.
- ✗
Prioritize the obstacles and include them in the project risk register
Why it's wrong here
This option incorrectly categorizes obstacles. In project management, a risk is an an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on project objectives. Obstacles, however, are current issues or impediments that have already occurred and are actively hindering progress. They belong in an issue log, not the risk register, and require immediate issue resolution processes rather than risk response planning.
- ✗
Ask the team to resolve the obstacles themselves
Why it's wrong here
While teams are empowered to resolve many issues, a project manager, particularly in a servant leadership role, is responsible for identifying and removing impediments that are beyond the team's authority, resources, or control. Delegating all obstacle resolution to the team, especially systemic or cross-functional issues, can lead to frustration, delays, and a perception of a lack of support from the PM.
- ✓
Work with the team and relevant stakeholders to remove the obstacles
Why this is correct
This option embodies the principles of servant leadership and effective project management. The project manager's role is to facilitate the team's work by actively collaborating with the team to understand the obstacles and then engaging relevant stakeholders (e.g., functional managers, other departments, sponsors) to secure necessary resources, approvals, or decisions required for their timely removal. This proactive approach ensures impediments are addressed efficiently, maintaining project momentum and team productivity.
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