The answer is developing a team charter with the team’s input and conducting a kick-off meeting. These two actions are most effective for establishing a high-performing project team because they directly address the foundational elements of team cohesion and alignment. The kick-off meeting builds rapport and ensures a shared understanding of project goals, while the co-created team charter fosters ownership by clarifying norms, communication protocols, and decision-making expectations—both critical for reducing ambiguity and accelerating the transition from forming to performing. On the PMP exam, this question tests your grasp of the “Develop Team” and “Manage Team” processes under the People domain, often appearing as a scenario where a new team lacks structure. A common trap is to confuse team-building activities or rewards with these foundational steps; remember that charters and kick-offs set the stage before any performance can occur. Memory tip: “Charter and kick-off, the team won’t get sick-off”—these two actions prevent the common pitfalls of miscommunication and unclear roles.
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 building a new project team. Which TWO actions are most effective for establishing a high-performing team?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a kick-off meeting to align on goals and build rapport.
Option C is correct because a kick-off meeting aligns the team on project goals, establishes shared understanding, and builds rapport among members, which are foundational for collaboration and high performance. Option E is correct because developing a team charter with the team's input fosters ownership, clarifies norms, and sets expectations for communication and decision-making, directly contributing to team cohesion and effectiveness.
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.
✗
Avoid discussing potential conflicts to maintain harmony.
Why it's wrong here
Suppressing conflict leads to unresolved issues.
✗
Mandate overtime to meet aggressive deadlines.
Why it's wrong here
Causes burnout and reduces long-term productivity.
✓
Conduct a kick-off meeting to align on goals and build rapport.
Why this is correct
Fosters team cohesion and shared vision.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Assign roles and responsibilities without team input.
Why it's wrong here
Reduces ownership and may cause resistance.
✓
Develop a team charter with the team's input.
Why this is correct
Sets ground rules and shared expectations.
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 confuse 'avoiding conflict' (Option A) with maintaining harmony, but PMI emphasizes proactive conflict resolution and psychological safety as critical for team performance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
High-performing teams rely on Tuckman's stages (forming, storming, norming, performing); a kick-off meeting accelerates forming by establishing shared goals and rapport, while a team charter codifies norms during norming to prevent dysfunctional conflict. In real-world agile environments, the team charter often includes working agreements, definition of done, and conflict resolution protocols, which are revisited in retrospectives to sustain high performance.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
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: Conduct a kick-off meeting to align on goals and build rapport. — Option C is correct because a kick-off meeting aligns the team on project goals, establishes shared understanding, and builds rapport among members, which are foundational for collaboration and high performance. Option E is correct because developing a team charter with the team's input fosters ownership, clarifies norms, and sets expectations for communication and decision-making, directly contributing to team cohesion and effectiveness.
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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Question Discussion
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