The answer is to facilitate a meeting between the two senior team members to discuss and resolve the conflict. This is correct because the project manager’s role under the PMP’s servant leadership model is to act as a facilitator, not a decision-maker, directly addressing the root cause of the delays—technical disagreement—by empowering the team to collaboratively find a mutually acceptable solution. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of conflict resolution as a core interpersonal and team skill, often appearing in the Executing process group; a common trap is choosing to escalate the issue to a sponsor or impose a solution yourself, which undermines team ownership and violates the principle of collaborative problem-solving. Remember the mnemonic “FACTS”: Facilitate, Address root cause, Collaborative solution, Team ownership, Servant leadership.
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.
During a project's execution phase, the project manager notices that two senior team members are in frequent conflict over technical approaches, causing delays. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 between the two team members to discuss and resolve the conflict.
Option D is correct because the project manager's role includes facilitating conflict resolution among team members to maintain team cohesion and project progress. By mediating a meeting, the PM addresses the root cause of the delays—technical disagreement—while empowering the team to find a mutually acceptable solution, which aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving.
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.
✗
Escalate the issue to the sponsor without involving the team members.
Why it's wrong here
Escalation should be a last resort after internal resolution attempts.
✗
Immediately reassign one of the team members to another project.
Why it's wrong here
Reassignment may be premature before attempting resolution.
✗
Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves on its own.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring conflict often worsens it.
✓
Facilitate a meeting between the two team members to discuss and resolve the conflict.
Why this is correct
Direct, collaborative conflict resolution is best practice.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
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 choose to escalate (Option A) or reassign (Option B) because they mistakenly believe the PM should avoid direct involvement in technical disputes, but the PMP exam emphasizes that the PM is responsible for resolving team conflicts through facilitation, not avoidance or unilateral action.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In project management, conflict resolution is a core interpersonal skill, and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument identifies five approaches: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. Facilitating a meeting (collaborating) is the best approach when both parties have legitimate technical concerns and the outcome affects project deliverables, as it seeks a win-win solution. Real-world scenarios often involve disagreements over architectural decisions, such as choosing between microservices vs. monolithic design, where a facilitated discussion can align technical choices with project constraints.
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: Facilitate a meeting between the two team members to discuss and resolve the conflict. — Option D is correct because the project manager's role includes facilitating conflict resolution among team members to maintain team cohesion and project progress. By mediating a meeting, the PM addresses the root cause of the delays—technical disagreement—while empowering the team to find a mutually acceptable solution, which aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. During project execution, the project manager notices that two team members are in frequent conflict, which is affecting the team's overall performance. The project manager wants to resolve the conflict effectively. Which THREE actions align with PMI's recommended approach?
medium
✓ A.Facilitate a joint meeting to discuss the issue and find common ground
B.Address the conflict in a team meeting to model transparency
✓ C.Meet with each team member individually to understand their perspective
D.Escalate the conflict to the project sponsor for resolution
✓ E.Help the team members agree on a solution and document the resolution
Why A: Options B, C, and D are correct. The PM should first understand the conflict privately, then facilitate a joint discussion, and finally agree on a solution. Option A is confrontational in public. Option E escalates prematurely.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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