The answer is to empower the team to make decisions about their work processes, provide professional development and training, and foster a safe environment for open communication. These three servant leader actions directly address low team morale by shifting the focus from top-down control to enabling the team’s growth and autonomy, which are core tenets of the servant leadership model tested in the PMP exam. Empowering decision-making restores a sense of ownership, while training invests in long-term capability, and psychological safety allows the team to voice concerns without fear—together tackling the root causes of disengagement rather than just symptoms. On the PMP exam, this scenario often appears in the “Team Performance” domain, where a common trap is choosing quick fixes like rewarding individuals or mandating team-building events, which fail to address systemic morale issues. Remember the mnemonic “E-P-S”: Empower, Professional development, Safety—three pillars that lift morale by serving the team’s deeper needs.
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 retrospective, the team identifies that low morale is affecting productivity. As a servant leader, which THREE actions should the project manager take to address this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Provide opportunities for professional development and training.
Option A is correct because providing professional development and training directly addresses low morale by investing in the team's growth, which aligns with the servant leader's focus on empowering and supporting the team. This action fosters a sense of value and career progression, counteracting the root cause of low morale rather than just its symptoms.
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 opportunities for professional development and training.
Why this is correct
Investing in team growth shows care and improves skills and motivation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Implement a strict performance monitoring system to track productivity.
Why it's wrong here
Strict monitoring can lower morale further by creating a culture of distrust.
✓
Recognize and celebrate team achievements, both big and small.
Why this is correct
Recognition boosts morale and reinforces positive behavior.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Assign blame for the low morale to specific team members.
Why it's wrong here
Blaming individuals is counterproductive and damages trust.
✓
Empower the team to make decisions about their work processes.
Why this is correct
Empowerment increases ownership and motivation.
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 'addressing low morale' with 'controlling productivity' (Option B) or 'finding fault' (Option D), failing to recognize that servant leadership requires removing obstacles and empowering the team, not imposing external controls or blame.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Servant leadership in project management, as defined by PMI's PMBOK Guide, prioritizes team empowerment, psychological safety, and removing impediments. Low morale often stems from a lack of recognition or autonomy; celebrating achievements (Option C) reinforces positive behaviors through intrinsic motivation, while empowering decision-making (Option E) increases ownership and engagement. These actions align with Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, where recognition and responsibility are key motivators, whereas monitoring and blame are hygiene factors that can cause dissatisfaction.
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: Provide opportunities for professional development and training. — Option A is correct because providing professional development and training directly addresses low morale by investing in the team's growth, which aligns with the servant leader's focus on empowering and supporting the team. This action fosters a sense of value and career progression, counteracting the root cause of low morale rather than just its symptoms.
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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