The correct first step is to schedule a private meeting to discuss their performance concerns and offer support. This approach aligns with the PMP’s servant leadership mindset, which prioritizes understanding the root cause of a team member missing deadlines and quality decline before taking corrective action. On the Project Management Professional PMP exam, this scenario tests your ability to apply emotional intelligence and conflict resolution in a predictive project environment, where the trap is to jump to reassignment or HR escalation. A common memory tip is “Private before PIP”—always have a private, empathetic conversation before considering a Performance Improvement Plan or formal measures.
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.
Your predictive project is halfway through execution. A team member has been consistently missing deadlines, and their work quality is declining. You suspect personal issues but are unsure. The project is at risk of schedule delays. What should you do FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Schedule a private meeting to discuss their performance concerns and offer support
Option B is correct because a private, empathetic conversation helps understand the root cause and shows concern for the individual, aligning with servant leadership. Option A is incorrect because immediate reassignment may demoralize the team member and does not address the issue. Option C is incorrect because escalating to HR without first understanding the situation is premature. Option D is incorrect because a performance improvement plan should come after understanding the cause and attempting to address it.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 human resources for disciplinary action
Why it's wrong here
Disciplinary action should be a last resort; the PM should first attempt to address the issue directly.
✓
Schedule a private meeting to discuss their performance concerns and offer support
Why this is correct
A private, empathetic conversation is the first step to understand the root cause and provide appropriate support.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Formally document the underperformance and issue a performance improvement plan
Why it's wrong here
A PIP is appropriate after initial conversations fail, not as the first step.
✗
Reassign their tasks to other team members to protect the schedule
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning without understanding the issue may worsen morale and does not help the team member improve.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PMP NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Schedule a private meeting to discuss their performance concerns and offer support — Option B is correct because a private, empathetic conversation helps understand the root cause and shows concern for the individual, aligning with servant leadership. Option A is incorrect because immediate reassignment may demoralize the team member and does not address the issue. Option C is incorrect because escalating to HR without first understanding the situation is premature. Option D is incorrect because a performance improvement plan should come after understanding the cause and attempting to address it.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PMP NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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