PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
You are leading a hybrid project team consisting of both colocated and remote members. During a daily stand-up, two senior developers have a heated argument about the technical approach for a critical feature. The argument disrupts the meeting and creates tension. What should you do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'servant leadership' with 'direct intervention' (Option A) or 'delegation' (Option B), failing to recognize that the PM's first step is to acknowledge and contain the conflict before facilitating a resolution.
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
✓
Acknowledge the disagreement and schedule a separate meeting with both developers to discuss and resolve the issue
As a project manager leading a hybrid team, your first responsibility is to de-escalate the conflict and create a structured environment for resolution without disrupting the daily stand-up. Acknowledging the disagreement preserves team dynamics and ensures the technical decision is made collaboratively, leveraging both developers' expertise rather than imposing a unilateral solution. Scheduling a separate meeting allows focused discussion, preventing the stand-up from losing its purpose of synchronization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Immediately decide on the technical approach yourself to end the argument
Why it's wrong here
This action represents an autocratic leadership style, which stifles team autonomy and innovation. A Project Manager (PM) is generally not the technical expert for specific implementation details and imposing a solution without full understanding risks suboptimal outcomes and disengagement from the technical team members. It also bypasses the opportunity for collaborative problem-solving and knowledge sharing.
- ✗
Tell both developers to resolve the issue on their own and report back
Why it's wrong here
While encouraging self-organization is valuable, completely delegating a significant technical disagreement without offering facilitation or a structured approach is an abdication of the PM's conflict management responsibility. This approach risks prolonging the conflict, creating resentment, or leading to a suboptimal compromise rather than a well-reasoned solution, potentially impacting project timelines and quality. The PM's role includes removing impediments.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution
Why it's wrong here
Escalating a technical disagreement directly to the project sponsor is premature and demonstrates a failure to utilize internal team conflict resolution mechanisms. The project sponsor's role is strategic, not micro-managing technical details, and involving them at this stage wastes their time and undermines the PM's authority and the team's ability to self-organize. Effective PMs exhaust internal options before external escalation.
- ✓
Acknowledge the disagreement and schedule a separate meeting with both developers to discuss and resolve the issue
Why this is correct
This is the most appropriate action as it acknowledges the conflict without letting it derail the stand-up meeting, maintaining focus on daily progress. By scheduling a separate meeting, the PM demonstrates proactive conflict resolution, providing a dedicated forum for developers to present their cases, allowing the PM to facilitate a collaborative discussion, and guiding the team towards a mutually agreed-upon technical solution. This approach fosters team cohesion and ensures a well-considered decision.
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