PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
You are leading a virtual team across three time zones. A team member from the offshore location has been consistently missing deadlines, causing delays. When you inquire, the member says they are overloaded with work from another project. What is the best course of action?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to a corrective action like adding resources (A) or issuing a warning (C) without first diagnosing the root cause, which is a resource conflict that requires negotiation with the functional manager.
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
✓
Discuss the situation with the member and their functional manager to resolve the workload conflict
The root cause is a resource conflict across projects, which is a functional management issue. As a project manager, you must collaborate with the team member and their functional manager to negotiate priorities and workload balance, rather than unilaterally escalating or replacing the resource. This aligns with the PMI principle of 'engaging with stakeholders' and the 'manage team' process, where addressing resource constraints through negotiation is the first step before considering administrative actions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assign additional resources to help the member complete tasks
Why it's wrong here
Assigning additional resources without first understanding the root cause of the workload conflict is a reactive and potentially inefficient solution. This approach fails to address underlying issues such as poor task estimation, skill gaps, or competing priorities, which could lead to simply adding more people to an already mismanaged situation. It also increases coordination overhead and project costs without ensuring the core problem of workload imbalance is resolved, potentially masking systemic issues rather than fixing them.
- ✗
Replace the team member with someone who can meet deadlines
Why it's wrong here
Replacing a team member without a thorough investigation into the reasons for their performance challenges is an extreme and premature action. This approach can severely damage team morale, erode trust, and create a perception of an unsupportive project environment. Furthermore, it incurs significant costs and delays associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training a new resource, and if the root cause is systemic (e.g., unrealistic expectations or poor planning), the new team member may encounter the exact same difficulties.
- ✗
Issue a formal warning to the team member about performance expectations
Why it's wrong here
Issuing a formal warning is an escalatory measure typically reserved for situations where performance issues persist despite prior coaching, support, and attempts at resolution. As a project manager, the initial focus should be on collaborative problem-solving and understanding the context of the 'workload conflict.' A formal warning without prior discussion or investigation can be perceived as punitive, demotivating, and may not address the actual cause of the performance gap, potentially exacerbating the situation rather than resolving it constructively.
- ✓
Discuss the situation with the member and their functional manager to resolve the workload conflict
Why this is correct
This is the most appropriate and professional first step for a project manager facing a team member's performance issue linked to workload. Engaging both the team member and their functional manager facilitates a collaborative problem-solving approach, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of the workload, identification of potential solutions, and negotiation of resource allocation or task prioritization. This strategy fosters trust, supports team member well-being, and aligns with effective stakeholder management and resource management principles, especially in matrix environments where functional managers control resource capacity.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Project Management Plan
A formal, approved document that defines how a project is executed, monitored, controlled, and closed, serving as the single source of truth for the project team.
Key term
Project Team Management
Project Team Management is the process of leading, coordinating, and supporting a group of people to complete project tasks and achieve project objectives.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.