PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
You are leading a virtual team across three time zones. During a video conference, you notice that one team member from a remote location has not spoken for the entire meeting. In previous meetings, this team member has also been quiet. What should you do to ensure effective collaboration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose Option A, thinking direct confrontation is 'assertive leadership,' but the PMP exam emphasizes servant leadership and emotional intelligence, which require addressing issues privately and respectfully rather than publicly calling out a team member.
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
✓
Schedule a one-on-one conversation to understand any barriers and encourage participation
It aligns with the PMP principle of servant leadership and proactive stakeholder engagement. By scheduling a one-on-one conversation, you create a safe environment to identify potential barriers (e.g., time zone fatigue, cultural differences, or technical issues with the virtual platform) that may be inhibiting participation. This approach fosters trust and encourages collaboration without putting the team member on the spot in a group setting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the team member directly during the meeting why they are not contributing
Why it's wrong here
Publicly questioning a team member's lack of contribution during a virtual meeting can create an intimidating environment, potentially causing embarrassment and further disengagement. This approach undermines psychological safety and contradicts the principles of servant leadership, which prioritizes supporting team members and understanding their needs. Effective project managers seek to foster an inclusive atmosphere where individuals feel comfortable contributing, rather than putting them on the spot.
- ✗
Assign the team member as the note-taker to ensure they are engaged
Why it's wrong here
Assigning a specific task like note-taking to force engagement is a superficial solution that fails to address the root cause of the team member's silence. While it might provide a temporary activity, it does not uncover potential barriers such as communication preferences, technical issues, or discomfort with the virtual format. A project manager should aim to facilitate genuine participation and leverage each team member's unique expertise, rather than simply occupying their time.
- ✗
Assume the team member has nothing to contribute and focus on others
Why it's wrong here
Assuming a team member has nothing to contribute and subsequently ignoring them is detrimental to team dynamics and project success. This approach demonstrates a lack of inclusive leadership, potentially overlooking valuable insights, diverse perspectives, or unexpressed concerns that could benefit the project. A PMP-certified project manager actively seeks to engage all team members, recognizing that every individual brings unique value, and avoids making premature judgments based on initial silence.
- ✓
Schedule a one-on-one conversation to understand any barriers and encourage participation
Why this is correct
Scheduling a private one-on-one conversation demonstrates empathy and aligns perfectly with servant leadership principles by prioritizing the team member's well-being and understanding their perspective. This confidential setting allows the project manager to uncover potential barriers to participation, such as technical difficulties, cultural differences, personal discomfort, or specific communication preferences, without public pressure. It fosters trust, enabling the project manager to offer tailored support and encourage future contributions effectively.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Leading Teams and Empowering Team Members
Key term
Organizational Change Management
Organizational Change Management (OCM) is the structured approach to preparing, supporting, and guiding people through changes in an organization to ensure lasting success.
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.
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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.