CSM Service to the Scrum Team Practice Question
Which of the following describes the most effective way for a Scrum Master to help a new Scrum Team build trust?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates frequently choose options related to team-building exercises or social events, missing the core Scrum principle that trust is built through psychological safety and transparent, empirical work.
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
✓
Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable to be vulnerable and share their observations.
Trust is built through transparency and the successful delivery of value. By fostering an environment where failures can be discussed openly and successes are celebrated, the Scrum Master helps the team build psychological safety. This is fundamental for high-performing teams, as it allows for honest communication and risk-taking, both of which are required to innovate and improve consistently over time within the Scrum framework.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Force the team to have social lunches every day to get to know each other.
Why it's wrong here
Mandated social activities are rarely effective at building genuine professional trust. Trust is built through working together, achieving common goals, and demonstrating reliability. Forced social interaction can feel artificial and is not a substitute for the collaborative effort required to build trust in a high-performing professional team.
- ✓
Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable to be vulnerable and share their observations.
Why this is correct
Psychological safety is the bedrock of trust. When members can share concerns and admit mistakes without fear of judgment, the team can address issues more effectively. A Scrum Master who protects this space enables the team to form strong bonds and collaborate more effectively on their shared goals and tasks.
- ✗
Publicly reward the team member who finishes the most tasks in a Sprint.
Why it's wrong here
Rewarding individuals over the team promotes competition rather than collaboration. This undermines the collective accountability of the Scrum team. Scrum is about the team's success, not individual performance metrics. Focusing on individual achievement destroys the trust necessary for the team to function as a unified, high-performing group.
- ✗
Monitor the team members' performance to ensure everyone is pulling their weight.
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring creates a culture of surveillance and fear, which is the antithesis of trust. A Scrum Master should trust the team to self-organize and hold themselves accountable. If performance issues exist, they should be addressed through coaching and team-led feedback, not through the Scrum Master acting as a supervisor.
About these practice questions
This CSM question is part of Courseiva's 312-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scrum Alliance exam blueprint
This CSM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scrum Alliance 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 CSM exam.