Project Management Professional (PMP) People: Leading and Building High-Performing Teams Syllabus

What tool helps assess and document the skills available on a team?

A skills matrix (competency matrix), which maps team members against required competencies and proficiency levels.

What are recognition and rewards used for in team management?

To reinforce desirable behavior and performance, boost motivation, and increase engagement and morale.

What distinguishes effective recognition from ineffective recognition?

Effective recognition is timely, specific, meaningful to the recipient, and tied to desired behaviors; ineffective recognition is generic, delayed, or culturally inappropriate.

What is the primary source of conflict on most projects according to PMI?

Schedules (followed by project priorities and resources); personality conflicts are typically a less common source.

List the most common sources of project conflict identified by PMI.

Schedules, project priorities, resources, technical opinions, administrative procedures, cost, and personality.

According to modern project management, is conflict inherently bad?

No; conflict is natural and inevitable, and when managed well it can lead to better solutions, innovation, and stronger relationships.

What are the five conflict resolution techniques in the Thomas-Kilmann model?

Withdraw/Avoid, Smooth/Accommodate, Compromise/Reconcile, Force/Direct, and Collaborate/Problem Solve.

Which conflict resolution technique is considered the best, providing a true win-win and lasting resolution?

Collaborate / Problem Solve, which incorporates multiple viewpoints to reach consensus and commitment.

What does the 'Withdraw/Avoid' conflict technique involve, and is it win-lose?

Retreating from or postponing the conflict; it is a lose-lose approach that does not resolve the issue, though it can be useful as a cooling-off period.

What does the 'Smooth/Accommodate' conflict technique emphasize?

Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than differences, conceding one's position to maintain harmony; it is a lose-win (yield-lose) approach.

What does 'Force/Direct' as a conflict technique mean?

Pushing one viewpoint at the expense of others, offering only win-lose solutions; a win-lose power play often used in emergencies.

What is 'Compromise/Reconcile' in conflict resolution?

Searching for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to all parties; each side gives up something, resulting in a lose-lose (or partial win) outcome.

In what order should a project manager generally address conflict?

Address it early, in private, directly and collaboratively; escalate formally only if a collaborative resolution cannot be reached.

What is negotiation in project management?

A discussion aimed at reaching an agreement between parties with differing needs or positions to achieve a mutually acceptable outcome.

What is the difference between positional (distributive) and principled (integrative) negotiation?

Positional/distributive bargaining treats it as win-lose over fixed positions; principled/integrative negotiation focuses on interests to find win-win, value-creating solutions.

What is BATNA in negotiation?

Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: the best outcome a party can achieve if no agreement is reached, which sets a baseline for accepting or rejecting a deal.

What does building consensus mean?

Reaching a decision that all team members can support and commit to, even if it is not every individual's first choice.

Name two facilitation techniques used to build consensus or make group decisions.

Voting (e.g., fist-of-five, planning poker), the Delphi technique, multi-criteria decision analysis, and brainstorming/affinity grouping.

What is the 'fist of five' (fist to five) consensus technique?

Members show 0 (fist) to 5 fingers to indicate support; low numbers signal disagreement requiring discussion, allowing the group to gauge and build consensus.

What is a virtual team?

A team whose members are geographically dispersed and collaborate primarily through electronic communication technology rather than face-to-face.

What are two key challenges of managing virtual teams?

Communication barriers (time zones, lack of nonverbal cues) and building trust/cohesion; addressed via clear communication tools, ground rules, and periodic synchronous contact.

What is an impediment (or blocker) in agile/project work?

Anything that slows down or prevents the team from making progress and must be removed or mitigated for the team to perform effectively.

How should a servant leader handle impediments?

Proactively identify, prioritize, track (e.g., on an impediment log/backlog), and remove or escalate them to keep the team productive.

What is the difference between a risk and an issue (impediment)?

A risk is an uncertain future event that may impact the project; an issue/impediment is a current problem that is actively blocking progress.

How should blockers and impediments be prioritized?

By their impact on the team's ability to deliver value—those blocking the most critical or most work should be addressed first.

What is the goal when managing team disagreements to reach a decision?

To surface diverse viewpoints, focus on facts and shared goals, and converge on a decision the team can commit to, rather than suppressing the disagreement.

What is a RACI chart and how does it relate to authority and delegation?

A responsibility assignment matrix defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, clarifying delegated roles and decision authority for tasks.

What is psychological safety and why does it matter for high-performing teams?

A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking; it enables members to speak up, admit mistakes, and innovate without fear, improving performance.

What is the difference between a team's responsibility and the project manager's accountability when delegating?

Responsibility for performing delegated work can be assigned to team members, but accountability for the outcome remains with the project manager/leader.

What is a 'shared understanding' and how is it achieved in a team?

A common, aligned interpretation of goals, roles, scope, and expectations, achieved through team charters, kickoff meetings, clear communication, and collaborative planning.

What leadership style adapts the approach based on the team's maturity and the situation?

Situational leadership, which varies between directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating depending on follower readiness and competence.