24 People (Leadership & Teams) Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A project manager consistently removes obstacles for the team, asks 'How can I help you?', and puts the team's needs first so they can perform. Which leadership style does this best describe?

   • A.Autocratic leadership
   • B.Laissez-faire leadership
   • C.Transactional leadership
   • D.Servant leadership✓ Answer

   Servant leadership focuses on serving the team first — removing impediments, meeting their needs, and enabling growth so the team can perform. This is the leadership approach emphasized in PMBOK Guide 7th ed. and agile practice.

   Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed., Team Performance Domain — servant leadershipReport a problem with this question

2. 2. Two senior engineers on your team are in open conflict over a technical approach. Using the Thomas-Kilmann model, which conflict-handling mode is generally preferred for a durable win-win resolution?

   • A.Forcing (competing)
   • B.Smoothing (accommodating)
   • C.Avoiding (withdrawal)
   • D.Collaborating (confronting / problem-solving)✓ Answer

   Collaborating (also called confronting or problem-solving) directly addresses the disagreement to find a solution that satisfies both parties, producing a win-win and durable consensus. It is the mode PMI generally identifies as the best for lasting resolution.

   Source: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument; PMBOK conflict managementReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A newly formed team is polite, cautious, and unclear about roles, looking to the project manager for direction. According to Tuckman's model, which stage is the team in?

   • A.Storming
   • B.Norming
   • C.Performing
   • D.Forming✓ Answer

   In the Forming stage members are newly assembled, polite, and dependent on the leader for direction because roles and norms are not yet established. Tuckman's sequence is forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.

   Source: Tuckman's stages of group development (1965)Report a problem with this question

4. 4. During which Tuckman stage does a team most typically experience disagreements, power struggles, and challenges to authority as members assert their opinions?

   • A.Forming
   • B.Storming✓ Answer
   • C.Adjourning
   • D.Norming

   The Storming stage is characterized by conflict, competition, and challenges to authority as members surface differing opinions and jockey for position. Skilled facilitation here moves the team toward norming.

   Source: Tuckman's stages of group development — stormingReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A manager assumes employees inherently dislike work, avoid responsibility, and must be closely controlled and coerced to perform. Which theory describes this set of assumptions?

   • A.McGregor's Theory Y
   • B.Herzberg's motivators
   • C.McGregor's Theory X✓ Answer
   • D.Maslow's self-actualization

   Theory X assumes people dislike work, avoid responsibility, and need coercion and tight control. Theory Y, by contrast, assumes people are self-motivated and seek responsibility. Recognizing the assumption set is what distinguishes the two.

   Source: McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise — Theory X/YReport a problem with this question

6. 6. In Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which of the following is a 'hygiene factor' whose absence causes dissatisfaction but whose presence does NOT actively motivate?

   • A.Recognition
   • B.The work itself
   • C.Salary and working conditions✓ Answer
   • D.Achievement

   Herzberg classifies salary, company policy, and working conditions as hygiene factors: their absence causes dissatisfaction, but improving them does not create lasting motivation. True motivators are achievement, recognition, and the work itself.

   Source: Herzberg's Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) TheoryReport a problem with this question

7. 7. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which need must generally be satisfied BEFORE a person is motivated primarily by esteem needs such as recognition and status?

   • A.Esteem of others only
   • B.Self-actualization
   • C.Aesthetic needs
   • D.Belonging (social) needs✓ Answer

   Maslow's hierarchy ascends physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, then self-actualization. Belonging (social) needs sit directly below esteem, so they are generally met before esteem needs become the dominant motivator.

   Source: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943)Report a problem with this question

8. 8. A project manager notices rising frustration in a team member's tone during a meeting, pauses, and privately checks in afterward to understand the cause. Which component of emotional intelligence is the PM primarily demonstrating?

   • A.Social awareness (empathy)✓ Answer
   • B.Positional authority
   • C.Self-regulation of budget
   • D.Technical acumen

   Perceiving another person's emotional state and responding with understanding is social awareness, the empathy component of emotional intelligence. It enables the PM to address the underlying issue rather than only the visible behavior.

   Source: Goleman, Emotional Intelligence — social awareness/empathy domainReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A distributed team spanning multiple time zones repeatedly has misunderstandings about response times and meeting etiquette. What is the BEST first action to build a high-performing virtual team?

   • A.Escalate the team to the sponsor for discipline
   • B.Establish team ground rules for communication and collaboration✓ Answer
   • C.Reduce all communication to email only
   • D.Require everyone to relocate to one time zone

   Ground rules set shared expectations for communication, availability, and behavior, which prevents recurring misunderstandings and is especially critical for virtual/distributed teams. They are established collaboratively with the team early on.

   Source: PMBOK Guide — team ground rules; virtual team managementReport a problem with this question

10. 10. What is the PRIMARY purpose of a project manager removing impediments and blockers on behalf of the team?

    • A.To keep the team focused and enable them to deliver value✓ Answer
    • B.To increase the manager's control over daily tasks
    • C.To transfer accountability to functional managers
    • D.To reduce the need for team meetings

    Removing impediments is a servant-leadership behavior whose purpose is to clear the path so the team can stay focused and continuously deliver value. It empowers the team rather than increasing top-down control.

    Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed. — servant leadership; impediment removalReport a problem with this question

11. 11. An empowered, high-performing team is best characterized by which of the following?

    • A.Rigid role boundaries that no one may cross
    • B.Shared ownership, trust, and authority to make decisions within their scope✓ Answer
    • C.Waiting for the manager to approve every decision
    • D.Individual work with minimal interaction

    Empowered high-performing teams share ownership, trust one another, and hold delegated authority to make decisions within their scope, which speeds delivery and increases engagement. Requiring approval for every decision is the opposite of empowerment.

    Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed. — Team Performance Domain; empowermentReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A stakeholder repeatedly resists the project despite meeting deadlines. What should the project manager do FIRST to improve stakeholder engagement?

    • A.Understand the stakeholder's needs, concerns, and interests through dialogue✓ Answer
    • B.Ignore them since deadlines are being met
    • C.Escalate immediately to have them replaced
    • D.Remove the stakeholder from the communications list

    Effective stakeholder engagement begins with understanding the stakeholder's underlying needs and concerns through communication, because resistance usually signals an unmet interest or expectation that dialogue can surface and address.

    Source: PMBOK Guide — Stakeholder Performance Domain; engagementReport a problem with this question

13. 13. When negotiating with a functional manager for a scarce resource, which approach best builds long-term consensus and preserves the relationship?

    • A.Insist on your position and refuse to move
    • B.Concede everything to end the discussion quickly
    • C.Focus on interests and seek options for mutual gain✓ Answer
    • D.Threaten to escalate at the first disagreement

    Principled negotiation focuses on underlying interests rather than fixed positions and searches for options that create mutual gain, which builds durable consensus and preserves working relationships. Positional bargaining tends to damage trust.

    Source: Fisher & Ury, Getting to Yes — interest-based negotiationReport a problem with this question

14. 14. A senior developer wants to grow into a lead role. The project manager pairs them with an experienced lead who provides guidance, feedback, and career advice over time. This relationship is best described as:

    • A.Disciplinary action
    • B.Performance appraisal
    • C.One-time training session
    • D.Mentoring✓ Answer

    Mentoring is an ongoing developmental relationship in which a more experienced person guides another's growth over time through advice and feedback, distinct from a one-off training event or a formal appraisal. It builds long-term capability.

    Source: PMBOK Guide — Develop Team; mentoring vs. trainingReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A project manager wants to protect team well-being while the team is under sustained delivery pressure. Which action best supports well-being without abandoning delivery?

    • A.Silence complaints to keep morale numbers high
    • B.Set a sustainable pace and monitor workload to prevent burnout✓ Answer
    • C.Assign more scope to keep everyone busy
    • D.Add mandatory overtime until the deadline

    Maintaining a sustainable pace and actively monitoring workload prevents burnout while still delivering, which protects both people and long-term productivity. Mandatory overtime and suppressing feedback erode well-being and performance.

    Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed. — Team Performance; sustainable pace/well-beingReport a problem with this question

16. 16. Which Tuckman stage is characterized by the team working smoothly and interdependently at peak productivity with minimal supervision?

    • A.Storming
    • B.Forming
    • C.Performing✓ Answer
    • D.Norming

    In the Performing stage the team is highly interdependent, self-organizing, and operating at peak productivity, requiring little direct supervision. Norming precedes it, when cohesion and shared norms first solidify.

    Source: Tuckman's stages — performingReport a problem with this question

17. 17. A team member's mistake causes a defect. The servant-leader project manager's most appropriate response is to:

    • A.Conceal the defect to protect the schedule
    • B.Treat it as a learning opportunity and address the process, fostering psychological safety✓ Answer
    • C.Remove the member from the team immediately
    • D.Publicly reprimand the member to deter others

    Treating errors as learning opportunities and improving the underlying process builds psychological safety, which encourages people to surface problems early and improves quality. Public reprimand suppresses transparency and harms team performance.

    Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed. — psychological safety; servant leadershipReport a problem with this question

18. 18. A team disagreement is minor, and a decision is needed within minutes on a low-impact issue. Under the Thomas-Kilmann model, which mode may be an appropriate, situationally efficient choice here?

    • A.Smoothing/accommodating or forcing to decide quickly on a trivial matter✓ Answer
    • B.Escalating to the sponsor for a minor issue
    • C.Avoiding the decision indefinitely
    • D.Collaborating through a multi-day workshop

    While collaborating is generally best for important conflicts, Thomas-Kilmann modes are situational: for a trivial, time-boxed issue, smoothing/accommodating or forcing can be efficient and appropriate because the cost of full collaboration would outweigh the benefit.

    Source: Thomas-Kilmann model — situational application of conflict modesReport a problem with this question

19. 19. What is the MAIN benefit of establishing a team charter with agreed values and working agreements early in a project?

    • A.It creates shared norms and expectations that guide team behavior✓ Answer
    • B.It transfers decision authority to the sponsor
    • C.It eliminates the need for stakeholder communication
    • D.It replaces the need for a project schedule

    A team charter, created collaboratively, records shared values, ground rules, and working agreements that guide behavior and decision-making, which accelerates cohesion and reduces later conflict. It does not replace the schedule or communications.

    Source: PMBOK Guide — team charter; ground rulesReport a problem with this question

20. 20. A manager who believes employees are self-motivated, seek responsibility, and can self-direct will most likely adopt which management style?

    • A.Zero communication with the team
    • B.Purely financial incentives only
    • C.Close command-and-control consistent with Theory X
    • D.Participative delegation consistent with Theory Y✓ Answer

    Theory Y assumptions — that people are self-motivated and seek responsibility — lead managers to delegate, involve the team, and provide autonomy. Theory X assumptions, by contrast, drive close command-and-control supervision.

    Source: McGregor's Theory Y — management implicationsReport a problem with this question

21. 21. During a heated design debate, the project manager stays calm, controls their own reaction, and avoids responding defensively. Which emotional-intelligence competency is being applied?

    • A.Scope control
    • B.Delegation
    • C.Self-regulation (self-management)✓ Answer
    • D.Risk transference

    Managing and controlling one's own emotional reactions under pressure is self-regulation (self-management), a core emotional-intelligence competency. It prevents escalation and models composure that stabilizes the team.

    Source: Goleman, Emotional Intelligence — self-regulation domainReport a problem with this question

22. 22. A project manager wants to reach a decision the whole team can genuinely support. Which technique best builds true consensus?

    • A.Facilitate open discussion so all voices are heard before converging on a shared decision✓ Answer
    • B.Let the loudest member decide for the group
    • C.Take a quick majority vote with no discussion
    • D.Have the PM decide alone and announce it

    Consensus is built by facilitating open dialogue so every member's perspective is heard and integrated before converging on a decision the group can support. A unilateral decision or an undiscussed vote produces compliance, not genuine consensus.

    Source: PMBOK Guide — facilitation; consensus-buildingReport a problem with this question

23. 23. On a virtual team, one member's contributions have quietly dropped and they seem disengaged in video calls. What is the BEST first step?

    • A.Reach out privately to understand what is going on and offer support✓ Answer
    • B.Reassign all their work without asking
    • C.Report low performance to HR immediately
    • D.Publicly call them out in the next standup

    A private, empathetic check-in surfaces the real cause of disengagement — which is easy to miss on virtual teams — and lets the PM offer support before performance is judged. Public callouts damage trust and psychological safety.

    Source: PMBOK Guide — supporting team members; virtual team engagementReport a problem with this question

24. 24. A project manager delegates a decision to the team and then overrides it whenever they disagree. What is the MOST likely effect on the team?

    • A.Stronger psychological safety
    • B.Increased team ownership and motivation
    • C.Faster, higher-quality team decisions
    • D.Erosion of trust and disempowerment, reducing initiative✓ Answer

    Delegating authority and then routinely overriding it signals that the empowerment is not real, eroding trust and discouraging initiative. Genuine empowerment requires honoring the team's decisions within the agreed scope.

    Source: PMBOK Guide 7th ed. — empowerment and trustReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the PMI PMP Examination Content Outline and standard project-management frameworks (PMBOK Guide, Agile Practice Guide). PMP and PMBOK are marks of the Project Management Institute; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by PMI. Study the official Exam Content Outline and confirm current requirements before testing. About the PMP exam →