PMP - People (42% of the exam) - Section 1.1

Lead and build a high-performing team, setting a shared vision, defining ground rules, and selecting the leadership style that fits the team's situation.

Lead a team by appraising members' skills, agreeing on a shared vision, and adapting leadership style - directive, coaching, supporting, or delegating - to the team's maturity and the situation. Build the team by negotiating for the right people, defining ground rules collaboratively, and continuously appraising stakeholder engagement so the team stays aligned with project goals.

Servant leadershipTeam ground rulesShared visionTuckman team development

Practice question for this objective

Free samplePeoplemedium

A project manager is selecting a leadership style for a newly chartered agile team of experienced specialists who are motivated but have not yet aligned on how they will work toward the product goal. The organisation expects the team to become self-organising. Which approach best fits this situation?

ATake a servant-leadership stance, facilitating a shared vision and team ground rules while clearing obstacles so the team can self-organise. Correct
BAdopt a command-and-control style, issuing detailed instructions so experienced specialists are used to full efficiency straight away.
CStay fully hands-off from the outset, letting the specialists organise entirely alone since they are experienced enough to need no support.
DUse a purely transactional style, tying rewards to individual output so each specialist is driven to perform against personal targets.

For a capable team expected to self-organise, a servant-leadership style that builds shared vision and ground rules fits better than directive or transactional approaches. Leadership style should match the team's situation; a motivated, experienced team that must self-organise is best served by servant leadership, which aligns the team through a shared vision and ground rules and removes impediments so the members' expertise, not the manager's control, drives delivery.

Why A is correct: Servant leadership fits a motivated, capable team expected to self-organise, because facilitating a shared vision and ground rules aligns them while removing obstacles lets their expertise drive the work.

Why B is wrong: Command-and-control promises quick efficiency, but it undercuts the self-organisation the organisation expects and wastes the judgement of experienced specialists.

Why C is wrong: A hands-off start respects the team's experience, but a newly chartered team not yet aligned still needs facilitation toward a shared vision and norms, which pure absence does not provide.

Why D is wrong: Individual rewards can spur effort, but keying them to personal output pulls specialists toward competing targets instead of the shared product goal a self-organising team pursues together.

See more PMP practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in People

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the PMP bank for this domain.

Direct their work closely with detailed instructions and frequent check-ins to keep quality consistent.
Why it is wrong: Close direction suits a team still forming, but applying it to a mature, capable team is over-management that can demotivate skilled members and slow them down.
Assign each member a fixed role and a detailed task list so everyone knows exactly what to deliver each day.
Why it is wrong: Detailed top-down assignment feels efficient at the forming stage, but it entrenches dependence on the manager and blocks the self-organisation the team needs to reach.
Send each member a written copy of the project charter and ask them to read it before the next meeting.
Why it is wrong: Distributing the charter shares the facts, but reading it alone does not build the shared commitment or resolve the conflicting interpretations that are pulling the team apart.

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