PMP · Question #126
A senior vice president requested the creation of more agile teams to run projects of varying lengths and complexities in parallel with each other. This will impact the amount of time the project mana
The correct answer is C. Empower the team to develop the necessary skills to move the project forward independently.. As a servant leader aiming for an agile transformation with reduced project manager availability, the project manager should empower the team to develop skills and operate independently.
Question
A senior vice president requested the creation of more agile teams to run projects of varying lengths and complexities in parallel with each other. This will impact the amount of time the project managers will be able to dedicate to each project. The project managers typically dedicate 50% of their time to projects regardless of their complexity. What should the project manager do as a servant leader to help achieve this transformation?
Options
- AReview the organizational process assets (OPAs) to evaluate mitigation plans for similar risks.
- BCreate a risk entry regarding the project manager's capacity and develop a mitigation plan.
- CEmpower the team to develop the necessary skills to move the project forward independently.
- DIssue a change request to hire additional project managers based on the increased workload.
How the community answered
(43 responses)- A7% (3)
- B2% (1)
- C77% (33)
- D14% (6)
Why each option
As a servant leader aiming for an agile transformation with reduced project manager availability, the project manager should empower the team to develop skills and operate independently.
Reviewing organizational process assets (OPAs) might identify past risks, but it doesn't directly address the new organizational shift towards more agile teams and reduced PM dedication.
While identifying capacity as a risk is valid, developing a mitigation plan without involving the team in solutions or empowering them goes against the spirit of agile and servant leadership in this context.
In an agile environment, servant leadership involves enabling the team to be self-organizing and self-managing. Empowering the team to develop necessary skills allows them to take more ownership and move projects forward independently, reducing their reliance on the project manager and effectively addressing the challenge of decreased PM availability.
Issuing a change request for more PMs might be a short-term fix but doesn't align with fostering agile team autonomy or a servant leader's role in empowering existing teams for transformation.
Concept tested: Servant leadership in agile transformation
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Grace U.Jun 12, 2026C is the answer here. The key phrase in the stem is servant leader, which in an agile context means removing obstacles and helping the team become self-sufficient so they are not overly dependent on the project manager. Since the PMs will have less time to spread across multiple parallel projects, teaching the team to operate independently directly addresses the capacity problem. D is a trap because it defaults to a traditional command-and-control reaction of just throwing more resources at the issue, whereas the question is specifically asking about the agile transformation.
Brenda K.Jun 14, 2026Solid pick but watch your clock on this one, the servant leader angle is a 20 second gimme if you know it, otherwise flag and move on because the agile philosophy distractors can suck you into a 3 minute debate with yourself.
Brenda K.Jun 2, 2026C is the fast pick here, maybe 20 seconds. Servant leader questions almost always point to building team capability and removing dependencies on the PM, so the capacity crunch gets solved by the team standing on its own. A and B are process traps that eat the clock because they sound responsible, and D is a knee-jerk reaction with no authority behind it. Flag and move on. One thing that still bugs me about these servant leader scenarios: at what point does empowering the team cross into abdication, and does the exam ever expect you to escalate a resource conflict before you coach your way
Zlatan X.Jun 9, 2026C is the servant leader play here. Has anyone seen a variant where they swap in coaching for empowering?
Grace U.Jun 9, 2026Yes, C is the classic servant leader answer, and I have not seen coaching swapped in on any variant I have taken or reviewed, but if it does show up, coaching is more about developing specific skills while empowering is about removing obstacles and handing over ownership, so the stem wording would need to shift toward growth and development to justify it.
Luis F.Jun 6, 2026I first leaned toward B because logging a risk about PM capacity seemed like the safe PMP move, but the key phrase in this whole scenario is servant leader. A servant leader removes obstacles and builds up the team rather than just documenting risks or throwing money at the problem. Empowering the team to operate independently fits the agile mindset perfectly, especially when PMs are spread thin across multiple parallel projects. Got this exact question on my exam last month and C is the way to go.
Lena V.Jun 26, 2026B is the clear play here. The SVP is introducing a capacity constraint that will degrade PM attention across projects, and servant leadership in the PMP framework means proactively identifying that risk and building a mitigation plan before it materializes, not just hoping empowered teams will offset the gap.
Brenda K.Jun 28, 2026C is correct and its a quick win if you catch the keyword. The SVP is adding headcount which frees up the PM, so the servant leadership move is asking how to support and empower those newly available resources, not inventing a capacity risk that the stem does not support.