PMP · Question #1273
A company has decided to initiate a project to eliminate a sales channel that has been unprofitable for the past 3 years. Some members of the project team are pessimistic about the project. What…
The correct answer is A. Communicate the project's impact and plans to engage the project team throughout the project. To address team pessimism in a project that might seem negative, the project manager must communicate effectively about the project's purpose and how the team will be involved.
Question
A company has decided to initiate a project to eliminate a sales channel that has been unprofitable for the past 3 years. Some members of the project team are pessimistic about the project. What should the project manager do in this situation?
Options
- ACommunicate the project's impact and plans to engage the project team throughout the project.
- BEngage the functional managers to describe the project's impact to the team members directly.
- CEscalate the team's concerns and ask the project sponsor to change the team's composition.
- DProvide team members with specific and clear instructions on the project objectives and tasks.
How the community answered
(48 responses)- A73% (35)
- B4% (2)
- C8% (4)
- D15% (7)
Why each option
To address team pessimism in a project that might seem negative, the project manager must communicate effectively about the project's purpose and how the team will be involved.
Team pessimism often stems from a lack of understanding or perceived negative impact. The project manager should proactively communicate the strategic rationale behind eliminating the unprofitable sales channel, explain the project's positive organizational impact, and outline how the team's contributions will be valued and how they will be engaged throughout the project lifecycle to build buy-in and morale.
Engaging functional managers to communicate on the project manager's behalf is delegating a core responsibility and could dilute the message or be less effective than direct communication from the project manager.
Escalating team concerns to the sponsor and requesting a team change without first attempting to address the root cause of pessimism is an overreaction and could demotivate the existing team further.
While clear instructions are important, simply providing objectives and tasks without addressing the underlying pessimism about the project's purpose will not resolve the motivational issue; it treats a symptom, not the cause.
Concept tested: Project team motivation and communication
Topics
Community Discussion
9
Toby R.Feb 14, 2026Confirmed A on my exam last month. The team being pessimistic is an engagement and communication issue, so you address it by communicating the project's impact and keeping them involved, not by escalating or just handing out task instructions.
Hiroshi T.Feb 17, 2026Agreed on A, and the official TLN material frames this specifically under the "engage stakeholders" objective rather than general communication, so if anyone is reviewing, map it there.
Mateus R.Feb 28, 2026I first leaned toward D because when folks are uneasy you just want to hand them a clear to-do list and move on. But think of it like a neighbor who's nervous about a new road being built through the area - you don't just slide a construction schedule under their door, you sit down and explain why it's happening and how they'll be kept in the loop throughout. That ongoing engagement and communication about impact is what A is really describing, which aligns with how a PM should handle team morale and stakeholder concerns.
Hiroshi T.Feb 9, 2026Confirmed A on exam last week. The PMBOK Guide emphasizes stakeholder engagement and transparent communication when team resistance appears, which is exactly what option A addresses. Option D is a trap because simply dictating tasks does nothing to resolve the underlying pessimism, and option C is premature escalation that the PM should handle directly. The key phrase in the stem is team members being pessimistic, which points to engagement rather than enforcement.
Ingrid P.Feb 9, 2026Agreed on A, and the stem phrase pessimistic is exactly the kind of emotional-state cue I tag as a high-frequency card because it reliably filters you toward engage-stakeholders over enforce-process answers.
Ingrid P.Feb 22, 2026Confirmed A on my exam last week. Team buy-in needs direct communication of impact and engagement.
Lena V.Feb 23, 2026A is right but the exam also wants you to pair engagement with a clear timeline so flag impact early, not just that it exists.
Lena V.Feb 10, 2026B is the move here. When team morale is low over a project they do not believe in, pulling in functional managers to communicate the business impact directly is exactly what PMP expects, since they hold the authority and trust to get buy-in where the PM alone might not cut it.
Toby R.Feb 13, 2026Actually A is the correct pick here. When the team lacks belief in the project, the PM should first meet with the team to explain the business value and address their concerns directly rather than escalating to functional managers right out of the gate.