PMP · Question #455
A team member shares with their functional manager some negative details about the performance of another team member that was discussed during the retrospective. The project manager finds out about…
The correct answer is B. Meet with the entire team to review the ground rules about safe environments D. Contact the team member to explain what information can be shared outside the team. Information from a retrospective, intended to be a safe space, was inappropriately shared outside the team, compromising trust and confidentiality. The project manager must address this directly with the involved team member and reinforce ground rules with the entire team.
Question
Options
- AContact the team member's functional manager and invite them to the next retrospective
- BMeet with the entire team to review the ground rules about safe environments
- CMeet with the product owner to talk about the situation
- DContact the team member to explain what information can be shared outside the team
- EMeet with the sponsor to review the situation
How the community answered
(44 responses)- A9% (4)
- B68% (30)
- C5% (2)
- E18% (8)
Why each option
Information from a retrospective, intended to be a safe space, was inappropriately shared outside the team, compromising trust and confidentiality. The project manager must address this directly with the involved team member and reinforce ground rules with the entire team.
Inviting a functional manager, who is not part of the self-organizing project team, to a retrospective could further compromise the psychological safety and openness of the session.
Retrospectives require a safe and confidential environment for honest feedback and continuous improvement. Meeting with the entire team to review ground rules reinforces the importance of confidentiality and psychological safety, re-establishing trust and ensuring future retrospectives are productive.
The product owner is focused on the product backlog and value delivery, and while they are a stakeholder, this specific issue about team dynamics and confidentiality is primarily the project manager's or scrum master's responsibility, not the product owner's.
The team member who shared the information needs to understand why retrospective discussions are confidential and what types of information are appropriate to share outside the team. Directly addressing this with the individual provides coaching and clarifies expectations regarding professional conduct and team trust.
Escalating to the sponsor is premature and an overreaction for an internal team confidentiality issue; it should be handled within the team first.
Concept tested: Agile team dynamics and confidentiality
Source: https://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Anjali D.Feb 10, 2026Our group landed on B and D for this one. The retrospective is a safe space, so when someone leaks what was discussed to a functional manager, the PM needs to reinforce the ground rules with the whole team (B) and privately coach the team member on what stays inside the team (D). A few people initially leaned toward A, thinking it would help to involve the functional manager, but inviting them to a future retrospective actually makes the problem worse, not better. Anyone else see this one on a recent attempt?
Mateus R.Feb 21, 2026Think of the retrospective like a doctor's office, what gets said in there stays in there, so B reinforces the confidentiality ground rules and D tells the blabbermouth exactly what is and is not shareable outside that safe space. A is the tempting trap because inviting the functional manager sounds collaborative, but you do not fix a broken trust boundary by dragging the exact outsider who received the leaked info right into the next session.
Mei-Ling H.Mar 21, 2026B and D are correct. A is tempting because inviting the functional manager sounds collaborative but the key word is "safe environments" in B, which directly addresses the violated retrospective ground rules, and D handles the coaching moment with the team member who shared outside the team.
Orla P.Mar 4, 2026Got B and D on my exam last month. The retrospective has to stay a safe space so you reinforce ground rules with the whole team, and then coach the individual privately on what stays inside the room.
Yusuf A.Mar 10, 2026Saw this on my exam last month and got it right. My mentor always says the retrospective is a safe space so when someone breaks that trust you reinforce the ground rules with the whole team (B) and coach the individual on what stays inside the room (D).