PMP · Question #810
A team is working on a project using a hybrid approach, and they are facing a lot of obstacles and blockers from some stakeholders. What should the project manager do to improve project performance?
The correct answer is D. Address and remove obstacles and blockers for the team.. To improve project performance when a team faces numerous obstacles and blockers from stakeholders, the project manager's primary responsibility is to actively address and remove these impediments. This allows the team to focus on their work and maintain progress.
Question
A team is working on a project using a hybrid approach, and they are facing a lot of obstacles and blockers from some stakeholders. What should the project manager do to improve project performance?
Options
- AAsk stakeholders to communicate with the team directly.
- BEmpower the team members to remove obstacles and blockers.
- CAdd blockers to the issue log and risk management plan.
- DAddress and remove obstacles and blockers for the team.
How the community answered
(65 responses)- A3% (2)
- B5% (3)
- C9% (6)
- D83% (54)
Why each option
To improve project performance when a team faces numerous obstacles and blockers from stakeholders, the project manager's primary responsibility is to actively address and remove these impediments. This allows the team to focus on their work and maintain progress.
While direct communication can be beneficial, simply asking stakeholders to communicate directly doesn't guarantee the removal of blockers and could lead to uncontrolled interactions or the team being sidetracked from their primary tasks.
While empowering the team is good, external blockers, especially those from powerful stakeholders, often require the project manager's authority and influence to resolve, as they are typically beyond the team's direct control.
Adding blockers to logs is part of documentation and tracking, but it doesn't resolve them or improve project performance directly; action is required.
In both agile and hybrid environments, a key role of the project manager (or Scrum Master/Agile Coach) is to identify and remove impediments, especially those stemming from external stakeholders, to ensure the team can focus on their work without disruption. This direct action improves flow and performance.
Concept tested: Servant Leadership, Impediment Removal, Project Manager's Role
Source: https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum-master
Topics
Community Discussion
6
Anjali D.Apr 30, 2026D is the right call here. In a hybrid environment the PM still owns servant leadership, so clearing blockers for the team is exactly what the exam is looking for, whereas B sounds nice but leaves the team to fend for themselves against difficult stakeholders.
Ola B.May 3, 2026Agreed on D, and if you want to see servant leadership click for real, spin up a quick Kanban board in Azure DevOps, add a blocked column, and play stakeholder for an hour so you can feel the difference between clearing blockers and leaving the team to navigate politics alone.
Olusegun A.May 13, 2026D is the call here. The PM owns servant leadership in a hybrid setup, which means clearing the path so the team can actually deliver. What trips people up is B, since empowerment sounds agile-friendly, but how do you distinguish between empowering the team to self-organize versus the PM directly removing external stakeholder blockers?
Anjali D.May 15, 2026Good catch on D, and the way our group split on B vs D was whether the blocker is internal to the team (B, empower them to handle it) or external like a stakeholder conflict (D, PM steps in directly), so the stem wording about external stakeholders is the real giveaway.
Ola B.Apr 15, 2026D on exam. In hybrid, does servant-leadership mean the PM clears blockers or the team does?
Olusegun A.Apr 18, 2026D is right but servant-leadership is not either-or: you clear organizational blockers outside the team's authority while coaching them to resolve their own internal impediments, and the PMBOK frames it as removing barriers rather than doing the work for them.