PMP · Question #819
A team member is frustrated, thinking that their performance is below average since they have not completed as many items as other team members. The team member has become negative and disengaged, bri
The correct answer is B. Reiterate to the team that everyone is an important part of the team and performance is a team. To address a disengaged team member feeling inadequate, the project manager should emphasize the team's collective importance and reinforce that overall performance is a shared responsibility.
Question
A team member is frustrated, thinking that their performance is below average since they have not completed as many items as other team members. The team member has become negative and disengaged, bringing team collaboration and productivity down What should the project manager do to increase the team's performance?
Options
- AMeet with the team members and highlight individual contributions to encourage competition
- BReiterate to the team that everyone is an important part of the team and performance is a team
- CCreate a visual board to include the individual team members' performance levels so the team
- DSpeak to the team lead to identify ways to keep the team performing independently and
How the community answered
(56 responses)- A9% (5)
- B43% (24)
- C32% (18)
- D16% (9)
Why each option
To address a disengaged team member feeling inadequate, the project manager should emphasize the team's collective importance and reinforce that overall performance is a shared responsibility.
Highlighting individual contributions to encourage competition would likely exacerbate the issue for the struggling team member and further reduce collaboration.
The team member is disengaged due to a perceived lack of individual performance compared to peers, leading to a negative impact on team collaboration. Reemphasizing that project success is a collective effort and every role is vital can alleviate individual pressure, foster a supportive environment, and encourage collaboration over competition, thus improving overall team performance and morale.
Publicly displaying individual performance levels would likely increase pressure, demoralize the struggling team member, and worsen the negative dynamics and disengagement.
Speaking to the team lead might be an option, but the direct approach by the project manager to address the team's dynamics and reinforce collective responsibility is more immediate and impactful for this specific situation.
Concept tested: Team motivation and conflict resolution
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Fatima Z.Apr 12, 2026B is your answer here, and the keyword to lock in is TEAM. Think of the mnemonic T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More, because the PM needs to shift the focus from individual item counts to collective value. The other choices either fuel the fire with competition, shame with a public scoreboard, or dodge the issue by handing it off, so pick B every time!
Yusuf A.Apr 3, 2026I had almost this exact scenario on my exam last month and B was clearly right. The senior PM who mentors me always says the PMP rewards team cohesion over individual metrics, so anything that creates competition or calls out individuals is a trap. A and C would make the frustrated person feel worse, and D just dodges the real issue. Reiterating shared ownership is the servant-leadership move the exam is looking for. Does anyone know if the real exam always treats individual performance dashboards as the wrong answer, even in Agile contexts?
Dervla O.Apr 6, 2026B is the safe default but the exam does not treat dashboards as universally wrong in Agile, since making work visible is a core value even if the team opts to keep metrics collective rather than per-person.
Ola B.Mar 26, 2026B is right but A is tempting, yet agile teams are not about individual competition.
Nina C.Mar 29, 2026Got B on my exam last month, team performance over individual metrics is the key.
Dervla O.Mar 30, 2026Agreed on B, but make sure you read the stem twice because if they swap in wording about individual development plans, people panic and flip to D when team performance is still the throughline.
Dervla O.Apr 16, 2026I actually leaned toward A first, thinking that highlighting individual contributions might boost confidence and help the frustrated team member see their value. But re-reading the stem changed my mind: the issue is that focusing on individual output is exactly what caused the disengagement in the first place, so pushing individual competition harder would backfire. B is the agile mindset answer because it reframes performance as a collective outcome rather than a personal scoreboard, which directly addresses the negativity dragging the team down. C is a trap for anyone who thinks transparency fixes everything, and D kicks the problem to someone else when the PM owns