PMP · Question #843
A project's planning phase has just been completed and was defined by team members in remote sessions. The day after the kick-off meeting, which was held at the client facilities, team member A asked
The correct answer is A. Speak with both members to try to resolve the situation. C. Clarify the inclusive practices for project team members.. A team member is uncomfortable due to another team member after an in-person meeting, indicating a potential conflict or lack of understanding of professional conduct. The project manager should first attempt to mediate the situation between the two individuals and reinforce prof
Question
A project's planning phase has just been completed and was defined by team members in remote sessions. The day after the kick-off meeting, which was held at the client facilities, team member A asked the project manager to be moved to another project because they were uncomfortable around team member B. What should the project manager do to deal with this situation? (Choose two.)
Options
- ASpeak with both members to try to resolve the situation.
- BTransfer team member A to another project.
- CClarify the inclusive practices for project team members.
- DEscalate the situation to the project sponsor.
- ETransfer team member B to another project.
How the community answered
(18 responses)- A83% (15)
- D6% (1)
- E11% (2)
Why each option
A team member is uncomfortable due to another team member after an in-person meeting, indicating a potential conflict or lack of understanding of professional conduct. The project manager should first attempt to mediate the situation between the two individuals and reinforce professional inclusive practices for the team.
Speaking with both members is crucial for understanding the nature of the conflict, allowing the project manager to mediate and find a resolution directly, which is a primary responsibility in conflict management.
Transferring team member A without understanding or addressing the root cause is a reactive solution that avoids conflict resolution and could impact project resources.
Clarifying inclusive practices helps to set expectations for professional behavior, ensure a respectful work environment, and prevent similar issues from arising in the future within the team.
Escalating to the project sponsor immediately for a team interpersonal conflict is an overreaction; the project manager should attempt to resolve it at the team level first.
Transferring team member B without understanding or addressing the root cause is a reactive solution that avoids conflict resolution and could impact project resources.
Concept tested: Conflict resolution and team building
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Orla P.Apr 24, 2026Confirmed A and C on exam last week. The PM owns team conflicts directly, so speaking with both members is your first move instead of punting to the sponsor or shuffling people around. C is the second pick because the kick-off just happened and the team needs a clear reminder of inclusive practices, especially after remote sessions where norms can get fuzzy. B, D, and E are all premature escalations that skip the actual leadership step.
Brenda K.May 1, 2026A and C are your fast picks here, maybe 45 seconds if you read carefully. The exam wants you to address the interpersonal conflict directly with A and B, which is option A, and then reinforce the ground rules around inclusive behavior, which is option C. B, D, and E are all escape hatches that a lazy manager takes when they do not want to deal with people problems, so flag them as traps and move on. One thing I keep second-guessing: does the remote planning setup actually change how we approach this, or is it just noise to make you think the
Olusegun A.May 2, 2026Agree on A and C but the remote setup is not noise, it is the reason you pick C over just doing A, because in distributed teams the ground rules are your only real lever for inclusive behavior when you cannot read the room.
Olusegun A.May 7, 2026I first leaned toward B because the request came straight from team member A and moving them seems like the quickest resolution. But the PMBOK wants you to address the root cause first, not just shuffle people around the moment there is friction. A is correct because you speak with both members to understand and resolve the actual conflict, and C is correct because the team just came out of remote planning sessions with no established ground rules for behavior. Clarifying inclusive practices right now sets the standard going forward and prevents this from becoming a recurring problem with other team members.
Anjali D.May 10, 2026Agreed on A and C, and I would add that our group felt C should come first since without ground rules in place, the conversation in A has no framework to land on.
Samuel O.May 22, 2026A and C are the right picks here. I have seen this exact scenario play out after kicking off distributed teams, and jumping straight to transferring someone just sidesteps the problem without fixing the dynamic. Speaking with both members is your basic conflict resolution step, while clarifying inclusive practices addresses the root cause so the rest of the team does not end up in the same spot. Does anyone know if the PMP exam still treats these as strictly sequential, or can you apply them concurrently in practice?
Anjali D.May 14, 2026Our group landed on D plus C. The kick-off already happened and a team member wants off the project entirely, which is a disruption the sponsor needs to know about, and C covers the root cause since the discomfort may stem from unclear ground rules for inclusive behavior established during those remote planning sessions. A few folks pushed back saying A should come first, but we felt jumping to a two-person conversation skips the escalation the situation warrants.
Orla P.May 16, 2026A is correct because a team member wanting off the project entirely warrants a direct two-person conversation first to understand the concern before escalating, and C pairs with it because the ground rules established during remote planning sessions are the likely root cause to revisit. Escalating to the sponsor before you have even had that conversation yourself is a skip that the exam will penalize every time.