CCM Team Building & Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A newly formed project team is experiencing confusion about roles and responsibilities. According to Tuckman's model, which stage are they most likely in?
- Norming
- Storming
- Forming (Correct answer)
- Performing
Correct answer: Forming
In the Forming stage, team members are new, roles are unclear, and members rely heavily on the leader for direction.
Question 2: Which conflict management approach is most effective when a team is in the Performing stage of development?
- Autocratic directive leadership
- Collaborative problem-solving among members (Correct answer)
- Avoidance to preserve morale
- Mandatory mediation for all disputes
Correct answer: Collaborative problem-solving among members
High-performing teams have established trust and norms, making collaborative problem-solving the most effective conflict approach.
Question 3: A team conflict manager notices subgroups forming along departmental lines. This phenomenon is best described as:
- Role ambiguity
- Faultline activation (Correct answer)
- Groupthink
- Social loafing
Correct answer: Faultline activation
Faultlines are latent dividing lines that split a group into subgroups based on shared attributes like department or tenure.
Question 4: During a team retrospective, members consistently agree with the majority view to avoid conflict. A CCM should recognize this as:
- Effective consensus building
- Groupthink (Correct answer)
- Norming behavior
- Constructive conformity
Correct answer: Groupthink
Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives, suppressing dissent.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a team charter in conflict prevention?
- To document past conflicts for legal reference
- To establish shared norms, roles, and expectations before conflicts arise (Correct answer)
- To assign blame when disputes occur
- To replace the need for a conflict manager
Correct answer: To establish shared norms, roles, and expectations before conflicts arise
A team charter proactively defines operating agreements, reducing ambiguity that often seeds conflict.
Question 6: A CCM is asked to help a team improve psychological safety. Which action best supports this goal?
- Encouraging members to voice concerns without fear of punishment (Correct answer)
- Enforcing strict performance metrics
- Limiting discussion to task-related topics only
- Rotating leadership weekly to distribute authority
Correct answer: Encouraging members to voice concerns without fear of punishment
Psychological safety, as defined by Amy Edmondson, hinges on members feeling safe to speak up, take risks, and admit mistakes.
Question 7: Which team structure tends to generate the most interpersonal conflict due to dual reporting relationships?
- Functional structure
- Matrix structure (Correct answer)
- Flat hierarchy
- Self-directed teams
Correct answer: Matrix structure
Matrix structures create dual reporting lines to both functional and project managers, generating role conflict and authority disputes.
CCM Team Building & Development 2
A newly formed project team is experiencing confusion about roles and responsibilities.
According to Tuckman's model, which stage are they most likely in?