Leadership & Team Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CSM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Leadership & Team Management flashcards as text
A software team consistently misses deadlines despite individual members appearing productive. What management issue does this MOST likely indicate?
Answer: Poor integration and coordination between team members
Individual productivity without team coordination causes integration failures and missed deadlines; this is a systemic team management problem, not an individual skill gap.
According to McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, a Theory Y manager believes that employees:
Answer: Are self-motivated and seek responsibility when conditions allow
Theory Y assumes employees are intrinsically motivated, creative, and capable of self-direction, leading managers to adopt participative and empowering styles.
A software manager needs to build trust with a newly formed team. Which action is MOST effective in the early stages?
Answer: Being transparent about expectations, goals, and constraints
Transparency about expectations and constraints establishes credibility and reduces uncertainty, which are foundational to building trust with a new team.
Which conflict resolution approach involves finding a solution that partially satisfies all parties but fully satisfies none?
Answer: Compromising
Compromising requires each party to give up something to reach a mutually acceptable solution, unlike collaboration which seeks a fully satisfying outcome for all.
A software manager discovers that a top performer is planning to resign due to lack of career growth. What is the BEST retention strategy?
Answer: Create a personalized development plan with clear advancement opportunities
High performers leave when they see no growth path; a personalized development plan directly addresses the stated reason for resignation and demonstrates investment in their future.
In the context of software team management, 'velocity' as a metric BEST supports which management activity?
Answer: Planning and forecasting future sprint capacity
Velocity measures how much work a team completes per sprint, making it a reliable input for capacity planning and release forecasting rather than individual performance evaluation.
A CSM should understand that 'management by walking around' (MBWA) primarily helps a manager:
Answer: Gain firsthand insight into team dynamics, blockers, and morale
MBWA allows managers to gather informal, real-time information about team health and obstacles that formal reporting channels may not surface.