CTL Team Building & Motivation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of psychological safety within a team?
- Team members feel safe from physical workplace hazards
- Members believe they can speak up without fear of punishment or ridicule (Correct answer)
- The team has documented safety procedures for all tasks
- Members avoid conflict to maintain a safe atmosphere
Correct answer: Members believe they can speak up without fear of punishment or ridicule
Psychological safety, as defined by Amy Edmondson, is the shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
Question 2: When using Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which of the following is a MOTIVATOR (not a hygiene factor)?
- Salary and benefits
- Job security
- Company policies
- Recognition for achievement (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Recognition for achievement
Recognition for achievement is a motivator that drives satisfaction; salary and security are hygiene factors that only prevent dissatisfaction.
Question 3: A team has reached the Performing stage. What is the leader's MOST appropriate role at this point?
- Resume close direction to prevent complacency
- Delegate heavily and focus on removing obstacles (Correct answer)
- Reintroduce team-building exercises from the Forming stage
- Transfer leadership entirely to the most senior team member
Correct answer: Delegate heavily and focus on removing obstacles
At the Performing stage, the team is self-directing, so the leader's value comes from delegating and clearing barriers to performance.
Question 4: Which team role, as identified by Belbin, tends to be most focused on ensuring the team meets deadlines and completes tasks?
- Plant
- Completer-Finisher (Correct answer)
- Resource Investigator
- Coordinator
Correct answer: Completer-Finisher
The Completer-Finisher role focuses on quality and timely delivery, ensuring tasks are followed through to completion.
Question 5: A team leader wants to increase extrinsic motivation quickly for a short-term project. Which approach is MOST effective?
- Redesigning the team's long-term career paths
- Offering a tangible reward tied directly to the project milestone (Correct answer)
- Encouraging the team to find intrinsic meaning in the work
- Reducing workload across all team members equally
Correct answer: Offering a tangible reward tied directly to the project milestone
Tangible, milestone-linked rewards are a direct extrinsic motivator appropriate for short-term performance boosts.
Question 6: What is the key distinction between a group and a team in the context of CTL certification?
- A group shares a common goal while a team does not
- A team has mutual accountability and interdependent roles; a group does not (Correct answer)
- A group is always larger than a team
- A team is led by an external manager while a group is self-led
Correct answer: A team has mutual accountability and interdependent roles; a group does not
Teams are defined by mutual accountability, shared leadership, and interdependence, while groups may simply share a reporting structure.
Question 7: Which technique is MOST useful for surfacing hidden assumptions and improving decision quality during team problem-solving?
- Nominal Group Technique
- Devil's Advocacy (Correct answer)
- Round-robin brainstorming
- Affinity mapping
Correct answer: Devil's Advocacy
Devil's Advocacy assigns a team member to argue against proposals, forcing the group to confront and test hidden assumptions.
CTL Team Building & Motivation 3
Which of the following BEST describes the concept of psychological safety within a team?