PGM Communication and Leadership 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A program manager discovers that two project teams have conflicting priorities causing schedule slippage. What is the MOST effective first step?
- Escalate immediately to the program sponsor
- Facilitate a joint meeting to surface underlying interests and negotiate a shared resolution (Correct answer)
- Reassign resources from one team to the other
- Document the conflict and wait for teams to self-resolve
Correct answer: Facilitate a joint meeting to surface underlying interests and negotiate a shared resolution
Facilitating a joint meeting to surface interests allows both teams to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution without escalating unnecessarily.
Question 2: Which communication style is MOST appropriate when delivering bad news about a major program delay to senior executives?
- Minimize the impact to avoid alarm
- Present facts clearly, acknowledge impact, and propose mitigation options (Correct answer)
- Defer the conversation until a recovery plan is fully finalized
- Blame external factors to preserve program credibility
Correct answer: Present facts clearly, acknowledge impact, and propose mitigation options
Transparent, solution-oriented communication with executives builds trust and allows leadership to make informed decisions.
Question 3: A program manager wants to build psychological safety within a cross-functional team. Which action BEST achieves this?
- Reward only top performers publicly
- Encourage team members to voice concerns without fear of blame or ridicule (Correct answer)
- Limit open discussion to prevent unproductive debate
- Assign a single decision-maker for all technical issues
Correct answer: Encourage team members to voice concerns without fear of blame or ridicule
Psychological safety is built when team members feel safe to speak up, take risks, and report problems without fear of punishment.
Question 4: During a program status meeting, a stakeholder consistently interrupts presenters. How should the program manager respond?
- Ignore the behavior to avoid confrontation
- Privately address the behavior with the stakeholder and establish meeting norms (Correct answer)
- Remove the stakeholder from future meetings
- Ask another team member to handle the situation
Correct answer: Privately address the behavior with the stakeholder and establish meeting norms
Privately addressing disruptive behavior and establishing norms preserves relationships while improving meeting effectiveness.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a RACI matrix in program communication?
- To document project risks and issues
- To clarify roles and accountability for decisions and deliverables (Correct answer)
- To track budget expenditures across workstreams
- To schedule stakeholder review meetings
Correct answer: To clarify roles and accountability for decisions and deliverables
A RACI matrix explicitly defines who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task, reducing ambiguity.
Question 6: A program manager must communicate a significant scope change to a resistant stakeholder group. Which approach is MOST effective?
- Send a formal memo and request acknowledgment
- Present the business rationale, address concerns empathetically, and seek co-ownership of the solution (Correct answer)
- Proceed with the change and inform stakeholders after implementation
- Delegate the communication to a project manager
Correct answer: Present the business rationale, address concerns empathetically, and seek co-ownership of the solution
Addressing concerns empathetically and involving stakeholders in shaping the solution reduces resistance and builds buy-in.
Question 7: Which leadership behavior BEST demonstrates transformational leadership in a program context?
- Closely monitoring team output against daily targets
- Inspiring teams with a compelling vision and empowering them to innovate (Correct answer)
- Rewarding compliance with established processes
- Maintaining strict hierarchical communication channels
Correct answer: Inspiring teams with a compelling vision and empowering them to innovate
Transformational leaders motivate through vision and empowerment rather than transactional rewards or close supervision.
PGM Communication and Leadership 2
A program manager discovers that two project teams have conflicting priorities causing schedule slippage.
What is the MOST effective first step?