PGM Communication and Leadership 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A program manager is leading a geographically dispersed team across multiple time zones. What is the MOST important communication practice to establish?
- Require all team members to work overlapping core hours regardless of time zone
- Establish asynchronous communication norms with clear response-time expectations (Correct answer)
- Limit meetings to once per month to respect time differences
- Appoint a local lead in each region and minimize central coordination
Correct answer: Establish asynchronous communication norms with clear response-time expectations
Asynchronous communication norms with clear expectations enable distributed teams to collaborate effectively without requiring simultaneous availability.
Question 2: During program execution, a key stakeholder begins bypassing the program manager to directly assign work to project teams. What should the program manager do FIRST?
- Formally escalate to the PMO director
- Meet privately with the stakeholder to discuss governance boundaries and agree on proper channels (Correct answer)
- Instruct project teams to ignore direct requests from the stakeholder
- Accept the situation to maintain the stakeholder relationship
Correct answer: Meet privately with the stakeholder to discuss governance boundaries and agree on proper channels
Addressing governance violations directly and respectfully with the stakeholder reinforces boundaries before escalating.
Question 3: What distinguishes active listening from passive listening in a stakeholder conversation?
- Active listening involves taking detailed notes on all statements
- Active listening involves paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions, and acknowledging the speaker's perspective (Correct answer)
- Active listening means agreeing with everything the stakeholder says
- Active listening requires the listener to remain completely silent until the speaker finishes
Correct answer: Active listening involves paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions, and acknowledging the speaker's perspective
Active listening is demonstrated through paraphrasing, probing questions, and acknowledgment that shows genuine engagement with the speaker's message.
Question 4: A program manager needs to influence an executive who has no formal authority over. Which influence strategy is MOST effective?
- Rely on the program sponsor to mandate compliance
- Build credibility through consistent delivery and appeal to the executive's business objectives (Correct answer)
- Threaten to escalate non-cooperation to senior leadership
- Offer to trade favors unrelated to the program
Correct answer: Build credibility through consistent delivery and appeal to the executive's business objectives
Credibility-based influence aligned to the executive's goals is the most sustainable way to gain cooperation without formal authority.
Question 5: Which technique BEST helps a program manager manage information overload when communicating with many stakeholders?
- Send all stakeholders the same comprehensive status report
- Tailor communication content and frequency to each stakeholder group's needs and decision-making role (Correct answer)
- Reduce reporting frequency to quarterly for all stakeholders
- Outsource stakeholder communication to a project coordinator
Correct answer: Tailor communication content and frequency to each stakeholder group's needs and decision-making role
Tailored communication ensures each stakeholder receives relevant information at the right level of detail, preventing both overload and under-informing.
Question 6: A program manager observes that a high-performing team member has become disengaged. What is the MOST effective initial response?
- Assign the team member additional tasks to re-engage them
- Schedule a one-on-one to understand their perspective and identify underlying causes (Correct answer)
- Reassign them to a less critical workstream
- Wait to see if the disengagement resolves on its own
Correct answer: Schedule a one-on-one to understand their perspective and identify underlying causes
A one-on-one conversation to understand the root cause allows the program manager to address the real issue behind disengagement.
Question 7: In the context of program governance, what is the primary communication role of a Steering Committee?
- To approve all individual project change requests
- To receive escalated issues, make strategic decisions, and provide executive direction to the program (Correct answer)
- To manage day-to-day stakeholder communications
- To conduct detailed technical reviews of program deliverables
Correct answer: To receive escalated issues, make strategic decisions, and provide executive direction to the program
Steering Committees operate at a strategic level, handling escalations and major decisions rather than operational details.
PGM Communication and Leadership 3
A program manager is leading a geographically dispersed team across multiple time zones.
What is the MOST important communication practice to establish?