PMP Practice: Distinguish various options to lead various team members and stakeholders

In this recovery situation, the project manager must address both the relationship breakdown and the team's motivation crisis. The servant leadership approach in agile emphasizes facilitating collaboration rather than imposing solutions. By first understanding the lead designer's perspective privately, Tala demonstrates respect and may uncover valid concerns or misunderstandings. Then, by facilitating a team working agreement session, Tala empowers the team to co-create their decision-making process, which directly addresses the root cause: unclear expectations about collaboration. This approach rebuilds trust, restores team autonomy, and aligns with the organization's stated culture. The closing facts that make this clearly best are: the product owner has already confirmed collaborative decisions are encouraged, Tala has the authority to facilitate this conversation, and the team's declining velocity and retention risk demand immediate collaborative recovery action rather than escalation or punishment.

**Why not A:** Escalating to the functional manager before attempting direct engagement is premature and signals distrust. The PM should first address the issue directly through conversation and team-level processes, which is the agile servant leadership approach. Functional management escalation should be reserved for situations where team-level resolution has failed.

**Why not C:** Removing decision authority from the lead designer and distributing it equally is a punitive overreaction. It does not address the underlying behavioral issue and could alienate a highly skilled team member. The goal is to establish collaborative processes, not strip individuals of their professional role.

**Why not D:** Placing the lead designer on a performance improvement plan treats a collaboration issue as a formal HR matter. This is disproportionate and adversarial, especially before attempting a direct conversation to understand the designer's perspective and facilitate a team working agreement.