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5.3. Team (TM)

This performance domain covers the activities and functions associated with the people responsible for producing project outcomes. It emphasizes leadership, team culture, skill development, and creating an environment where the team can perform at its best.

Knowledge Area (KA)	Core Tier1	Core Tier2
5.3.1 Project Team Culture	Elective
5.3.2 Team Leadership Styles	Elective
5.3.3 Team Development and Performance	Elective
5.3.4 Motivation and Empowerment	Elective
5.3.5 Collaboration and Trust Building	Elective
5.3.6 Distributed and Virtual Teams	Elective
5.3.7 Ethics and Professional Conduct	Elective

5.3.1. TM/Project Team Culture ↑ Back to top

Establishing and sustaining a healthy team culture characterized by trust, transparency, and shared values. Culture shapes how teams make decisions, resolve conflicts, and respond to adversity.
Topics:
Core

• Defining team culture: shared values, norms, behaviors, and communication patterns
• Psychological safety: enabling open dialogue, experimentation, and honest feedback
• Building trust and transparency as foundations of high-performing team culture
• Relationship between team culture and project performance outcomes

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Describe the elements of a healthy project team culture and their impact on performance [Familiarity]
2. Apply practices that build psychological safety and trust within a project team [Usage]
3. Evaluate the current culture of a project team and propose targeted improvements [Assessment]

5.3.2. TM/Team Leadership Styles ↑ Back to top

Understanding and applying different leadership styles to meet the needs of the team and the project context. PMBoK 7th edition emphasizes servant leadership and situational adaptation.
Topics:
Core

• Servant leadership: removing obstacles, supporting team members, and enabling performance
• Situational leadership: matching leadership style to team member competence and commitment
• Transformational leadership: inspiring change, innovation, and team growth
• Distributed leadership: sharing leadership responsibilities across the team

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Compare servant, situational, and transformational leadership styles and their applicability [Familiarity]
2. Apply situational leadership principles to a team member development scenario [Usage]
3. Select the most appropriate leadership approach for a given team and project context [Assessment]

5.3.3. TM/Team Development and Performance ↑ Back to top

Building team competencies, cohesion, and performance over the project life cycle. Covers team formation stages, performance indicators, and continuous development.
Topics:
Core

• Tuckman team development stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
• Team performance indicators: velocity, quality of output, collaboration metrics
• Continuous team development: coaching, mentoring, and skill-building activities
• Characteristics and practices of high-performing project teams

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Apply team development strategies appropriate to each stage of team formation [Usage]
2. Design a team development plan targeting high performance outcomes [Assessment]
3. Evaluate the current performance stage of a project team and select appropriate interventions to accelerate progression [Assessment]

5.3.4. TM/Motivation and Empowerment ↑ Back to top

Understanding what motivates team members and creating conditions for intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and ownership. Empowered teams make better decisions and deliver more value.
Topics:
Core

• Motivation theories: Maslow, Herzberg, self-determination theory, and Drive (Pink)
• Intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose as drivers of team performance
• Empowerment practices: delegating decision-making, providing autonomy, and trusting team judgment
• Recognition and rewards: designing systems that reinforce desired team behaviors

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Explain the key motivation theories and their application to project team management [Familiarity]
2. Apply empowerment practices to increase team autonomy and ownership of project outcomes [Usage]
3. Design a recognition and reward system aligned with intrinsic motivation principles [Assessment]

5.3.5. TM/Collaboration and Trust Building ↑ Back to top

Creating conditions for effective team collaboration through trust, clear agreements, and shared working practices. Covers team charters, collaboration tools, and conflict prevention.
Topics:
Core

• Team charter: defining working agreements, norms, communication expectations, and decision rights
• Collaboration tools and practices: shared workspaces, visual management, and daily stand-ups
• Trust models: competence-based and character-based trust in team relationships
• Proactive conflict prevention through clear agreements and early communication

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Develop a team charter that establishes working agreements and collaboration norms [Usage]
2. Evaluate the level of trust and collaboration in a project team and propose targeted interventions [Assessment]
3. Design a conflict prevention strategy based on clear team agreements and proactive communication practices [Assessment]

5.3.6. TM/Distributed and Virtual Teams ↑ Back to top

Managing teams that are geographically distributed or operate virtually. Covers communication challenges, cultural differences, tools, and leadership practices for virtual environments.
Topics:
Core

• Challenges of virtual teams: communication lag, isolation, cultural differences, and time zones
• Digital collaboration tools for virtual teams: video conferencing, async communication, and shared workspaces
• Cultural intelligence (CQ): understanding and adapting to cultural differences in global teams
• Leadership practices specific to virtual and distributed team environments

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Describe the unique challenges of managing distributed and virtual project teams [Familiarity]
2. Apply cultural intelligence and virtual collaboration practices to manage a distributed team [Usage]
3. Design a virtual team management approach that addresses communication, culture, and performance [Assessment]

5.3.7. TM/Ethics and Professional Conduct ↑ Back to top

Upholding ethical standards and professional conduct within the project team. Covers PMI's Code of Ethics, handling ethical dilemmas, and fostering an ethical team environment.
Topics:
Core

• PMI Code of Ethics: responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty
• Recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas in project team and stakeholder contexts
• Creating an inclusive, respectful, and psychologically safe team environment
• Ethical leadership: modeling integrity and accountability as a project leader

Learning Outcomes:
Core:

1. Describe the PMI Code of Ethics and its application to project team behavior [Familiarity]
2. Resolve an ethical dilemma in a project team context using principled reasoning [Usage]
3. Evaluate the ethical climate of a project team and propose leadership actions to strengthen it [Assessment]