You are managing a hybrid transformation project where the organization is transitioning from waterfall to agile for product development while maintaining waterfall for regulatory compliance activities. The transformation is halfway complete, and you're facing significant resistance from middle managers who fear their roles will become obsolete. Two managers have been actively undermining the agile teams by withholding resources and questioning their decisions in executive meetings. Team velocity has dropped 30%, and several key team members are considering leaving. The executive sponsor supports the transformation but is frustrated with the slow progress. What is your best course of action to address this resistance?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is C. Option C is correct because it addresses the root cause of resistance—fear and misunderstanding—through experiential learning that builds buy-in rather than forcing compliance (ECO People Task 3.1 - Support team performance). When resistant managers see firsthand how they can add value in the new model by solving actual problems, they transform from blockers to advocates. This approach respects their expertise while demonstrating new possibilities. Option A is the main distractor and addresses legitimate concerns about role clarity, but creating new positions without changing mindsets may be perceived as superficial rebranding. Managers need to experience the value before accepting role changes, otherwise they'll resist the new roles too. Option B is confrontational and treats managers as adversaries rather than stakeholders experiencing legitimate fear—it may remove immediate obstacles but damages organizational culture and makes other skeptics more defensive. Option D creates organizational dysfunction and doesn't solve the underlying resistance; managers will simply undermine the parallel structure in different ways.

PMP Practice Question: People — Hybrid, Hard

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