Distributed Leadership

Correct Answer: Foster a culture of psychological safety so that team members feel safe to take risks and make mistakes

The best answer is 'Foster a culture of psychological safety so that team members feel safe to take risks and make mistakes'. This is because in agile team, it's essential to create an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and improvement, rather than something to be feared. This promotes the distribution of leadership roles and encourages team members to step up and take more responsibilities. Having the project manager monitor and oversee all their decisions does not empower the team members to take up leadership roles, rather it creates a more hierarchical structure which is contrary to the principles of agile. Excluding those team members from leadership roles does not solve the problem of fear of making mistakes, it might lead to further disengagement. Promoting learning from other team members is good, but it does not foster an environment where taking risks and making mistakes is considered part of the learning and leading process.

Correct Answer: Encourage each location to take turns in leading daily stand-ups and report sessions.

In Agile projects, shared leadership is an important concept. Agile focuses on self-organizing teams where leadership is shared and everyone is equally responsible for the project's success. This encourages collaboration, communication, and transparency. In the context of a globally distributed team, the best way to promote shared leadership is to 'Encourage each location to take turns in leading daily stand-ups and report sessions.' By doing so, every team member across all locations will have the opportunity to lead and actively participate, which aligns perfectly with Agile principles. The other options are not in tune with the Agile methodology: Designating a single 'leader' location contradicts the idea of shared leadership; limiting leadership roles to specific individuals (the project manager and senior members) can suppress the initiative of other team members; assigning leading roles based on the number of team members at a location disregards capability and experience, which are crucial components of effective leadership.

Correct Answer: Institute a rotating meeting schedule to accommodate all team members' time zones equally over time.

The best action in such a scenario is to 'Institute a rotating meeting schedule to accommodate all team members' time zones equally over time.' This way, everyone's perspectives can be voiced without anyone having to drastically change their personal schedules. The other options are not the best due to the following reasons: 'Insist that all team members adjust their schedules to meet during a common hour.' is not feasible as it may not be reasonable for everyone to disrupt their daily routines and could harm their work-life balance. 'Limit decision-making to team members who can attend a fixed meeting time.' is not inclusive and leaves out essential voices from the decision-making process. 'Request team members to mail their inputs, and decisions are taken by the project leader.' This option doesn't promote collaboration or collective decision-making, instead it centralizes the decision-making with the project leader and hence, not agile.