Focus on People

Correct Answer: Meet with John to understand his perspectives and provide necessary support or training.

As an Agile team leader, the top priority is to facilitate communication and understanding within the team. If a team member is struggling, the best course of action would be to meet with them as implied in the correct answer. This would allow the leader to understand if there are any external factors affecting this member's work or if they need additional support or training. Asking John to work overtime could create a more stressful environment, which is not supportive or sustainable. Reassigning all of John's tasks is not ideal. It disempowers John and may place excessive load on other team members. Ignoring the problem in hopes it will resolve by itself is a poor leadership approach. Problems like this one require proactive handling.

Correct Answer: Arrange a face-to-face meeting with Mary after the retrospective to understand her concerns and involve the team if necessary.

In Agile teams, transparency and open communication are key, but so is respect and consideration for individuals. The best answer would be to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Mary after the retrospective to understand her concerns and involve the team if necessary. This approach is both respectful and efficient. It respects Mary's space, offers her an opportunity to talk about her issues in a less stressful environment, and provides a more focused platform to discuss her concerns. The other options can be disrespectful or ineffective because they either ignore Mary's behavior, confront her in front of the team which could add unnecessary stress, or put the responsibility on another team member which may not necessarily be the best equipped to handle the situation.

Correct Answer: Talk to Sophia separately, try to find out if she has any reservations, issues or ideas that she maybe didn't feel comfortable sharing.

As an Agile leader, it is important to encourage active participation from all team members and build a safe environment for open discussion. If Sophia is very quiet and does not contribute much, the best course of action would be to talk to her separately and try to find out if she may have any reservations or issues. There could be a possibility that she may have valuable ideas that she didn't feel comfortable sharing in the group. This will show empathy and understanding from the leader's side. The other options are less appropriate. Firstly, assuming Sophia is not engaged in her work is a negative assumption without any specific evidence. Reprimanding Sophia in front of the team can create a harmful atmosphere and may make her feel discouraged, lowering team morale. Lastly, asking Sophia to prepare a presentation may not necessarily address the underlying issue and might result in further stress for her if she's already uncomfortable speaking in group settings.