A company is launching a project to eliminate a sales channel that has been unprofitable for three years. Some team members are pessimistic about the project. What should the project manager do?

The project manager should explain the project's impact and describe how the team will be engaged because this addresses the team's pessimism directly. By clarifying the "why" behind the project (eliminating an unprofitable channel) and outlining their involvement, the project manager builds understanding and reduces uncertainty, which are key to gaining buy-in and mitigating resistance. Having functional managers explain the impact is less effective as it delegates a core project management responsibility and may not ensure consistent messaging or address concerns comprehensively. Escalating concerns to change team composition is an extreme and premature reaction that avoids addressing the root cause of the pessimism. Giving specific instructions without context or engagement will likely increase resentment rather than alleviate it, as it treats the team as mere task-doers rather than valued contributors.