A project manager receives an email from a customer saying they no longer want to work with one of the project team members, without giving a reason. The manager is concerned because that team member is highly skilled and critical to a major deliverable. What should the project manager do to ease the situation?

The best course of action is to talk to both parties separately to understand the situation fully. This allows the project manager to gather information from both perspectives without bias or confrontation, which is crucial for conflict resolution and maintaining project continuity. The project manager can then make an informed decision on how to proceed. Asking the team member to apologize without knowing the full story is premature and unprofessional. Removing the team member immediately would negatively impact the project, as the team member is critical, and would be a rash decision without understanding the root cause. Telling the customer they lack authority is confrontational and does not address the underlying issue, potentially escalating the conflict.