During a project, the project manager's director is communicating directly with the client to approve changes without the project manager's knowledge. This is creating confusion because scope is changing behind the scenes and only mentioned in meetings. How should the project manager handle this?

The project manager should communicate directly with the director because the director is the source of the unauthorized changes and is violating established project processes. By referencing the communications management plan, the project manager can professionally remind the director of the agreed-upon communication channels and change control procedures, which are designed to prevent such confusion and scope creep. This approach addresses the root cause of the problem at the appropriate organizational level. Communicating directly with the client is inappropriate as the director is an internal stakeholder. Reviewing the stakeholder engagement plan is a good general practice but doesn't directly solve the immediate problem of unauthorized changes. Discussing with the project team is necessary for team awareness but doesn't resolve the issue with the director.