Virtual Teams

Quick reference

• 00:00 Hello, I'm Ray Sheen, virtual teams create an additional
• 00:05 set of communication issues and challenges.
• 00:09 Let's take a look at how we can address those.
• 00:12 Before we get started, let me explain what I mean by virtual project team.
• 00:16 This is a team where individuals are working together on a project goal, but
• 00:20 they're not co located.
• 00:22 They could be in a different nearby facility, working from home, or
• 00:25 they could be located on a different continent.
• 00:27 They must function as a team, but
• 00:30 they do not have the ability to regularly interact face to face.
• 00:34 So let's talk about some challenges.
• 00:36 One challenge is to keep everyone motivated.
• 00:39 Team members often feel isolated and forgotten,
• 00:41 they wonder if anyone knows what they are doing.
• 00:44 To meet this challenge, team leaders need to provide regular recognition of
• 00:48 achievement and ensure the virtual members are included in team activities.
• 00:53 Another challenge is collaborative leadership.
• 00:56 Project teams often rely on close collaboration between team members to
• 01:00 achieve project goals.
• 01:01 However, some people have difficulty collaborating from a remote location.
• 01:05 They need to be with others and where the action is located.
• 01:09 When a friend of mine with this characteristic took a job where she had to
• 01:12 work from home, she said that she felt like she was always in the timeout chair.
• 01:16 To meet the challenges, the team leader must proactively include virtual team
• 01:21 members in the collaborative sessions.
• 01:23 Virtual conferencing applications have made significant strides forward and
• 01:28 they can be used to address this issue.
• 01:31 Another challenge is that interaction becomes technology based rather
• 01:35 than interpersonal.
• 01:37 This is especially true if there are very different time zones involved.
• 01:41 The strong reliance on technology can mask or amplify misunderstandings
• 01:46 especially when different cultures and languages are involved.
• 01:50 Try to create times of actual personal interaction,
• 01:54 either face to face in a team virtual conference or on the phone.
• 01:59 The next challenge is commitment.
• 02:01 The virtual team member often becomes unsure of their role or
• 02:05 the team's progress towards the goals.
• 02:07 Use the responsibility matrix to clarify with them not only the tasks that they
• 02:12 lead, but also the ones that they are supporting.
• 02:15 Finally conflict resolution is challenge with virtual team members.
• 02:19 A small problem can stew and fester until it becomes large.
• 02:23 In face to face meetings, you might detect through body language or
• 02:27 other actions that a conflict is building.
• 02:29 With a virtual team,
• 02:31 the team leader often is not aware of the problem until it blows up into a crisis.
• 02:35 To meet this challenge, the team leader needs to be prepared to quickly address
• 02:40 any conflict that arises recognizing that if it has made it to them,
• 02:43 it's probably already a big deal.
• 02:45 Due to the geographical dispersion of virtual teams,
• 02:49 there are some team activities that are more challenging.
• 02:52 Two big ones are communication and integration activities.
• 02:55 These are activities where the team members and their actions must intersect,
• 03:00 if there is going to be a problem it will show up here.
• 03:03 The project leader needs to ensure there's time and
• 03:06 resources dedicated to both of these areas.
• 03:09 The project leader can expect that there will be some confusion and
• 03:12 misunderstanding.
• 03:13 A key email was missed, a comment on a teleconference was garbled, or
• 03:17 the various team members interpreter requirement that comes across on
• 03:22 a text message differently.
• 03:23 It's absolutely vital to create and follow a communication plan with virtual teams.
• 03:29 The team leader must proactively manage the communication process and
• 03:33 track both status and issues.
• 03:35 If possible get some face to face time between team members
• 03:38 by bringing the entire team together for selected activities.
• 03:41 And when there are language and cultural differences,
• 03:45 there will be misunderstandings, so expect it and manage it.
• 03:49 To help the virtual team members know what is happening,
• 03:52 I will often put the detailed plan in writing and document any action items.
• 03:57 This essentially creates a contract of expectations between everyone.
• 04:01 I don't use this as a hammer to beat people up or to create legal issues.
• 04:05 I just use it to ensure clarity of expectations.
• 04:08 Let's look at the impact on team relationships in a virtual environment.
• 04:12 There's an old saying that applies.
• 04:14 A team is a group of people, but a group of people is not always a team.
• 04:19 For that group to become a team, they must be aligned and cooperating together.
• 04:23 A key element of effective teamwork is trust, which is harder to develop in
• 04:27 a virtual environment than in a face to face environment.
• 04:30 Trust is based upon a track record of interactions.
• 04:33 The opportunity for lots of interactions is often
• 04:36 easier with a colocated team than when the team is virtual.
• 04:40 A great way to accelerate the creation of trust in a virtual team is with the team
• 04:44 building activities that allow for multiple interactions.
• 04:48 Since there are fewer opportunities, to stand around the water cooler and
• 04:52 talk about areas of common interest,
• 04:54 the interactions for virtual teams are almost always project performance related.
• 04:58 A major factor with respect to building trust then is the reliability
• 05:02 of the individual on the project.
• 05:03 When they say they will do something, can they be trusted?
• 05:06 Do they actually do it on time and do they do it well?
• 05:10 Also what type of attitude do they show when they're talking about the activity?
• 05:14 A critical activity that the project leader must do is manage the handoff
• 05:19 to new team members.
• 05:21 In a virtual team, the new team members cannot easily observe the others to know
• 05:25 what is normally expected.
• 05:27 The project leader or a team member must actively coach and
• 05:31 onboard the new team member.
• 05:34 Another challenge with virtual teams is to keep those team members on track and
• 05:39 performing.
• 05:39 Here are a few influencing competencies that work well with virtual team
• 05:44 members who are not performing as needed on the team.
• 05:47 Establish a communication plan, this may be starting to sound like a broken record
• 05:52 on this point, but it's absolutely fundamental.
• 05:55 Have clear communication channels for setting expectations and
• 05:58 tracking performance, then discussions about performance or
• 06:02 just normal data collection actions.
• 06:04 When dealing with an issue leave your personal agenda out of the discussion.
• 06:09 Focus on the goals of the team and the role of the individual.
• 06:13 It's not about an individual winning, it's about the team winning.
• 06:18 Another competency is to rise above politics, but be aware of them.
• 06:23 The virtual team member may have to deal with power struggles and politics at their
• 06:27 location or in their function that don't impact other locations and functions.
• 06:32 As a team member strive to establish relationships with the stakeholders and
• 06:36 power brokers at the virtual location.
• 06:39 So that you can assist the virtual team member in their activities, but
• 06:43 be careful with this.
• 06:44 Don't use those relationships to undermine your team member.
• 06:48 Next is to engage with emotional intelligence.
• 06:51 This means recognizing both your emotions and
• 06:54 the virtual team members emotions when dealing with the issue.
• 06:57 Try to stay focused on facts which are less emotional and
• 07:01 work at truly listening to the team member.
• 07:03 You should also try to understand what's behind the words that are being used
• 07:07 whether it's spoken words or written words.
• 07:10 Finally, be tenacious, ensure project decisions become actions.
• 07:15 The concept of trust me isn't enough.
• 07:17 You want to work on the principle of show me, so
• 07:21 that there is a foundation for trust.
• 07:23 You may also need to provide obvious support and encouragement for the actions
• 07:28 and changes, so that your virtual team member knows that you are serious.
• 07:32 The challenges of communicating with virtual teams are the same as those with
• 07:37 other teams, but the virtual nature will amplify them.
• 07:40 Team leaders must be prepared for
• 07:42 the extra work associated with leading a virtual team.

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