Leading and Developing a Virtual Team

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Leading and Developing a Virtual Team
A virtual team - also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) - is a group of individuals that work across time, space and organizational boudaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology (source: Word IQ, 2010)".
There are many advantages to creating a virtual team by bringing together contributors through the use of company intranet, groupware applications, email, teleconferencing, phones, computers and other technologies.
On the other hand, the absence of face to face interaction may contribute to misunderstandings and conflict.
The challenge for the management of a virtual team is to create a cohesiveness usually reserved for successful collocated teams. The manager must create a tier of collaboration, productivity and communication that spans cultures, time and distance...
Success can be achieved when the virtual team leader addresses these questions:
- What is my role as a virtual team leader?
- How can you build high-quality relationships when people seldom, if ever, see each other in person?
- How can I enhance the performance of my virtual team?
- How can virtual relationships be managed more effectively using the company's existing communication technologies?
- Is it possible to manage performance and ensure accountability at a distance? (source: Kerber, Buono, 2011).

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		Fernando de Diego Project Manager, Spain
	8 GDT Geodispersed Teams Perform Poor Managing that kind of teams is still an issue. New videoconferencing technologies help a lot as do new messaging applications, etc. But when a team spans over different countries and different languages then performance is really poor versus collocated teams.

		P.E. Pernet Consultant, France
	5 Virtual / Distributed Teams I would suggest you attend this free online seminar Leading Virtual Teams - Managing when People are at a Distance by Jessica Lipnack and Terry Seamon.

		Lito Fadera Management Consultant, Philippines
	2 Tip for Geographically Dispersed Teams: Have a Meeting Each Day @Fernando de Diego: I have been a member of a project management team that spans three countries for more than five years now, and I find this arrangement to be effective and productive. There is a need to meet every other day, though, to ensure that all members are on the right track.

		Purathatil Krishnan Manager, United States
	5 Virtual Teams need Cultural Intelligence Virtual teams often involve diversity in ethnicity, culture and - most importantly - thinking. With adequate curiosity and open minds, increasing Cultural Intelligence can help build relationships resulting in the establishment of trust. This is critical for success with virtual teams.

		John Minett Director, United States
	1 Cross Cultural Teams - Trust is a Fundamental Issue These comments have been very useful. Placemaker associates is a start-up company that focuses on public involvement in planning. We use Skype as our prime means of contact. An issue over a part-time employee's fee has become a source of contention that we are now tackling. It is clear that trust is a fundamental issue, and that the process requires sympathetic and inspiring management.

		Peter Durrant Director, Australia
	9 Geographically Dispersed Teams - Email is not communication Hi Dalahn – I am working from home in Perth and interact with Adelaide and Sydney. Over 10 years two different companies and now contracting my services. I have been made redundant and had relationships destroyed because of the geographic diversity and misunderstandings. Your discussion is very important. I was GM of a Western Australia business and all the other GMs and MD were in Adelaide – I was out on my own without regular close contact with my peers. Lessons learnt through this pain are invaluable. Email is not communication - it can be so easily misconstrued and misinterpreted – I now spend time constructing emails specifically with the reader’s position in mind. I am extremely careful with my words, intimations and sentence construction. Next when I receive a communique that is open to interpretation, I pick up the phone and have a conversation with the sender. I now practice effective communication – maybe I should have done that from the very beginning!

		David Whitfield, United States
	3 Communicating with a Virtual / Geographically Dispersed Team To communicate with a virtual team: - Expectations of all the team and all team members must be clear; - Rationale for expectations must be crystal clear with realistic metrics consistent with reward criteria; - There must be trust--a culture of trust is a must; - A proper medium to convey info, with feedback loops; Also if you haven't established solid, meaningful relationships with all relevant parties, the foregoing will not work effectively. I also recommend that contact should be made every other day, such as a meeting with the proper medium. The above, though a bit cryptic, worked quite effectively for me.

		Joachim Armbruster Coach, Germany
	2 More Information on Virtual Teams? The 5 questions asked by Kerber and Buono are good, the answers would be even more interesting. Any ideas about that? Any books, lectures or research I can have a look at?

		Bill Boynton Teacher, United States
	7 Opportunity to Learn from a Variety of Experiences and Backgrounds A "virtual" team is still a team of people that needs to be addressing the same objectives of team performance. Everyone needs to understand the "vision" of the team, its direction, purpose and objectives. Team members growth and learning needs should also be aligned with the teams objectives, so the whole process is a win/win scenario. Their opportunity to learn from a variety of experiences and backgrounds of others, is a huge opportunity in this environment, and should be recognized by the members. Each member needs to know what is required from him (her), and how this fits into the team as a whole. There has to be ongoing communication as to the progress of the project, and hopefully communication can be done through a "dialogue" process. A good (multi-cultural) facilitator is important too, leading and guiding the sessions, allowing for lots of contributions, and clarification for meaning and understanding. When everyone is involved, feel they belong and are allowed to contribute, all kinds of good things can happen.

		DR.VIVEK DIWADKAR. Business Consultant, India
	5 Virtual Team Concept still in its Infancy although Fast Spreading The virtual team-culture value-connect cauldron is a tricky business which deserves a very deep psychological study. The concept is still in its infancy although it is very fast spreading. I believe the key to its success is to have similar socio-cultural-intellectual thinking and approach.