Virtual Teams Really Are Different.pdf

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Virtual Teams Really Are Different

Lessons for making them successful

The office of the future might not be an office at all. As virtual teams become more

prevalent, we edge ever closer to a culture where work means logging in to yourcompanys online project management site from your home, or collaborating withpeople who work for different teams or functions at their local co-workingestablishment. The companys headquarters is becoming more of a concept than anactual building. And as physical location becomes less important, companies can hirethe best talent regardless of their location. In addition, companies can enhance theirefficiency by handing off work across time zones, enabling them to be productivearound the clock.

But far too often this vision of the global economy workplace falls short of todaysreality. In other words, virtual teams may be increasingly popular but theyre notnecessarily successful.

Today it isnt uncommon for companies to have as many as 50 percent of theiremployees working on virtual teams. Its not hard to see why. Advances in technology

have made it easier to organize and manage dispersed groups of people. Competitivepressures and the needs of the global market workforce have made virtual teams anecessity for some organizations.

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Page 1 of 6Virtual Teams Really Are Different

23.02.2011http://www.qualitydigest.com/print/13490


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Lesson No. 1 in action:

Develop a team web page where virtual team members can share information andget to know one another. Create ways for team members to interact and communicate informally. Use real-timecommunication tools such as instant messaging or social media sites such asFacebook or Twitter to create a virtual water cooler that allows people on virtual teamsto communicate more spontaneously. Build a collective online resource bank to share information and experiences. Find ways to spotlight team members. Send electronic newsletters or updates to the team. Create ways to virtually celebrate successes as a team. Partner team members at different locations on projects and rotate these periodically.

Lesson 2: no trust, no team

Task-based trust is one of the factors that differentiated top performing teams. In virtualteams, trust seems to develop more readily at the task level than at the interpersonallevel. There are four warning signs that trust is in low supply in virtual teams:

1. Team members do not refer to themselves as we2. They do not appear to know one another very well3. They are openly negative4. They do not regard others as credible

So if you want trust to develop among your team members, you have to set thefoundation. It doesnt simply develop because a team has been working together for a

while.


Make sure teams meet face to face at least once early on in the teams formation.Spend some part of the meeting focused on building relationships and learning aboutteam members capabilities. Be sure team members feel empowered to make and act on decisions. Becausevirtual leaders do not have face time with team members to check in, leaders are morelikely to micromanage team members without realizing it. Help people manage conflicts, not avoid them. Conflict is likely to be ignored or may

escalate quickly in a virtual setting. Therefore, senior management needs toproactively manage conflict. The team leader should model and reinforce these positive behaviors of seniormanagement.

Lesson 3: soft skills are essential

The presence of soft skills makes a difference in virtual team performance. Virtualteams that have been through team-building and interpersonal skill-developmentactivities perform better than those that have not.

Despite the strong link between training and virtual team performance, manyorganizations do not make this investment. Another all-too-common practice isselecting team members based solely on their technical skills without considering key




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attributes like their interpersonal skills. The obvious solution is to includecharacteristics such as effective communication and collaboration in the selectioncriteria.


Use criteria or assessments when selecting individuals for virtual teams. Use team-building sessionsideally conducted at an initial or subsequent face-to-face team meetingto help team members strengthen working relationships andcreate team momentum that can enhance effectiveness. Assess development needs for team members and team leaders, and conduct skill-building focused on these areas. Reassess needs over time.

Lesson 4: watch out for performance peaks

While virtual teams who have been working together for more than three years tend tobe more successful than teams working together for less time, many virtual teams facea performance peak around the one-year mark. After that, performance tends to leveloff or even decline.

High-performing virtual teams avoid this problem by implementing strategies toovercome this peak. When you see the warning signs of stagnant performancee.g.,team members get along well but do not produce results, or theres an apparent lack ofdirection, or team members dont commit adequate time to the teamthen its time totake action.


Clearly define team roles and accountability to minimize frustration andmisunderstandings that can damage morale and derail productivity. Review and refine team processes regularly. Periodically examine the level of team performance. Collect feedback from variousstakeholders to assess the teams performance. Based on the outcomes, identify barriers to high performance, as well as steps thatcan be taken to overcome these barriers.

Lesson 5: create a high touch environment

Electronic technology has made virtual teaming possible, but it is not a perfectsubstitute for human interaction. One of the greatest performance barriers is theinability to replicate a high-touch environment in a virtual setting. Thats why, inaddition to figuring out ways to make virtual interaction more human, its critical thatcompanies arrange for their virtual team members to meet in person at least once ayear.

Yes, that requires time and expense, but virtual teams that invest in one or two suchmeetings per year perform better overall than those that do not. Youll know youhavent achieved a high-touch environment with your virtual team if members

communicate poorly, arent fully engaged, and dont pay attention during virtualmeetings.




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Leverage synchronous tools (e.g., instant messaging) to increase spontaneouscommunication. Use tools such as electronic bulletin boards to create a sense of shared space. Carefully choose communication technologies that are most appropriate to thespecific task. For instance, e-mail is good for simple information sharing, whileconference calls are better suited for interactive sharing of ideas or plans. Make wider use of videoconferencing. Our survey data suggest that teams that usevideo technology perform better in general than those that do not.

Lesson 6: vir tual team leadership matters

Leadership is the factor most important to the success of virtual teams. OnPointsstudy and other research shows that leadership does, in fact, have a statisticallysignificant correlation with higher performance on virtual teams. To overcome the

limitations of distance and to be fully effective, team leaders in a virtual environmentmust be especially sensitive to interpersonal communication and cultural factors.

There are four key warning signs that a team leader is not up to snuff:

1. The team is not meeting its performance objectives and deliverables are delayed orof poor quality2. Relationships between the team members and the leader are not strong3. The leader is not clear about the teams direction or purpose4. The team leader pays more attention to team members who are at his/her locationor those with whom he gets along

Organizations can avoid this performance barrier by selecting team leaders who notonly have the necessary technical skills but also have the soft skills required toeffectively lead in a virtual environment. If youre a team leader, its not easy to learnthat you may be the cause of your teams poor performance. But there are many waysto improve your performance and get your team back on track.


Set clear goals and direction and revisit these as priorities shift

Engage team members in the development of team strategy

Provide time for team building through periodic face-to-face meetings

Provide timely feedback to team members. Be responsive and accessible

Emphasize common interests, and values and reinforce cooperation and trust

Createe a system to easily integrate new team members

Teach the importance of conflict resolution

Celebrate team achievements and successes




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Weve seen too many well-intentioned companies fail because they treated their virtualteams the same way they treat their co-located teams. And then there are theorganizations that start virtual teams in response to an opportunity or problem withoutplanning or proper follow-upnever a recipe for success.

Organizations frequently set up virtual teams to address a particular business need.However, they jump in without really understanding what they are getting themselvesinto. Simply put, better planning could dramatically improve their odds for success.Now, there is a formula for success. All todays virtual teams must do is put it to work.

Quality Insider Article

Source URL (retrieved on 02/23/2011):http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-news/virtual-

teams-really-are-different.html

Links:[1] http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470532963.html

2011 Quality Digest Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

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