The prevalence of virtual teams – teams that operate across geographies, time zones, and cultures – continues to grow at an exponential rate.
Want to make sure your virtual team is built on a solid foundation for success? Here are some ingredients to consider:
1. Ensure a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of team members
As a virtual team, the need to clearly define roles and responsibilities becomes even more important than in face-to-face team environments. As a manager, or even a team member, it’s critical that team members (and managers) fully understand their roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, as well as where roles and responsibilities overlap. If you are part of a virtual team, do you have it clear?
2. Negotiate matrix management relationships
A matrix management structure exists when a professional can be managed by two different managers, often delineated by projects in which they are involved. Given the nature of virtual teams, individual members can often be part of a matrix management reporting process. It is quite common for virtual team members to report to the face-to-face manager at their home location, as well as the primary virtual team manager who may be in a different time zone or continent. If this is the case, it is often beneficial to have a three-way discussion between managers and the staff member, ensuring that everyone has a common understanding of who manages what, what reporting relationships exist, how work processes will be weighted and prioritized. .
3. Equip team members with skills to work across differences.
Since virtual teams are often global in nature, or even transcontinental, it is important that cultural differences are understood. Staff must also be equipped with the skills and tools to work with diversity. Differences may exist along various continuums, including different priorities, language, as well as the concept of time and management approaches. Exploring individual cultural differences within the team can be an important process, as well as creating “common ground” and ways of working for the team.
4. Create opportunities for face-to-face interaction
The effectiveness of virtual teams can be greatly improved by budgeting and planning for face-to-face interaction at least once a year (preferably even more often).
A multi-day in-person retreat can serve as a forum to get to know each other and create a shared vision for the team and its work. Other topics that may come out of a session like this could be discussing strategic directions, creating a shared work plan, milestones, and protocol for meetings and communication. The presence of trust is often pointed to as a condition for virtual team success.
5. Develop a common vision
A shared common vision, understood by all members of the virtual team, acts as an important anchor for decision making, accountability and results. There are a number of vision processes that can be carried out, depending on the needs of the client. Developing this in a face-to-face session, at the start of virtual team building, is ideal, although creating this midway through will also bring benefits to the team.
6. Create an environment of trust
Researchers often cite the presence of trust within a virtual team as a condition for success. What can you do to build trust within your team? What systems may need to be developed? What actions will build trust according to different team members? Keep in mind that the concept of trust can mean different things to different generations, cultures, and individuals.
7. Provide effective leadership for the team
Effective leadership for the team allows the team base to be harnessed and further developed. The skills required by virtual team managers may differ from the skill sets of a face-to-face manager. Are you providing enough space for team members to do their jobs? Are you trying to micro-manage? Are you providing the resources your team needs? Are you removing obstacles as they appear for the team? How are your influencing skills?
Virtual teams can provide many opportunities for organizations, including the opportunity to draw on often multidisciplinary professionals from a variety of cultural, geographic, and even generational employees. What success factors will you focus on today?