managing virtual teams - masaryk university

Masaryk University

Faculty of Informatics

Master thesis:

Managing Virtual Teams

Bc. Antonio Čale

February 2013

II

STATEMENT

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently using only the sources listed in the bibliography.

All resources, sources, and literature, which I used in preparing or I drew on them, I quote in the thesis

properly with stating the full reference to the source.

RESUME

The goal of this thesis work is to explore current trends in managing virtual teams in ICT companies.

Explain types of virtual teams; describe what are advantages and challenges of virtual teams; show how

information is being shared inside the team; explore different communication and collaboration tools;

collect information from managers in the field and sum up best practices.

KEYWORDS

Virtual team, Distance manager, Boundary manager, telework, telecommuters.

III

Table of Contents

STATEMENT ............................................................................................................................................. II

RESUME ................................................................................................................................................... II

KEYWORDS .............................................................................................................................................. II

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1

2. WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TEAM? .............................................................................................................. 2

2.1. Why do we need virtual teams?................................................................................................ 2

2.2. Why are virtual teams becoming more prevalent? .................................................................... 3

2.3. Who are virtual team members? .............................................................................................. 3

3. TYPES OF VIRTUAL TEAMS ................................................................................................................ 4

3.1. A model to represent six types of virtual teams ........................................................................ 7

3.2. Determining what type of virtual team(s) we have ................................................................... 8

3.3. Examples of the six types of virtual teams............................................................................... 10

3.3.1. Making type 1 and type 4 teams successful ..................................................................... 11

3.3.2. Dealing with cultural differences ..................................................................................... 12



3.4. Advantages and challenges of virtual teams............................................................................ 15

3.5. Why virtual teams fail ............................................................................................................. 17

4. ROLE OF A VIRTUAL TEAM MANAGER ............................................................................................ 18

4.1. Seven competences of boundary managers ............................................................................ 21

4.2. Five things that cripple the effectiveness of the distance manager.......................................... 24

4.3. What team members want from a distance manager? ............................................................ 27

5. BUILDING A TEAM .......................................................................................................................... 31

5.1. MSI “Alignment Model” and “Maturity Model” ...................................................................... 31

5.1.1. Using the Alignment Model............................................................................................. 32

5.1.2. Using the Maturity Model ............................................................................................... 35

5.2. Xerox’s nine-step model for developing effective distributed teams ....................................... 39

5.3. Building team identity ............................................................................................................ 40

5.4. 10 useful team-building activities ........................................................................................... 40

6. MANAGING A VIRTUAL TEAM......................................................................................................... 45

IV

6.1. Ways to build trust in virtual teams ........................................................................................ 48

6.2. Ensure That Diversity in the Team is Understood, Appreciated, and Leveraged ....................... 50

6.3. Managing Virtual Work-Cycle and Meetings ........................................................................... 51

6.3.1. Pre-meeting Practices ..................................................................................................... 51

6.3.2. Start of Meeting Practice ................................................................................................ 52

6.3.3. During Meeting Practices ................................................................................................ 52

6.3.4. End of Meeting Practices ................................................................................................ 53

6.3.5. Between Meeting Practices ............................................................................................. 53

6.3.6. Importance of face-to-face meetings .............................................................................. 53

6.4. Monitor Team Progress Through the Use of Technology ......................................................... 55

6.5. Enhance External Visibility of the Team and its Members ....................................................... 56

6.6. Ensure Individuals Benefit from Participating in Virtual Teams ................................................ 57

6.7. Managing employees who work at home ............................................................................... 57

6.8. Managing people who don’t report to you.............................................................................. 59

6.9. Seven critical success factors .................................................................................................. 62

7. VIRTUAL TEAM TRAINING AND COACHING ..................................................................................... 69

7.1. Socratic Coaching ................................................................................................................... 69

7.2. Proactive Coaching ................................................................................................................. 70

7.3. Accountability Systems ........................................................................................................... 71

7.4. Tips for Distance Coaching ...................................................................................................... 72

7.5. Distance training .................................................................................................................... 74

8. Communication and collaboration tools and techniques ................................................................ 76

8.1. Communication tools.............................................................................................................. 76

8.1.1. Meeting and conferencing tools.......................................................................................... 77

8.1.2. Instant Messaging Systems ................................................................................................. 81

8.1.3. Portals and Blogs ................................................................................................................ 81

8.2. Collaboration tools ................................................................................................................. 81

8.2.1. Wiki .................................................................................................................................... 82

8.2.2. Document management system (DMS) ............................................................................... 83

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 84

Literature ............................................................................................................................................... 85

1

1. INTRODUCTION

Virtual teams are fast becoming a norm when conducting business and managing projects. In the

following chapters the reader will gain knowledge on what a virtual team is, what types of virtual teams

are there and how to manage them using currently available technologies.

Document contains four logical parts. First one contains chapters 2 and 3 which talk about virtual teams’

definition and types. Second part contains chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 which talk about managers’ role in

virtual teams and how to manage virtual teams. Third part is chapter 8 which describes some of the

current technologies used in managing virtual teams. Tools used for virtual team communication,

collaboration and training. Final part contains results of a survey conducted among virtual team

managers and virtual team member.

Chapters 2 and 3 will help the reader understand the phenomenon of virtual teams. Beginning with

virtual team definitions, description of virtual team members, detailed explanation of types of virtual

teams, virtual team advantages and challenges and giving reasons to why virtual teams fail.

Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 are dedicated to explaining the role of virtual team manager.

Chapter 4 explains manager’s position, his responsibilities, what competences he should have and what

do virtual team members want from their manager. Chapter 5 shows how to build effective virtual teams

using Alignment and Maturity models and Xerox’s nine-step model as well as giving tips on useful team-

building activities. Chapter 6 shows how to manage virtual teams. Starting with building trust in virtual

teams, ensuring team’s diversity is understood, appreciated and leveraged, explaining how to manage

virtual work-cycle and meetings, monitor teams progress, manage employees who work from home and

those that don’t report directly to you as a manager. Chapter closes with explanation of seven critical

success factors. Chapter 7 explains how to coach virtual team members and how to conduct training of

virtual team members.

Chapter 8 describes currently available technologies for virtual team communication and collaboration.

2

2. WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TEAM?

There are many definitions on what a virtual team is. For example one might say that a virtual team, also

known as a geographically dispersed team or GDT, is a group of individuals who work across time, space

and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. Powell,

Piccoli and Ives define virtual teams in their literature review article "as groups of geographically,

organizationally and/or time dispersed workers brought together by information and telecommunication

technologies to accomplish one or more organizational tasks".[1] Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S. and Taha, Z.

in their 2009 literature review paper, added two key issues to definition of a virtual team “as small

temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/ or time dispersed knowledge workers who

coordinate their work predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in

order to accomplish one or more organization tasks”. [2]

Virtual teams consist of a group of individuals who are able to work together across time, space, and

organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. Companies

are now able to hire the best of the best, regardless of location. In theory, the members of these teams

complement each other and share common goals as do most any other type of team that we may think

of. They are each committed to a common purpose and while working together, hold each member as

well as themselves accountable for getting the job done. Virtual teams do not simply consist of

individuals working from their homes (“teleworkers”), but rather they are comprised of employees

working at home or in small groups in offices all over the world. With advancements in technology and

the constant outsourcing that companies all over the world are implementing, virtual teams may

eventually be the “norm” in the way we do business.

2.1. Why do we need virtual teams?

With a virtual team, one of the biggest assets an organization and the customers it services can count on

is flexibility. With employees in the U.S., Western Europe, India and China all working on the same

project, a company is actually getting work accomplished twenty four hours a day, not the standard eight

that a more “sheltered” company would experience. They reap a benefit from being located across

different time zones and this adds to their productivity. Because of advances in technology, employees

in a virtual team do not have to deal with hours of travel or daily commutes to take time out of their

working day. The technology that allows a virtual team to exist in turn, is constantly being advanced and

improved upon. This too drives productivity. With the globalization of virtually every industry one can

think of, virtual teams and other methods of making the world of business “smaller” are the way of the

future. Employees demand that their organization as well as themselves be technologically sophisticated,

flexible, globally “savvy,” and highly competitive.

3

2.2. Why are virtual teams becoming more prevalent?

Managing virtual teams is no picnic and managing such teams is often pushed onto managers. Managers

think they will be able to change jobs and get away from the issue of managing remote workers and

remote work groups. The reality is that they can run, but they cannot hide. The implementation of

distributed teams is a very rapidly growing organizational trend. Some of the factors driving the

prevalence of distributed teams include:

Mergers

Acquisitions

Downsizing

Outsourcing

Technology

Clear air laws

Offshore development and manufacturing

Technical specialization

If we include vendors and customers as a part of the project team, almost 100% of project teams are

distributed today. According to the 2010 Eurofound report on “Telecommuters in the European Union”

[3] which covers the 27 EU Member States (EU27) along with Norway, the highest percentage of

employees involved in telework in 2005. was observed in the Czech Republic, where 15.2% of employees

were doing telework for a quarter of the time or more, and 9% of employees were doing telework full

time. In seven other EU countries more than 10% of employees were doing telework for a quarter of the

time or more. With EU countries regulating remote employees’ rights through legislature this trend is

growing from year to year. Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland are leading the way. Employers

are more aware of many studies showing benefits of having remote workers. An example of USA

company AT&T shows how it was able to free up $550 million in cash flow by eliminating offices and

reducing related overhead costs in period of 7 years from 1991 to 1998. [4] Cutting costs alone will warm

employers to this idea.

2.3. Who are virtual team members?

In order to manage any team we first need to understand who is on our team. Are the people

on your team only people who report to you? Are they only employees of the company we work

for? Are they only the people in our building? Are they only the people who like and agree with

us? If we work with consultants, vendors, contractors, or joint venture partners, are they

members of our team? The majority of project managers will say that if someone is supposed to

be contributing to the outcome of the project, they are on the team.

4

Some type of virtual team members include: [5]

Individuals located at other company sites

Joint venture partners

Telecommuters

Consultants

Vendors

Third-party developers

Suppliers

Offshore development and manufacturing groups

Satellite work groups

Customers

Etc.

3. TYPES OF VIRTUAL TEAMS

There are few classifications on types of virtual teams. According to the book “Mastering virtual

teams: strategies, tools, and techniques that succeed” By Deborah L. Duarte, Nancy Tennant

Snyder, there are six most common types of virtual teams. They are:

1. Networked teams

2. Parallel teams

3. Project development teams

4. Work, production or functional teams

5. Service teams

6. Offshore ISD teams

Networked teams are geographically distributed and not necessarily from the same organization.

These teams are frequently created and just as frequently dissolved; they are usually formed to

discuss specific topics where members from the area of expertise, possibly from different

organizations, pitch their ideas in the same discussion. Depending on the complexity of the issue,

additional members to the team may be added at any time. The duration these teams last may

vary significantly depending on how fast or slow the issue is resolved.

Parallel teams are highly task oriented teams that usually consist of specialized professionals.

While they are generally only required for very short span of time, unlike networked teams,

they are not dissolved after completion of the tasks. The team may be either internal or external

to the organization.

5

Similar to parallel teams, project development teams are geographically distributed and may

operate from different time zones. Project development teams are mainly focused on creating

new products, information systems or organizational processes for users and/or customers.

These teams exist longer than parallel teams and have the added ability to make decisions

rather than just make recommendations. Similar to networked teams, project development

teams may also add or remove members of their team at any given of time, as needed for their

area of expertise.

Work, production or functional teams are totally function-specific where they only work on a

particular area within an organization (i.e. finance, training, research, etcetera). Operating

virtually from different geographical locations, these teams exist to perform regular or ongoing

tasks.

Service teams are geographically located in different time zones and are assigned to a particular

service such as customer support, network upgrades, data maintenance, etc. Each team works

on providing the particular service in their daylight hours and at the end of day, work is

delegated to the next team which operates in a different time zone so that there is someone

handling the service 24 hours a day.

Offshore ISD outsourcing teams are independent service provider teams that a company can

subcontract portions of work to. These teams usually work in conjunction with an onshore team.

Offshore ISD is commonly used for software development as well as international R&D

projects.[6]

From the above types it is clear that virtual teams cross time, space and organization boundaries.

Understanding these three variables is important in determining what kind of virtual teams we

are leading and for helping us decide on appropriate actions to improve them. For example, a

team that has members working in the same place at different times might be able to meet

some of their communication needs by updating a large chart located in their office each shift.

But a team distributed across multiple sites would need a different strategy.

To help determine what kind of team we are working with, let’s look at a modified version of

mentioned three variables. What is important in addition to time and geographical separation is

actually culture, rather than just organization. We will use the variables of time, distance and

culture to create a diagnostic model to help managers manage their virtual teams more

effectively.

Many managers agree that space, time and culture can create distance between team members.

Let us consider time as something that creates distance. When a team must function seamlessly

around the clock, how do we ensure that information from one shift gets to the other ones?

How can we ensure continuity, fairness, and appropriate standardization? How do best

6

practices get coordinated? How do organization-wide problems get solved? How do we get a

real time input and buy-in from across an organization when important team members from

other shifts or time zones are always home asleep?

What seems simple in what experts call a synchronous (same-time) environment can become a

nightmare in an asynchronous one. Some teams have been known to erupt in near-violent

disagreements over something as mundane as the timing of meetings. They ask “Why does

everything have to happen on day shift?” Or in operations with membership that spans multiple

time zones, team members want to know who has to get up in the middle of the night or lose

precious weekend time for an international teleconference.

To make matters worse, space-time distance is not the only kind of distance a manager must

learn to bridge. The distance caused by cultural differences may be even more problematic. Ed

Schein, an M.I.T. professor whose research focuses on organizational culture, has identified a

myriad of problems that can come from this elusive characteristic. If we adapt a definition of

culture from prof. Schein, anything that falls into the category of a “learned behavior about how

to work together” is culture.[7]

This covers a broad spectrum raging from organizational to language and ethnic norms.

Let us consider teams that cross countries. They often find subtle but important communication

challenges caused by very distinct geographical cultures. South Americans on the project may

see timelines as approximate, while Germans view them as precise, even though both sit

through the same discussion in the same language at the same time. Asians may smile and nod

their heads when asked if they agree to something that they know they cannot later support,

because the rudeness of overt disagreement is culturally intolerable. North Americans may run

roughshod over respected but time-consuming practices of other cultures. This short term

efficiency focus may backfire in the long term as it erodes trust and employee commitment.

7

3.1. A model to represent six types of virtual teams

Let us imagine that each variable is on its own continuum ranging from the same (same time,

same space, same culture) to different (different time, different space, different culture). If we

arrange the three continuums into three-dimensional picture we will see the graphic on Figure 1.

Figure 1 Time, Space and Culture Continuum

Space is on the X-axis, time is on the Y-axis, and culture is on the Z-axis. If we are to juxtapose

boxes on this 3-D continuum to represent each possible team, there would be eight boxes for

eight types of teams. However, because we believe that two of these possibilities are not really

virtual teams that require a distance manager, we will not include them in our model. We are

now left with six types of virtual teams as represented by the six boxes in the figure 2.

8

Figure 2 Six types of virtual teams

3.2. Determining what type of virtual team(s) we have

We can use the questionnaire that follows to determine which virtual team we use. However,

before we answer the questions, a little discussion will be helpful. Assessing time and space

differences is pretty straightforward. Team members either share a common space (co-location)

or they don’t (distributed). They either work the same hours (synchronous) or they don’t

(asynchronous). But determining whether they share a common culture (homogeneous) or not

(heterogeneous) is more complicated. To help us make this decision, let’s consider these

observations:

A homogeneous culture has clearly established norms. These norms (or patterns of

behavior) help the people figure out how to communicate, work together, solve

problems, and make decisions. Like the autonomic nerve system of the body, norms help

facilitate day-to-day operations of the team without demanding a lot of attention from

team members. Typically, a homogeneous culture has clearly understood roles and

responsibilities for members, a shared sense of behavior standards, and methods for

dealing with nonconformance. Although factors like ethnicity, gender, age, and religious

9

backgrounds affect cultural homogeneity, a shared experience is that thinking styles may

be the most crucial factor of all. Things like life experience, technical or educational

background, work experience, and personal preferences normally affect thinking styles

A heterogeneous organization is more individualistic in nature. There really isn’t a

common culture. Norms are not shared. People figure out what to do in each new

situation as it arises. One person’s perspective on roles and responsibilities and behavior

standards may be quite different from that of other people in the organization.

There are two things to consider. First, we should not assume that a heterogeneous

organization is necessarily bad, nor that a homogeneous culture is necessarily good. While it is

true that heterogeneous organizations must work harder to accomplish things than effective

homogeneous ones, an ineffective homogeneous culture (with strong but dysfunctional norms,

for example) may never get out of the starting gates at all. Second, homogeneity doesn’t mean

that everybody is alike. On the contrary, the most effective homogeneous virtual team cultures

we know of are of highly diverse people in terms of thinking and life experience who have

figured out how to work together effectively. The common problem with homogeneous cultures

that have little diversity in membership is that team members get stuck in what experts call

groupthink – a terminal case of consistency that inhibits creativity and innovation.

The questionnaire mentioned above consists of three simple questions and it looks like this.

Table 1 The Virtual Team Assessment Questionnaire

Circle one:

1. Do members of the team normally work during the same hours?

2. Do members of the team normally work together at the same place?

3. Do members of the team share a common culture?

Yes Yes Yes

No No No

If answer to all three questions is “Yes”, or if “Yes” to question 1 and question 2, but “No” to

question 3, we are not a distant manager. If answers are different than the two mentioned in

previous sentence, table 2 will show what kind of virtual team we are managing.

10 Table 2 What Kind of Virtual Team Do You Lead?

Circle one:

1. Do members of the team normally work during the same hours?

2. Do members of the team normally work together at the same place?

3. Do members of the team share a common culture?

Yes Yes Yes

No No No

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Team type

NO YES NO 1

NO NO NO 2

YES NO NO 3

NO YES YES 4

NO NO YES 5

YES NO YES 6

3.3. Examples of the six types of virtual teams

Table 3 Examples of Virtual Teams

TYPE CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLES DISTANCE CHALLANGES

1 Different time Same space Different culture

24 hr Teleservice 24 hr Warehouse 24x7 Factory

Cross shift interaction Multicultural interaction

2 Different time Different space Different culture

Global Teams Large Projects Large Organizations

Cross time zone interaction Multiple location interaction Multicultural interaction

3 Same time Different space Different culture

Local Sales Team Regional Services

Cross geography interaction Multicultural interaction

4 Different time Same space Same culture

24 hr Teleservice 24 hr Warehouse 24x7 Factory

Cross shift interaction

5 Different time Different space Same culture

Global Teams Large Projects Large Organizations

Cross time zone interaction Multiple location interaction

6 Same time Different space Same culture

Local Sales Team Regional Services

Cross geography interaction

Let’s consider some common examples for each of the parts of this virtual team typology. An

example of Type 1 team is a customer service team, manufacturing operation, or warehouse

11

team that has multiple shifts operating the same equipment. The only difference between a

Type 1 team and a Type 4 team is the degree of homogeneity of the culture. A Type 1 team, for

example, might be a service team that answers customer calls about a software product 24

hours a day, in shifts, from the same phone banks. The Type 4 team could be the same

operation but it would have a very homogeneous culture as opposed to the heterogeneous

culture of Type 1 team. Unlike the other teams, Type 1 and Type 4 teams can communicate by

using simple technologies like blackboards/whiteboards and posted charts that are located in a

single geography and can be updated by each shift as they leave. To provide some synchronous

activities, many of these virtual teams can use shift overlap meetings for face-to-face interaction.

A Type 2 team might be a global project team, large organization, or international product

development team. A Type 5 would be the same, except that it would have a more

homogeneous culture. Type 2 and Type 5 teams are the most difficult to manage because they

cross both time and space. Therefore, the teams must become proficient in using asynchronous

technologies like e-mail, electronic whiteboards, voice mail, and in making very good use of

limited synchronous time to work with each other using technologies such as teleconferencing

or videoconferencing.

A Type 3 team might be a local sales or service team, or a regional consult team. A Type 6 team

would be the same type of team with a more homogeneous culture. These teams have benefit

of synchronous schedules and can be hooked together electronically in real time through

technology. Face-to-face interaction is more difficult, however, as the team members are

normally working at the different sites.

The first three types of teams (heterogeneous cultures) also require special treatment to create

agreements on how to work together. Types 4, 5 and 6 can be maintained with fewer of these

interventions if the culture is functional. However, if we have a dysfunctional homogeneous

team, the change process often requires extreme measures to modify group norms that have

come to be accepted over time.

3.3.1. Making type 1 and type 4 teams successful

Type 1 and Type 4 teams have the advantage of sharing a common space. Managers need to

take this advantage! Create a physical place that provides a sense of identity and a means for

collaboration. Carve out a place for a team room where people can cluster and talk. Sun

Microsystems, for example, uses what they call “Sun rooms” as gathering and meeting places.

These are small, brightly illuminated rooms that normally have a whiteboard and comfortable

chairs or even a couch in most cases. They are spaces that encourage people to share ideas with

each other, solve problems, and collaborate.

12

Decorate the team space with identity-enhancing graphics. For example, these teams often

benefit from posters, charts, and graphs located on the walls. Have team members post their

goals, timelines, or other key measures in places where they will be visible to each shift. These

types of community report cards can be updated by each shift in order to obtain high-quality

data, but more important, they are a visible reminder that each shift is part of something that

transcends its time period. Post team charter and operating guidelines on the walls for the same

reason.

Some teams create a symbol that they use to reinforce their shared identity with people who

work at other times. The Apple Macintosh Design Team posted a pirate flag above their quarters

to symbolize their skunk-work operation working on the fringe of the corporation. This flag

helped people, regardless of their working hours, to feel part of something bigger than their

shift.

The biggest challenge for the Type 1 and Type 4 teams, of course, is communicating across the

distance of time. Most operations find that they have to create shift overlap in the schedule to

accommodate and encourage this communication. This is easier in operations using eight-hour

shifts than in organizations using twelve-hour shifts, but it is always preferable to create the

opportunity for face-to-face interchange whenever possible. During the overlap most

organizations have some sort of shift download meeting where the incoming team members

find out what happened on the last shift. This time is always scarce and should be used

efficiently for the activities that are best done face-to-face. If a team decision is to be made, for

example, some of the suggestions might first be gathered asynchronously on the team web site

at the convenience of the team members throughout the shift. The meeting may then be

reserved to discuss the pros and cons of each suggestion with all present.

The other primary challenge for the Type 1 team that distinguishes it from the Type 4 team is

dealing with multiple cultures.

3.3.2. Dealing with cultural differences

Cultural differences present a difficult issue that requires some thoughtful investigation on

manager’s part. What specifically are the cultural issues? Are they rooted in organizational

differences, or something else? The situation needs to be treated appropriately. Organizational

culture differences, for example, normally require a development of new mutually agreed on

operating guidelines for the team. These guidelines are agreements on how to work together

that transcend the organizational backgrounds of the team members. They allow people to

focus on the here and now instead of on the past.

13

Country-of-origin differences and technical discipline differences also benefit from developing

these guidelines together as a team. But they normally require more. Sometimes language

training is needed to help participants who don’t understand the predominant language.

Technical training may be required to bridge the chasm caused by technical discipline

differences in approaching problems or making decisions. If serious culture differences come

from the country of origin (or from issues associated with gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual

orientation, disability, etc.) then most teams find that they need to receive special training in

cross-cultural sensitivity. In some cases professional consultation or mediation may be required.

This help is especially important when dealing with issues that may have legal consequences.


Type 2 and Type 5 teams are the most difficult to lead because they have neither shared time

nor shared space as an advantage. Creating an identity and some collaboration, therefore,

requires a number of virtual teaming activities and solid use of communication technologies.

Type 2 and Type 5 teams are especially vulnerable to a poor start-ups. An effective face-to-face

start-up is important for any virtual organization. At a minimum, this activity helps people get to

know their colleagues, identifies their purpose and responsibilities. The start-ups helps, but it is

not enough. You’ll need a way of coordinating the day-to-day work virtually through a variety of

conferencing technologies. Establish a way to have regular teleconferences and/or

videoconferences and/or web conferences with the team members. These team meetings are

necessary to check progress and coordinate. One-on-one virtual meetings between a manager

and each employee may be necessary, but they are insufficient as a coordinating and

information-sharing mechanism for Type 2 and Type 5 teams. Team members need to

communicate with each other regularly in real time as well. In some cases they may need video.

In many cases voice communication or voice communication with shared access to computer

files is sufficient. Coordinating the timing of this in a global team can be a headache because

someone is almost always required to participate at a bad time for them (e.g., middle of the

night, holiday, weekends). Manager needs to do its best to minimize this problem by choosing

times that are least disruptive.

All effective leaders also know that much of the work of a team gets done in informal settings.

Co-located team members have a significant advantage. They can run into each other in the

hallways, see other during breaks, or meet people at lunch or in the parking lot. This informal

interaction not only helps with the socialization needs of team members but also provides a

serendipitous opportunity to coordinate and collaborate. We need to create a virtual water

cooler if we don’t have a physical one. For example, many teams have a chat room space on

their intranet that allows for informal virtual interaction. In many cases virtual interaction still

isn’t enough. Effective distance managers strongly recommend that we do something that

14

allows people to discuss things physically as well. The best method for this is a periodic face-to-

face meeting. The frequency of these interactions depends on our situation. The most common

frequency is a quarterly meeting that focuses on the on things best done In person, including

some social activities (dinner, golf, etc.) that facilitate informal interaction. Concerts, movies, or

other activities that won’t allow people to talk to each other should be avoided.

Finally, we need to find a way to create virtual team space for Type 2 and Type 5 teams. On

some Hewlett-Packard projects, for example, the company actually sets up desks for the off-site

team members in the office where most team members are located. This isn’t practical or cost-

effective in most situations, but where teaming is critical, the company finds that this makes the

off-site employees feel more like full partners than periodic associates. At a minimum, we

should set up a team web site. This will help provide an identity and a shared virtual meeting

space for team members. A certain amount of the site should be designed by the team

members themselves, to allow them to feel like it is really theirs. Many teams include their

photos on the site to personalize the space. We need to remember that any technology used

will require training. Simply assuming that people will figure out how to use the web site (or any

other technology) is a mistake.

The other primary challenge for the Type 2 team that distinguishes it from the Type 5 team is

dealing with multiple cultures. Please refer to the previous section 3.3.2. “Dealing with cultural

differences“.


The advantage of the Type 3 and Type 6 teams is shared time. This allows us to set aside

communication and coordination times for virtual interaction with minimal problems. Most of

these teams find it useful to have regularly scheduled conference meetings in the same way

that co-located teams have staff meetings. The most common frequency for such virtual

conferences is weekly, though many of these teams find that a brief daily meeting is helpful to

coordinate assignments.

Type 3 and Type 6 teams are also normally located in a sufficiently small geography so that face-

to-face meetings can be held with less expense than for widely distributed teams. It is good

practice to schedule these with sufficient frequency that team members can have most of the

advantages of the co-located team. For this type of team quarterly meeting should not be

difficult, and an increased frequency is recommended if team members can benefit from

sharing ideas, coordinating with others, or joint problem-solving or decision-making activities.

Remember to save the face-to-face meetings for things that aren’t easily accomplished through

virtual interactions. With the possibility of more regular face-to-face meetings I these types of

virtual teams than the other types, you might keep a running agenda for the meetings that

15

anyone can contribute to (perhaps a space on team web site titled “Topics for upcoming face-

to-face meeting”). This way, we can schedule more frequent meetings as soon as we have a

sufficient agenda to justify one.

The primary difference between a Type 3 and Type 6 team is cultural differences. Type 3 team

benefit from the activities previously mentioned in the section focused on dealing with cultural

differences.

3.4. Advantages and challenges of virtual teams

Because executives and managers tend to have different perspective from team members, following are

advantages and disadvantages from both perspectives.

The managers’ perspective of the advantages of distributed teams:

Access to a less expensive labor pool

Reduced office space

Greater utilization of employees

Round-the-clock work force

Greater access to technical experts

Larger pool of possible job candidates

Managers are pleased to have access to a less expensive work force. An example is recruiting team

members from a global market. The offshore software development industry is expanding at an

astounding rate. Almost all serious companies today have at least some part of their development team

in Asian countries.

Having offsite employees saves office space costs. Xerox, in 1995, closed its Waltham, Massachusetts

(USA) office and sent 5 550 sales and support personnel to work at customer sites. Not only did Xerox

save money in office space, they reported that this move helped with increasing product complexity that

required employees to spend more time working at client sites.

With team members located at various locations of Earth and different time zones, managers can count

on a round-the-clock work force. So at any time there is some work being done on the project or in the

case of service support teams, assures 24/7 support to all customers no matter where they are located.

The team members’ perspective on advantages of distributed teams:

Increased independence, less micro management

Larger pool of jobs to choose from

Greater flexibility

Opportunity for travel

16 Not having a manager breathing down your neck helps team members relax and do their work in a less

stressful manner. Team members are often very dissatisfied when being micromanaged, making them

feel like puppets on strings being directed by management. This way they have more freedom and

flexibility to get things done and perhaps to find better solutions to certain issues. For those team

members who like to travel, being a part of a distributed team offers such opportunity.

The managers’ perspective of the challenges of distributed teams:

Performance monitoring

Training and mentoring

Team building

Cultural issues

Cost and complexity of technology

Process and workflow

The biggest challenges for managers managing distributed teams are performance monitoring and

communication. They often ask “How do I monitor performance?” “How do I know people are working

on the right thing?” etc. These are not easy questions to answer and it is hard to offer a universal

solution given the nature of each distributed team. But usage of correct technologies and techniques can

help monitor performance and better communication within the team. Mentoring and coaching at a

distance are also a big concern for distance managers. Socratic or proactive coaching help. As well as

using accountability systems. More on this can be found in chapter on coaching.

The team members’ perspective of the challenges of distributed teams:

Communication

Technical support

Recognition

Inclusion vs. isolation

Management resistance

Team members are most concerned about communication and support. For non-technical team

members, the issue of being isolated from technical support is overwhelming. This is not limited to

satellite office or work-at-home situations. Often an individual working at a remote corporate site has no

options for certain types of local technical support. Successful distributed teams have a plan for

providing the same level of technical support to remote team members that they provide to local team

members.

Team members are also concerned about being cut off from informal team communication. They are

afraid that team members at the central site will find it easy to exclude them from key meetings and

decisions.

Team members are worried that managers won’t realize how hard they are working. They are concerned

that all of the promotions and good job assignments will go to the team members who work at the same

site as the manager. Managers need to assure remote team members that they will be evaluated based

17 on clearly understood performance objectives.

3.5. Why virtual teams fail

Most virtual teams fail. Not only do they fail but they fail epically. They waste valuable resources

including time, money and most of all human capital. Poor management, communications breakdowns,

unsuitable or badly integrated team members, ill-equipped staff, personality clashes — there are many

reasons why a virtual team can fail. Here are some of the reasons virtual teams fail.

Zero Trust. If people don’t trust each other, nothing gets done. Mistrust breeds a culture of failure. No

team in history has ever won the big event (e.g. Superbowl, World Cup, etc…) without trust. A virtual

team void of trust is doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Lousy Communication. Virtual teams exist in a world where face-to-face communication is not present.

This results in major challenges to communication. Teams fail when they aren’t good at finding creative

ways to communicate. Communication is the lifeblood for a virtual team.

Poor Engagement. On a failing virtual team, the manager doesn’t do much to engage his people. He

knows little about their personal lives and simply does not take the time to customize motivation to the

individual. In short, his team fails because members do not feel a sense of connection to him or the

goals.

Lack of Leadership. Vision, mission, culture and values are all role modeled from the leader. Virtual

teams experience significant failure when their leader doesn’t have a clue how to lead. Giving people a

project and saying, “Go for it” is not leadership. It’s stupidity.

Miserable Culture. Imagine we are alone in our home office. We don’t have anyone to talk to face-to-

face during the day unless our spouse comes home with the kids. The only connection we have to

human beings is via computer and guess what, the culture of this environment doesn’t align with our

expectations. We expected high involvement in decision making for instance and what we got was, “My

way or the highway!”

Lack of a clear process. A successful virtual team relies on a defined vision for desired outcomes and a

careful breakdown of how it can accomplish those goals. In some ways, virtual work processes may need

to be more rigid than those for co-located teams, with specific systems in place to cover time tracking,

milestones, check-ins and knowledge sharing. But at the same time, the process must be flexible enough

to accommodate the varied work styles of virtual workers. We must ask ourselves: ”Is it more important

that work be done on a very specific schedule at a certain time of day or just that it is done on time?”

Because virtual teams can be dispersed across time zones, there can be distinct advantages to making

use of the asynchronous workflow rather than forcing someone overseas to be up in the wee hours of

the morning just to be “at work” at the same time as the rest of the team.

Weak training techniques. If we’re running a team, we know the importance of “on-boarding” new team

members. If we are embarking on a virtual work process, getting everyone on the same page about how

18 you want the team to work together and how to use the systems you’ve deployed is key. Without a clear

explanation and properly conducted training, team output is guaranteed to be inconsistent at best.

Because virtual team members don’t have the kind of contact one gets in an office environment, making

sure they have access to effective training materials and have the opportunity to ask questions as

needed is important to the success of the team. One weak link can spoil the whole bunch.

Failure to capture knowledge. In an office space, we can more readily ferret out the data we need, but in

a virtual team environment, the bread crumb trail to data may be more convoluted or harder to track.

And even in an office space, knowledge can be dispersed and kept in silos. Multiply that potential ten-

fold in a virtual work space. The tools you use to capture information from the team can be helpful, but

knowledge sharing starts with having the right attitude.

No glue to keep it all together. A good virtual team starts with a good leader. Whoever is managing the

team needs to have a good grip on the dynamics of virtual work. Whether creating or communicating the

vision, the team leader must be able to do so effectively. The team leader must be vigilant, organized

and nimble, ready to address issues and fill in gaps to ensure consistent output with an emphasis on

documentation and shared knowledge. Without a good leader acting as the glue to holding disparate

parts together, communications meltdowns will be the norm, not the exception.

4. ROLE OF A VIRTUAL TEAM MANAGER

Effective managers are competent leaders from afar. They create communication networks to provide a

virtual presence with those they lead and to help team members find both the means and the

motivation to hook up with each other as well. They use valuable face-to-face time with others for the

high-leverage activities. Not the least of these activities is teaching others how to manage themselves

when the leader is not present. This is not a new idea as Lao-Tzu, a great Taoist philosopher, said that

the leader’s role is ultimately to help people learn to lead themselves. This principle is the foundation of

success for every manager of a virtual team.

So how do we go about managing such a team? How do we watch over someone you can’t see? Even if

the traditional role of supervisor is desirable, it just isn’t practical when the people to be supervised are

located all over the map. This is often a difficult lesson that managers must learn as they progress up the

corporate ladder. Roger Herman, CEO of the Herman Group confirms this by saying that “Managing

someone you can’t see is considerably different than walking around the cubicle wall to see if they‘re

there at eight in the morning.”[8]

One of the best ways to describe the overall role of the distance manager is as a boundary manager. The

large circle in Figure 3 represents the team boundary. The boundary is simply the make-believe line that

differentiates the team from the environment surrounding it. Manager’s job is to manage that boundary.

19

Figure 3 The Team Boundary

Figure 4 The Team as an Open System

Team members must take inputs of some sort and transform them into desirable outputs.

Special project team, for example, may be responsible for turning a problem (input) into a

solution (output). A new-product development team turns ideas (input) into design (output). A

sales team turns customer interest (input) into orders (output). To do these things the teams

add value to the inputs (change, assemble, organize, etc.). This is called the transformation or

throughput part of the operation. Figure 5 shows that outside the organization boundary is the

environment (customers, competitors, other teams, etc.). Social scientists call this way of

looking at organizations open systems theory.[9]

20

Figure 5 The Boundary Manager Focus Areas

Traditional supervision usually focuses attention on the day-to-day transforming process or

throughput portion of the team’s responsibilities. Traditional managers make work assignments,

schedule vacations, authorize expenditures, and so forth. But boundary managers teach the

team to do that themselves, and then they work on the boundary issues. They focus on the

environment surrounding the team. Rather than spending his or her primary energy on the

throughput process, the leader focuses more attention on interface problems with other teams,

customer and vendor interactions, dealing with corporate groups, assessing competitors and

market opportunities, working on legal or community issues of importance, forecasting new

technologies, building communication bridges between team members and with other groups,

forging important alliances, bringing training and development opportunities into the team, etc.

Those are the things at the boundary of the organization.

Traditional supervisors usually work in the system, but boundary managers work on the system

instead. That means working on things that affect the ability of the operation to be successful.

Boundary managers assume that team members are already doing the best they can within the

constraints of the system in which they are working. So they focus on improving or redesigning

the system itself. The boundary manager asks, “Is there something in the system that makes

team members act the way they do?”

21 Table 4 Examples of Boundary Manager Tasks

Sample Boundary Tasks Introducing team members to key external contacts Buffering the team from corporate pressure Bringing in information from headquarters Evaluating market trends Anticipating technology shifts Building communication linkages between team members Bringing in customer feedback Forging alliances Solving problems between teams or individuals Bringing in technical training Getting resources for the team Bringing in concerned citizens to discuss community problems Evaluating competitive offerings for similar products and services Building systems for direct data links to and from customers/vendors

4.1. Seven competences of boundary managers

As mentioned before, the overall role of the distance manager is to manage the team boundary.

This includes a number of things. Boundary managers, for example, often play the role of

translator as they try to help team members comprehend the fuzzy and chaotic reality of the

outside world. They also block certain disruptions from entering the team, shielding it from

inappropriate distractions or unnecessary confusion. Example of this could be an act of one

manager of marketing and sales team at Xerox. One thing the manager does to help his team is

to take the dozen of corporate e-mails they used to receive daily and filter out the ones that

don’t really affect them directly. Buffering members from these well-intentioned interruptions

allows them to spend more time on sales and less on administrative responsibilities.

Effective boundary managers possess a number of generic attributes, such as a clear

understanding of what it takes to be successful, excellent oral and written communication

abilities, and a strong interpersonal and technical skill base consistent with the organization’s

culture. At a level of generally required behavior, boundary manager must be competent in the

same leadership activities as other effective managers. They:

1. Articulate a vision for the organization

2. Get good results

3. Actively facilitate and develop team members

4. Aggressively eliminate barriers to team effectiveness

22

5. Understand and communicate business and customer needs

6. Effectively coach individuals and teams

7. Set a personal example

These behaviors can be developed into seven clusters of competencies which further clarify the

required skills for a successful boundary manager:

1. Leader

2. Results catalyst

3. Facilitator

4. Barrier buster

5. Business analyzer

6. Coach

7. Living example

Figure 6 The Team Leader Role

23 Following the explanation of the Figure 6 starting at the center of the model and continuing

counterclockwise. Distance managers may need to use different technologies and techniques than their

peers who manage co-located teams. Although the general competency is the same, the method for

executing the competency may be unique in distance management.

The leader unleashes energy and enthusiasm by creating a vision that others find inspiring and

motivating. For example, distance executives like Steve Jobs, the two-time CEO of Apple Computer, Bill

Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, or Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, were able to motivate remarkable

accomplishments by creating a vision of a new world for their workforce. But this competency is not just

for distance executives. Anyone can and should have a picture of what is possible for the team they lead.

A powerful vision of accomplishment transcends the distance caused by space, time, or culture and

focuses everyone on a common cause.

The result catalyst helps the team improve performance, gets good results without resorting to

authoritarian methods, manages by principle rather than by policy, and uses boundaries rather than

directives. One of the most powerful competencies of the distance leader is the ability to focus people

on getting good results. Organizations that don’t deliver don’t survive. But the way you deliver results is

important, too. Distance managers who are good at managing by principle rather than by policy (a

competency that has been taught to Procter and Gamble leaders for decades) and at using boundaries

rather than directives (a common practice in companies like Weyerhaeuser and Hewlett-Packard) are

normally more effective than those who get results by using a more autocratic approach.

The facilitator brings together the necessary tools, information, and resources for the team to get the

job done, and facilitates group efforts. Distance managers rely heavily on things like information and

digital communication networks to substitute for their personal presence. For example, at WebSentric, a

company that provides web meeting support, founder and CEO Bill Barhydt has found that using

WebSentric’s own service in between face-to-face interactions allows him to accomplish things that

would otherwise require him to be present to communicate product updates, customer needs, and

technology challenges to off-site employees. Barhydt and his senior managers also rely heavily on their

intranet as a way to demonstrate product revisions, share sales data, and communicate company

direction. As a facilitator, Barhydt made significant investments both in these types of tools and in the

time necessary to keep them updated. He sees them as a critical way to facilitate employee involvement

and communication.

The barrier buster opens doors and runs interference for the team, challenges the status quo, and breaks

down artificial barriers to team’s performance. A good example is Lynn Buchanan, a training manager at

Weyerhaeuser. She ran into difficulties in providing coaching support to widely distributed teams. She

found a way to overcome the barrier of costs associated with travel expenses to bring everyone together.

Since it wasn’t the kind of event that actually required people to physically be together, she partnered

with some developers from Hewlett-Packard to come up with a way to deliver real-time coaching over

web. She had the subject matter expert join from Palo Alto, California, a group of people attend at the

Weyerhaeuser headquarters in Seattle, and then about 10 additional people join the discussion from 10

other locations. The subject matter expert was able to show overheads, draw ideas on the white board,

and capture input using the third-party site capabilities at Hewlett-Packard.

24 The business analyzer understands the big picture, is able to translate changes in the business

environment into opportunities for the organization, and acts as an advocate for the customer. Business

focus is important to any organization, but it is especially important to virtual teams. These operations

have a more significant risk of becoming disconnected from other in the company. They are also prone

to focus time and energy on the topics that are of most importance to their particular site rather than to

the overall business. Xerox and Chevron have found that a combination of intranet information and

virtual town hall meetings via videoconferencing are useful for keeping people focused on the big picture.

It often takes even more leadership intervention. Companies including Procter and Gamble, Hewlett-

Packard, General Motors, Weyerhaeuser, and Chevron engage in periodic organizational redesign

activities to change reporting relationship, pay systems, job, functions, and other elements of the

company teams so that they emphasize integrated business performance over isolated pockets of

excellence.

The coach teaches others and helps them develop their potential, maintains an appropriate authority

balance and ensures accountability in others. Some distance managers at Arco regularly engage in

performance discussions with team members via videoconferencing. This ongoing coaching combined

with face-to-face performance reviews provides a powerful opportunity for developing potential and

ensuring accountability. Accountability systems such as the star point method used at Chevron are also

helpful coaching tools.[10] Star point system identify certain result areas, such as cost saving, quality,

speed, customer satisfaction, that are assigned to a particular team member to champion. This reduces

reliance on the distance manager, distributes responsibilities among team members, and helps focus

people on business issues rather than just the accomplishment of their jobs.

The living example serves as a role model for others by “walking the talk” and demonstrating the

desirable behaviors of team members and leaders. Virtual “walking the talk” includes a number of

activities that can be practiced by distance leaders. For example, although the distance leader has a few

opportunities to set an example of how to act around the office, he or she can set an example of how to

work with customers by inviting team members to join them on sales calls or other activities. While the

distance leader can’t regularly demonstrate proper meeting behavior, he or she can model things such as

appropriate virtual meeting behavior, internet etiquette and e-mail usage.

4.2. Five things that cripple the effectiveness of the distance manager

Leading a virtual team is difficult. The leader must provide structure, facilitate involvement, surface the

personal dimension of the team members, recognize contributions, and be an involved sponsor. They

have to display disciplined follow-up. Virtual interactions are complex and very fatiguing. Virtual teams

need effective leadership to surmount all challenges. The five things that cripple managers’ effectiveness

are:

1. Either autocratic or abdication behavior

2. Poor virtual team start-up

25

3. Unclear roles and responsibilities

4. Starving teams of resources

5. Lack of either social and/or technical infrastructure

The first of these five refers to general management behavior and the last four are specific activities

required to make distance teams successful.

Autocratic behavior, the staple of the traditional supervision, impedes distance teams. Savvy leaders of

organizations have known this for years. There are many examples of such behavior. Let’s consider one.

This is an example of a plant management team leader for Altura company. Altura was created as a joint

venture of Amoco and Shell Oil company. Altura specializes in recovering oil from depleted wells. The

team leader of a plant management team was an engineer who was extremely intelligent. He loved

making decisions. He became good at manipulating the team into coming up with the decisions he

thought were best. After a while, the team caught on and became resentful even though most of the

decisions that were made were probably good ones.

Team effectiveness and productivity diminished as people came to feel that they had little say in the

project. After being confronted by the team, the team leader recognized that he enjoyed being an

individual technical contributor more than a team leader. He admitted he was in the wrong role and was

transferred to a different position.

Autocratic leaders, even nice or intelligent ones, are rarely successful with virtual teams, which depend

on each individual to willingly contribute his or her full effort. Once people feel that their participation is

not needed, they will stop giving it. Even the perception of autocracy can torpedo managers’

effectiveness. Seemingly innocuous or even well-intended behavior can sometimes be seen as autocratic

simply because it is unilaterally imposed without having clearly perceived benefits to the team as a

whole.

Table 5 Five dos and don'ts for distance managers

1. Don’t be autocratic not an abdicator 1. Do be a leader, result catalyst, facilitator, barrier buster, business analyzer, coach and living example.

2. Don’t allow poor team start-ups 2. Do “purpose” the team well

3. Don’t allow unclear roles and responsibilities to confuse team.

3. Do help everyone understand what each person does and needs from others.

4. Don’t starve teams of resources. 4. Do get them the tools, time and budget necessary to succeed.

5. Don’t forget to create both social and technical infrastructure.

5. Do install the systems, tools, protocols and training for success.

The answer to avoiding autocracy, however, is not to be the missing. Some well-intended leaders have

left their teams alone without intervention when they saw them faltering. Other managers, in the name

of democracy, have bogged teams down by forcing them to participate in every little decision. “Let them

26 figure it out on their own” or “I shouldn’t interfere”, may be something the distance manager says on

occasion to help the team build ownership, competence, or confidence, but it fails terribly as a regular

management mantra. Leaders who believe their role is to be sweet and sticky won’t survive the rigors of

distance management requirements. Good distance managers strike a balance between autocracy and

abdication. The role of a distance manager is not to be autocratic, it is to provide the vision, coaching,

and support. It is much more difficult to fill the vacuum left by an abdicating leader than to repair the

damage done by an autocratic but other competent one.

Rather than an authority based on position or title, effective distance managers rely on the authority

that comes from purpose, knowledge or wisdom. This almost becomes a type of moral authority that

supersedes rank and earns genuine respect from others. It is clear to the distance manager who leads

people from multiple organizations and who therefore cannot resort to either the carrot or the stick as a

means of motivation. But even to the distance manager who can use formal sanctions and rewards,

using what is called purposing of an organization can bring a whole deeper level of commitment and

energy that is otherwise possible. Psychologists have told us for years that performance that comes from

fears of threats or even from hopes of rewards is neither as profound nor as sustainable as performance

that comes from an internally generated commitment to accomplish something the person believes is

inherently worthwhile. What motivates Olympic athletes, especially those in sports where lucrative

professional careers or endorsements aren’t a distracting factor, is a personal drive to excel that far

exceeds the motivation derived from most other sources.

Nothing is more vital for virtual team effectiveness than a start-up activity where team members can

meet each other, do some team building, develop goals and measures and clarify roles and

responsibilities. Without a successful start-up, virtual teams can often flounder for the duration of their

existence. If we invest in no other activity for our team, get it off to a good start. Likewise, long-standing

teams, or teams that for whatever reason never had a formal start-up, will usually benefit from a “restart”

activity.

One of the tasks of a good start-up meeting is to clarify roles and responsibilities. This is also something

good distance managers help negotiate and renegotiate throughout the duration of the team. It helps to

identify the key assignments of each team member, collect expectations from everybody about how

those assignments need to be performed and identify cross-training requirements for everyone. Doing

this accomplishes a couple of things. First, it helps clarify who is responsible for what, eliminating

overlapping responsibilities and exposing gaps that need to be filled. Second, it does this in a way that is

neither autocratic nor abdicating. Leaders make sure the meetings happen and often play a major role in

facilitating it. Follow-up session necessary to renegotiate roles and responsibilities can usually be done

virtually.

Although leaders seldom do this intentionally, sometimes a lack of understanding of remote needs or a

desire to impose their own opinions on distance ream members may create either a mismatch or a

paucity of important resources. At a minimum, team members need the tools to do their work to the

satisfaction of their customers. This of course varies according to the operation. But because team

members are offsite they also need good information and communication systems. This requires a way

for them to interact effectively with the managers and with each other electronically. The major

27 hardware problems people normally have with this resource setup are compatibility, bandwidth and

memory. Getting the right “boxes” and links is the easy part. The biggest issues are normally software

and user-related. A smart thing to do is to engage team members in discussions about how to prioritize

constrained budgets, equipment and personnel to get maximum sustainable gains. These discussions on

sensitive resource allocations can produce better overall results than the autocratic alternative, if teams

are sufficiently trained and motivated.

Infrastructure in a country is the system of freeways, mass transit, bridges, power plants, telephone lines

and towers and so forth. It facilitates travel, communication and energy use by linking places together

and by providing basic utilities. Although these systems often exist quietly in the background, they

enable effective interaction of the citizens. Without them there is little economic progress. Similarly,

organizations create infrastructures. Technical infrastructures include things like telecommunications,

computer networks, intranets, internet access, videoconference equipment, software and so forth. The

social infrastructure relates to systems and processes for organizing and leading people, such as

organizational configurations, pay systems, appraisal and performance management processes, charters,

training systems and so forth. Social and technical infrastructures are important for effective operation

of organizations. Without these systems teams would be thrown into chaos, not competitiveness.

4.3. What team members want from a distance manager?

“What I want from a virtual team manager is to keep me informed. That’s something my

manager is really good at. He has the responsibility of managing a human resources

team where the team members are on the road most of the time. They operate from

several locations spread across the country. Something that he does that we all really

appreciate is send us a weekly correspondence with key issues and facts in summary

form.”

Mike Kuczware, Senior Human Resource Manager

Procter & Gamble

Ten most common team members’ requests [11] on what they want from their distance manager are:

1. Coordination rather than control

2. Accessibility rather than either inaccessibility or omnipresence

3. Information without overload

4. Feedback instead of advice

5. Fairness over favoritism

6. Decisiveness but not intrusive supervision

7. Honesty rather than manipulation

8. Concern for team members’ development over apathy

9. Community building over mere coordinated isolation

10. Respect rather than paternalism or condescension

28 The first expectation is that the distance manager exercise coordination, not control. While team

members appreciate attempts at coordination, they normally chafe under what they perceive to be

control. The best control of the offsite office is the control imposed from within, self-control, rather than

from outside, manager-imposed. According to Harvard professor Richard Walton, in order to encourage

self-control without being controlling, managers need to change their management paradigm from a

control oriented to what he calls the commitment paradigm.[12]

Having too many policies, for example, is often perceived as unnecessary control, while having too few is

seen as poor coordination. This is a tightrope to walk. The key to proper balance is to stay well-

connected to the team members. Working in a controlled environment, team members generally will not

accept ownership or accountability for their work. On the other hand, in the environment without

enough control productivity suffers, because of the inconsistency in how people do things.

Table 6 Differences between management paradigms

Control Paradigm

Elicits compliance

Believes supervision is necessary

Focuses on hierarchy

Bias for functional organizations

Manages by policy

Favors audits and enforcement processes

Believes in selective information sharing

Believes bosses should make decisions

Emphasis in means

Encourages hard work

Rewards conservative improvement

Encourages agreement

Commitment Paradigm

Engenders commitment

Believes education is necessary

Focuses on customers

Bias for cross-functional organizations

Manages by principle

Favors learning processes

Believes in open information sharing

Believes workers should make decisions

Emphasis on ends

Encourages balanced work/personal life

Rewards continuous improvements

Encourages thoughtful disagreements

The second expectation is for the distance manager to be accessible. Even if a manager could be

physically present all the time, team members would neither expect nor want him to. The desire for

autonomy is most distance employees is very high. But virtual team members want their leaders to be

accessible. They want to know they can reach them when they need to. This doesn’t mean that distance

managers need to be on call 24/7. Making the extra effort of telling team members when a manager is

not accessible due to vacation, illness or personal reasons, creates a sort of virtual leadership presence

that employees feel they have some control over.

The third expectation is for the distance manager to provide information without overload. If

information is the lifeblood of virtual teams, the challenge for the distance manager is to give people

what they need to sustain their health without unintentionally creating internal hemorrhaging from too

much data. Manager has to keep them informed but not inundated. The right balance of information is

extremely difficult to maintain, and it may differ significantly from team to team. What is too much

29 information for one team may be too little for another. Unfortunately, the technologies such as e-mail

can also inundate team members with unnecessary detail or redundancy. When a manager does find the

right balance, team members are very appreciative.

The fourth expectation is feedback. People generally appreciate receiving skillfully delivered information

about how they are doing. What most people dislike isn’t getting negative feedback about their

performance, it’s getting inappropriate advice. While appropriate advice is helpful, inappropriate advice

can have a dramatic negative effect on morale. While people want mentoring, they don’t want meddling.

There is a difference. One way to avoid meddling is to wait for the teaching moment when an employee

solicits advice. Another is to be careful how we word things. Saying something like “Antonio, your clients

let me know that they loved your last visit because you really took the time to listen to their concerns;

they’d like to see that more often,” is better than, “Antonio, you need to listen to your clients.”

One statement is feedback based on data or observation. The other is unsolicited advice. The problem

with giving a lot of advice as a distance manager is that the team members may wonder how you would

be in a position to offer it when you aren’t with them very often.

The fifth expectation of virtual team members is to be treated fairly. Fairness generally ranks very high in

surveys about employee expectations of their leaders. This is especially important in distance situations

because perceived inequities are magnified over time and space. Favoritism of any kind can affect the

productivity of distance workers. In addition to steering clear of the obvious problems of allowing certain

team members to be perceived as favorites, distance managers need to avoid being time-, site of

culture-centric. It isn’t fair if the same people always have to get out of bed for teleconferences. It isn’t

fair if people who don’t speak English are always left to fend for themselves during meetings. It isn’t fair

if the same people always travel long distances for the face-to-face meetings. Distance managers

assiduously avoid these inequities and are willing to share in the sacrifice required of members of a

virtual team. That is a part of being a living example, which is one of the seven competencies of a

boundary manager. If a manager isn’t willing to take a turn getting up at night for a global meeting, or to

come in on a night shift, or to travel to a remote location for a meeting, why should his or her team

members?

The sixth expectation is that the distance manager exercise appropriate decisiveness. Team members

don’t want intrusive supervision, but they don’t want the manager to be missing, either. When a

leadership decision needs to be made, manager needs to make it. Although team members want to be

involved in decisions that affect the way they do their work, there are certain decisions that managers

need to make themselves. The most obvious example of this is disciplinary action. Few things are more

demotivating to a team when leaders don’t resolve employee performance problems. Unresolved

incompetence, perpetual lack of safe behavior, unfulfilled customer requests or blatant individual

problems such as dishonesty or sexual harassment can quickly derail a whole team, even at a distance. A

good coach knows how to work with people to help them improve. Although 360-degree feedback

activities where peer feedback is received from other team members are becoming quite common,

group disciplinary decisions are still unusual, particularly in virtual teams where the leader may have as

much interaction with the team members as his or her non-co-located peers do. Managers should not

abdicate these types of performance decisions.

30 The seventh expectation that virtual team members have of their distance managers is honesty. In their

research on employee expectations of leaders, Kouzes and Posner [13] found that the number one

concern was honesty of leadership. Team members don’t want to be manipulated into false participation

where the leader tries to get them to agree to his or her way of thinking. They also don’t want

sugarcoating. They certainly don’t want things to be hidden from them. Honesty is the best policy,

because it encourages trust and builds a culture of openness.

The eighth expectation is that the distance leader will train and develop the team members. This is

especially important to employees who feel disconnected from the rest of the organization. Although

perceptive employees realize that the days of employment security and company-driven career planning

are gone, they do want to know that their leader genuinely cares about their professional development.

Employees generally believe that the organizations that focus time and energy on employee

development are more likely to be successful, viable operations than those that don’t. They are also

happiest when they believe they are being groomed not only for their current role and responsibilities

but for the future assignments as well. Team members expect that their leader will be concerned about

getting them trained in three categories:

1. Business training to better understand their customers, markets, competitors and financials

2. Technical training to learn how to operate the technologies necessary for them to do their jobs

3. Interpersonal training to work more effectively with you and their teammates in areas such as

effective problem solving, decision making, conflict resolution and giving and receiving feedback.

Classroom training isn’t always the best way to develop these skills. The most effective learning is often

derived from developmental project assignments or mentoring programs.

The ninth expectation also has a special importance to distance workers. Virtual team members often

experience a feeling of isolation that comes from not working near the rest of their team members and

leaders. The most effective distance managers help them overcome these concerns through team-

building activities and other community-building interventions. Helping these workers deal with their

feelings of isolation requires more than connecting them electronically with the manager and their peers,

that’s only controlled isolation. Building a team takes more effort. It takes work to clarify the team

charter, establish operating guidelines and get to know the other team members as more than an

anonymous node on the team network.

The tenth expectation is to be respected. Respect is a basic human need. When it is absent in a society,

people revolt. In a business they may become cynical, apathetic or nonproductive. While they certainly

do not want condescending behavior from their leaders, they also don’t want the paternalism exhibited

by many well-intended corporations. Unfortunately, both condescending behavior and paternalistic

behavior send the same unintended message to the recipient: “You can’t take care of yourself so I’m

going to take care of you.” Even in the best of circumstances this approach can create unhealthy

dependence, lower self-esteem and stunted self-initiative.

31

5. BUILDING A TEAM

What makes a team different from a group of individuals is common goals and values. Teams are a

higher form of organism than mere groups of individuals sharing information and tasks. They exist only

after group members have made and demonstrated commitments to shared goals, visions and values

and after they have articulated and reached consensus on roles, responsibilities and process.

5.1. MSI “Alignment Model” and “Maturity Model”

The process of building a team involves:

1. Establishing a shared vision

2. Creating an infrastructure (technology, policies and processes which facilitate communication,

workflow, relationship building and corporate)

3. Selecting and assessing members

4. Making the work experience rewarding and enjoyable for team members on a personal level

In 1998. Management Strategies Inc. developed two models that work in conjunction with one another

to give managers a framework for building effective distributed teams. They are “Alignment Model” and

the “Maturity Model”. The Alignment Model helps managers assess and select the team members who

will perform the best within their current organization and infrastructure.

The Maturity Model gives managers a framework for transitioning to the more advanced infrastructure

that allows teams to achieve the highest levels of performance. Achieving the highest level of

performance requires that teams make adjustments to their goals, processes, tools and skills.

Implementing changes in the right order makes the difference between success and failure. In order to

understand these models, it is important to define a few key terms and concepts.

First one is availability standards. When developing availability standards, we are creating agreements

between team members about when and how they will be available for collaboration as well as how

quickly they will respond to requests. Developing availability standards dramatically improves team’s

communication. Each team member makes it known what their normal working hours are and how often

they check their voice mail, e-mail and interoffice mail. They also establish some standards how quickly

they will respond or acknowledge each type of communication. The type of availability standards that

are appropriate for a team member will vary, based on that person’s or group’s job function. A customer

support engineer may need to maintain a very high standard of availability. A research scientist may

serve his team members and customers well if he responds to communication within a week. Availability

standards should always be written into contracts when dealing with multi organizational teams.

Corporate memory refers to whatever system a team has in place to retain the knowledge to repeatedly

manufacture a product or perform a service. Historically collocated teams have been able to get away

with relatively informal systems for company memory. The corporate memory for some companies

literally resides in the heads of certain ling term employees. “Jirka” has always been there. He’s seen

32 how everything has been done and if we have any questions we can ask him. Unfortunately, the “Jirka”

method doesn’t work for distributed teams. “Jirka” didn’t see the manufacturing process that overseas

partner used or the design process that company consultant created. Distributed team members need to

feed into a formal system for corporate memory. Examples of systems for corporate memory include

project repositories, document control, source control, groupware, etc. When managers begin to

manage distributed teams, they are afraid of being unable to detect incompetent remote team members.

While this is a risk, greater damage can be done by highly competent team members who don’t feed into

the team’s system for corporate memory.

Processes must be defined, documented and placed in a corporate memory system before an

organization can repeatedly build a product or provide a service.

The amount of information each of us is expected to process each day is increasing. When information is

presented to us in a manner that allows little control over when and how we process the information,

that information is “pushed” at us. Examples of pushed information include phone calls, pages, voice-

mail, and un-prioritized or unfiltered e-mail. Examples of “pulled” information include electronic bulletin

boards, intranets, Lotus notes, source control systems, and document control systems. Several of new

means of electronic communication make it much easier to broadcast information to a large number of

users. Poorly trained users of electronic communication enslave their coworkers in an overload of

“pushed” electronic information.

5.1.1. Using the Alignment Model

The purpose of the Alignment Model is to help managers get best performance from their teams with

the infrastructure they currently have in place. In Alignment Model, we envision each team member as

puzzle piece consisting of four parts: goals, processes, tools, and skills. Historically in collocated teams,

managers have selected team members for their specific technical skills. Managers assumed team

members would absorb the business process by osmosis and use the tools provided at the central site.

Unfortunately, osmosis doesn’t work well when people are thousands of miles apart. While technical

proficiency is certainly important, it is sometimes actually more efficient to provide technical training to

a team member who is already well aligned in other three areas. Managers of distributed teams need to

be much more proactive about defining and aligning goals, processes, and tools. When managers select

and assess distributed team members, they are likely to find misalignments in several, if not all four,

areas. If recruiting from outside the organization, it may be very difficult, if not impossible, to find the

perfect fit. The idea is not to search for perfection, but to understand both the minimum criteria for

alignment and how far the potential team member is from meeting these criteria. Manager can certainly

hire a person or a group which doesn’t meet the criteria, if there is a plan in place that will bring them

into alignment. If there is no plan or infrastructure in place to teach a new remote team member

company business process, expect a painful and expensive lesson on the value of aligning processes.

The assessment tools associated with the alignment model consist of a series of checklists. These

checklists can be used for every type of team member.

33

5.1.1.1. High-level checklist for assessing values and goals

Any project manager course tells us the first order of business is defining the project goals. It is not

surprising when evaluating a deeply troubled project to find that the project manager is not only

confused about the goals of the team members, he has done a poor job of defining and communicating

the goals of the project. it may sound obvious, but if there is no written statement of project or team

goals there will be a lot of difficulty evaluating team members for alignment. In defining team goals and

values, it is important to consider more than just dates and deliverables. Multi-site, multi-cultural teams

need leadership in defining and communicating values. The words “quality” and “on-time” mean

different things to different people. The team will not function without a common definition of both.

The checklist below should help evaluate the goals and values of distributed team members.

What are their quality standards and how do they measure them?

What is their reason for participating in project?

What is their attitude toward processes, tools, and skills?

What are their competing priorities?

What is their level of commitment to schedule and quality goals?

What is their attitude toward decision making?

What is their attitude toward communication?

What are their cultural issues?

5.1.1.2. High-level checklist for assessing process

The area of largest misalignments is in the work process. Project managers working in companies that

have experienced mergers or acquisitions get hit hard with this issue. It is also crucial to pay attention to

the work process when evaluating contractors and third-party development organizations. If the team is

accustomed to a rigorous development process that includes writing specifications, conducting design

reviews, and executing extensive testing, it needs a team members who understand that process and are

comfortable with it. Hiring a contractor who has worked exclusively with start-up companies, and has

never participated in a design review, is probably asking for trouble, regardless of how skilled that

contractor may be in a particular technical area. The converse is also true. If working at a start-up

company and you need to ship some kind of product next month of you’ll be out of business, you don’t

want to work with a team member who requires a lot of structure.

The checklist below will help in assessing the processes of potential distributed team members.

Do they understand what a process is?

Have they documented their own process?

What is their process maturity level?

Do they understand our team’s process?

Do they have direct experience with a process similar to our team’s process?

How willing are they to adapt to the team’s process?

34

Do they have the tools available to feed into our team’s systems for corporate memory?

Do they have acceptable availability standards? Are they willing to commit to ours?

5.1.1.3. High-level checklist for assessing tools

It often happens that we receive an e-mail attachment that we can’t read. Either we don’t have the

software application required to open it, or we have the wrong version. A little bit of up-front planning

and communication about team standards for tools can greatly affect how quickly the project completes.

Large companies that have experienced mergers and acquisitions have the most difficulty aligning tools.

It is simply not economically feasible to throw out legacy hardware and software when large companies

merge. Alignment of tools does not necessarily mean that everyone has the same computer and

software on their desktop, although that is one way to do it. It means that all the team members have

equal ability to access shared resources and communicate information to the team. A web-based

infrastructure is an excellent solution for companies needing to align large legacy systems. Most of the

commonly available word processors allow documents to be saved in HTML format. Adobe’s distiller and

PDF format are excellent for making the outputs of platform-specific software readable by other team

members.

The checklist below should help align the tools of potential distributed team members.

What tools (software applications and hardware platforms) will they have available for the work?

If the tools are not identical, is there a common data-interchange format?

What tools (such as e-mail, fax, voice-mail, file transfer protocol) will they have available for

communication? Are the communication tools compatible?

What tools will they have available for documentation? If the tools are not identical, is there a

common data-interchange format?

5.1.1.4. High-level checklist for assessing skills

Most managers already do a pretty good job of assessing skills. It’s the way they have selected their

collocated team members for years. For distributed team members, managers may want to examine a

somewhat broader skill set. Distributed team members need to have better communication skills and

also need to be able to do a better job of managing themselves.

The checklist below should help assess skills of potential distributed team members.

What is their level of technical skill and how can they demonstrate it?

What is their track record for delivering quality work? Delivering work that meets specification?

Producing documentation?

What is their level of management experience?

What is their track record for delivering on time? Delivering on budget? Using the process?

35

How strong are their communication skills?

5.1.2. Using the Maturity Model

This model gives managers a framework for assessing their team’s maturity level and assistance in

determining the next steps to improve their team’s effectiveness. It works well in conjunction with the

Alignment Model. The Maturity Model for distributed teams consists of four levels.

Figure 7 The Maturity Model for Distributed Teams

Teams operating at each level have certain characteristics and key problem areas. One of the things

where this model is valuable is that it helps set the expectations of both managers and team members

about how long it takes to transform from one level to the next. In large organizations with 500

members or more, it typically takes between nine months and a year to move up one level.it is not

unusual for expectations to be completely unrealistic at all levels of an organization.

Simply declaring yourself a virtual organization doesn’t make it so. Team members, managers, and

executives need to look at the implementation of a virtual team as a process that will take some time.

Teams performing at the ADHOC level are typically out-performed by their collocated counterparts.

Teams at the BASIC level typically achieve performance comparable to their collocated counterparts.

Teams at the STANDARDIZED and OPTIMIZING levels consistently out-perform collocated teams. The key

to the successful implementation of a distributed team is to move forward the goals, processes, tools

and skills of the team together. Implementing a sophisticated process without supporting tools and

training in supporting skills is useless, just as implementing Optimizing level tools in a team with Adhoc

level processes is a waste of money.

The following are the description of characteristics and key problem areas associated with each level of

the Maturity Model for distributed teams and recommendations for moving to the next level.

36

5.1.2.1. Teams at Adhoc level

Goals:

Objectives are not stated or are unclear.

Processes:

There are no available standards.

Business processes are misaligned and undefined.

Systems for corporate memory are nonexistent or poor.

Communication is primarily push.

Management is by observation or “walking around”.

Tools:

Team member’s access to electronic communication is nonexistent, unreliable or unequal.

Tools are misaligned and incompatible.

Performance metrics for team members are unreliable or nonexistent.

Skills:

Team members are not trained or are inexperienced with required modes of electronic

communication.

Communication is not prioritizes.

Team members have not been exposed to the principles of effective distance communication.

Team members and managers have limited ability to accurately estimate resources and time.

The following recommendations are for moving to the next level.

Goals:

Develop a written mission statement for the company or organization

Develop written, high-level project specification and high-level objectives for team members.

Processes:

Institute availability standards

37 Tools:

Stabilize the electronic communication in the organization. Organization must have reliable e-

mail, voice-mail, fax, file transfer facilities.

Being performance logging to facilitate the development of metrics and standards for team

performance.

Skills:

Develop team member proficiency with the specific vendor implementations e-mail, voice-mail

and fax.

Develop a policy of having senders prioritize communications.

Institute training on effective distance communication concepts.

Institute training for managers and team members in estimating and scheduling.

5.1.2.2. Teams at the Basic level

Although teams at the Basic level have begun to derive some of the benefits of a virtual organization,

problems with infrastructure rob the team of time and efficiency. Some of the characteristics and key

problem areas of the team at this level are listed below.

Goals:

Project specifications and team member objectives exist but are not sufficiently detailed.

Processes:

Availability standards are in place.

Business processes are misaligned.

Communication is primarily push.

The transition has begun from management by observation to management by objective.

Corporate memory systems are inadequate or nonexistent.

Tools:

Communication tools are aligned: electronic communication is reliable and all team members

have access.

Application tools continue to need alignment.

Performance metrics for team members are not yet stabilized, although performance histories

are being maintained.

38 Skills:

Team members have been trained in the specific implementation of e-mail, voice-mail, fax, and

file transfer protocols.

Team members have limited understanding of distance communication principles.

The majority of communications are assigned a priority by the sender.

Managers and team members have begun to improve estimating, scheduling and objective

writing.


Goals:

Develop detailed project specifications and team member objectives.

Processes:

Define, document and align business processes

Institute processes for building corporate memory coordinated with selected tools.

Analyze information flow with the company. Target a subset of the information to transition

from push to pull, coordinated with the selected tools.

Tools:

Select tools for implementing corporate memory systems and processes.

Align application tools or select translation mechanisms.

Select tools for transitioning information flow from push to pull.

Develop performance metrics based on work history.

5.1.2.3. Teams at the Standardized level

At the Standardized level, the benefits derived from operating as a virtual organization outweigh the

problems. Some of the characteristics and key problem areas of the team at this level are listed below.

Goals:

Organizational, project, and team members objectives are defined, documented and aligned.

Processes:

Business processes are defined and aligned.

Processes and systems for building corporate memory are installed.

Information flow is transitioning from push to pull.

39 Tools:

Performance metrics, corporate memory systems, electronic communication tools, and tools for

information flow are in place and reliable.

Skills:

Distance communication skills are well understood and practiced.


Processes:

Optimize business processes.

Continue to analyze information flow.

Tools:

Refine performance metrics.

Skills:

Develop team member awareness of business processes

5.1.2.4. Teams at the Optimizing level

These teams are characterized by the ability to have team members working any time, any place. New

team members are easily integrated and released. At this level the team should continue to measure and

optimize performance. The primary method for improving performance is the incorporation of new

technology and business process re-engineering.

5.2. Xerox’s nine-step model for developing effective distributed teams

Xerox has created a nine-step model for developing effective virtual teams. It includes the following:

1. Form the team;

2. Communicate the vision;

3. Develop a mission statement;

4. Define goals;

5. Develop norms;

6. Develop rules;

7. Develop meeting processes;

8. Develop communication processes;

9. Develop work processes;

40 Xerox illustrates the model in a stair step format with the first stair at the bottom and the last one at the

top.

Table 7 The Xerox Model for Developing Virtual Teams

9.Develop work processes

8. Develop communication processes 7. Develop meetings processes

6. Define rules 5. Develop norms

4. Define goals 3. Develop a mission statement

2. Communicate the vision 1. Form the team

Xerox’s internal virtual team guru Richard Their tells that teams that go through this starting process are

significantly more likely to be successful than those that take a less disciplined approach.

5.3. Building team identity

The most important thing a manager can do to build team identity is to formally give the team a name. it

is hard for team members to conceive of the team as a real entity if it doesn’t have a location and it

doesn’t have a name. If the only way team members have to refer their team is, “the guys who work

with Martin”, then we are in trouble. Using team name as an e-mail alias is usually very helpful for e-mail

oriented cultures. Using symbols like logos can also be helpful in creating team identity. Managers

should encourage team members to use the symbols in all team communication. If it is culturally

appropriate, one may want to give out T-shirts or mugs.

5.4. 10 useful team-building activities

The following is a description of ten techniques and tools employed by successful virtual teams to

strengthen their members’ ability to work together effectively. They contain two kinds of approaches to

building effective teams. One consists of team-building activities a team can experience in which they

accomplish a task and have tangible output when they are done. This will include such things as creating

a team charter, setting operating guidelines, and defining team members roles and responsibilities. The

second group of tips involves techniques such as providing good team facilitation, establishing boundary

41 conditions, modeling and teaching conflict management skills, teaching effective decision-making

processes and integrating members who are new to the team.

Create team charter. A charter provides a sense of purpose for the team and a clear definition of the

team’s role. Not only does the charter itself provide direction, the process of creating it is a team-

building activity. The charter discussion allows each team member to express his or her views on what

the team’s core purpose and objectives are, thus clarifying early on where time and energy will be

focused. Additionally, a well-defined charter will provide a basis for setting goals and making decisions.

Once the team members are clear on their overarching purpose, they can establish goals and timelines

to assure that they achieve it. This in turn will serve to minimize unproductive conflict within the team,

give individuals a sense of purpose and allow the distance manager to provide appropriate coaching and

feedback along the way.

Set operating guidelines. Another team-building activity that creates a useful by-product is establishing

operating guidelines together. Operating guidelines are agreements for group interaction which are

developed and supported by all team members. Their purpose is to shape group interaction and to help

group members understand what acceptable behavior within a group is. A good set of operating

guidelines provides direction for such activities as making decisions, solving problems, providing

leadership and conducting meetings. It the team doesn’t deliberately set operating guidelines, then the

team’s norms or habits become the guidelines by default. This can be especially problematic when

norms converge from different geographic, ethnic or organization cultures. Taking time as soon as

possible after the formation of a team to facilitate the development of guidelines will help not only the

team members be more effective, but will also ease the way for the manager. The more the team

members are equipped to self- manage their day-to-day interactions, the freer the manager is to focus

on strategic issues that concern the team.

Clearly define team member roles and responsibilities. One of the major causes of any team breakdown

is lack of clear roles and responsibilities. When roles are not clearly defined, well-intentioned team

members, in an effort to move a project along, may find themselves tripping over one another or failing

to meet deadlines or other expectations. The team manager can prevent this kind of dysfunction by

leading the team through a discussion in which each team member’s role is clarified and agreed to by the

entire team. A good way to start a discussion is to begin by jointly articulating what should be expected

of all team members. Once in agreement on common areas of responsibility, move on determining

individual roles. A clear understanding of each individual’s expected contribution will allow team

members to integrate what they do with the efforts of their associates. Many teams also find it useful to

identify the degree to which members need to learn one another's roles for backup or development. If it

is determined that cross-training or multiskilling is required, well-thought-out plans for achieving this

must be agreed to.

Provide both task and process team facilitation. Team members often tend to focus heavily on the

technical or task aspects of the work sometimes at the expense of the social or process side. The

effective leaders are able to surface the personal dimensions of team members. By facilitating the

development of the personal dimension of the team’s composition, the leader helps team members

build camaraderie. This in turn aids in working together during crises or particularly difficult junctures in

42 projects. When working virtually, a distinct effort is required to build the social structure of the team.

Create virtual water coolers or virtual hallways where informal pleasantries can occur. This might be

done at the beginning or end of teleconferences or video/satellite meetings. Some teams engage in mini-

team-building activities by having everyone e-mail a description of one of their hobbies before the

meeting. The facilitator reads the descriptions and then people try to match the team members with

their hobbies. Another example is to have each person describe one of their heroes and explain why that

individual affected them so strongly. A further example might be to ask everyone to describe their

favorite previous job and explain why they liked it so much. These kinds of activities can help team

members get to know more about each other at a personal level. With this type of facilitated activity the

quality of team interaction and trust tends to improve. However, the activity has to be carefully chosen

as to be acceptable to all cultures represented on the team. Activities that are perfectly acceptable to

Americans or Australians, for example, may require a level of disclosure that is very uncomfortable for

Japanese or Vietnamese team members. What someone with a production background might find

acceptable could be inappropriate for someone with an engineering background, and so forth. While

some kind of visual or verbal contact is most effective, some of the social connection can also be carried

out via e-mail.

Use boundary conditions. In traditional organizations, managers often have been expected to control all

aspects of the work that is being performed by their direct reports. Since management had "rightful"

control over the way work was performed, it followed that all alterations were issued by management in

the form of orders, commands, or directives. When managing virtual teams, this clearly is not possible. A

directive attempts to specify what needs to be done and how it should be accomplished, whereas a

boundary condition addresses only what the constraints or limitations are and leaves the determination

of what and how work gets done up to the team.

Table 8 Directives versus Boundary Conditions

Directives Specifies what needs to be done and how it should be accomplished. Management driven.

Boundary Conditions Specifies the constraints and limitations that must be considered before the group determines what is to be done and how it can be accomplished. Shared leadership.

Boundary conditions help focus the group without unduly constraining its members. In a virtual world

where team members and their manager are separated in time and space, having the flexibility to take

action within known constraints is crucial to team success.

Teach and model how to give and receive feedback. An important part of working successfully as a team

is knowing how to both give and receive feedback. Working in an environment that fosters feedback

allows individuals to flourish and grow as they strive to continuously learn and improve their

43 performance. Giving feedback is seldom comfortable in any setting. How many of us were told as kids

that "if we can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"? When compounded with cross-cultural

issues the process becomes even more complex. As a virtual team leader, first learn about what

feedback protocols are appropriate for the various cultures represented on your team. Then coach

accordingly. Here are some reminders about effective feedback:

Always strive to maintain the self-esteem of the individual. The intent of sharing feedback is to

help the team and its members be successful, not to simply get something "off your chest."

Do not "stockpile" feedback. Provide the feedback as soon after the situation as possible.

Carefully select the timing and location for delivering the feedback. When giving feedback that is

intended to correct or develop a team member, it should be done in private. This both protects

the individual's self-esteem and maintains the confidentiality of the situation.

Before sitting down to give feedback, consider practicing with a colleague or someone else who

isn't close to the situation. Hearing yourself talk helps select useful phrases or comments and

eliminate words or statements that may damage the relationship or the effectiveness of the

feedback.

Feedback is, of course, a two-way process. Receiving feedback is as critical a skill as being able to deliver

it. A few ideas to keep in mind when receiving feedback include:

Others may see areas for improvement in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Therefore, it is wise

to be open to the insights and suggestions of others.

Most people offer feedback because they care about our success and the success of the team or

project.

Teach and model good conflict-management skills. In virtual teams, as in any other kind of team, conflict,

if managed well, can be a source of strength and creativity. Conflict defines. It forces the individuals or

the team involved to examine their assumptions, ideas, and solutions. However, if left unmanaged or

unresolved, conflict can become destructive, eroding team members' confidence and trust in one

another. When setting operating guidelines, it is sometimes a good idea to incorporate a statement or

two about how conflict will initially be handled and what to do when the parties involved cannot reach a

resolution (e.g., do they bring in a manager or other third party to facilitate?). A defined process for

resolving conflict can be useful. The five steps in Table 9 provide such a process.

Table 9 Steps for Resolving Conflict

Step 1: Acknowledge that there is conflict and together define what it is. Step 2: Put the conflict in perspective with the overall purpose and goals of the team. Step 3: Provide everyone the opportunity to voice their point of view. Step 4: Ask questions to clarify needs, expectations, and overall understanding of the issue(s). Step 5: Jointly develop an action plan.

44 Employ empathic listening skills. A large part of establishing rapport and trust with others has to do with

listening to them in a way that allows you to fully understand both the content and the emotions

associated with their message. Building a team effectively requires developing these skills. In virtual

teams they are especially critical, because empathic listening is not only much more important but also

more difficult to do when you are not face-to-face. Empathic listening means that you listen to

understand and to empathize. One clear method of checking for understanding involves repeating what

the other person said, to their satisfaction. This can be especially helpful for the leader communicating

across geographic and cultural lines. Once the other individual agrees that you have accurately heard

them, you can move on to communicate your own points. Demonstrating empathy (e.g., "I think I

understand why you feel that way," or, "If I were in your position I'd probably feel the same") can help

the other person feel that he or she has been heard and understood. We can demonstrate empathy for a

position whether we agree with it or not. Finally, avoiding defensiveness is critical to maintaining a

positive and productive tone in the conversation. If the leader can model the expression and acceptance

of forthright and honest opinions, the result is likely to be clearer understanding, better-quality decisions,

and improved relationships on which to build future discussions.

Develop good decision-making processes. As in any kind of team, people in virtual teams need to learn

different methods of decision making and clearly understand their role in that process. Perhaps most

important, they need to learn to reach consensus on key decisions. Building consensus is a key to

building the trust, participation, and competence that sustain well-functioning teams. Consensus should

not be confused with unanimity. Discussing various approaches to decision making and when each might

be appropriate in this team can eliminate some of the confusion and frustration often associated with

making team decisions over time and space. Knowing when to use which method will also lead to better-

quality decisions.

Table 10 Consensus versus Unanimous Decision Making

Consensus

Does not necessarily mean that every member of the group thinks the best possible decision has been made.

No one is morally, ethically or professionally violated by the decision.

Every member of the group will actively support the decision.

Unanimus

Everyone agrees that the best possible decision has been made.

Integrate new team members effectively. Consider calling each new member personally to welcome

them to the team. Rather than just e-mailing or leaving a voice mail for them to know about the

upcoming meeting, consider taking time to bring each new team member up to speed on the team’s

history, progress to date, processes and procedures, other team members, individual roles and

responsibilities and so forth. Then in the next teleconference or video meeting introduce the new team

45 member and give him or her an opportunity to virtually meet other team members. Further steps in

orienting a new team member include:

Clarify the purpose, priorities, and parameters or boundaries of the team.

Clarify the team member's specific role and responsibilities.

Introduce the new team member to the team's customers and/or suppliers.

Review the team's operating guidelines and ask the new member if he or she can support them.

Review teleconference and videoconference protocols and etiquette.

Review team protocols for e-mail or other communication.

Review key timelines and describe the team's process for reviewing progress against the

timelines.

6. MANAGING A VIRTUAL TEAM

Leaders of all teams, dispersed or collocated, that are engaged in innovative problem-solving have a

number of responsibilities that they must discharge. These include articulating a vision for the team,

communicating the vision with passion, setting an execution plan so the vision can be accomplished,

forming coalitions of believers, aligning others behind the vision, and shaping a team culture by

articulating operating values. All leaders carry out these responsibilities by selecting and motivating the

right members for the teams, establishing the right norms of behaviors, encouraging social events,

building trust, setting goals, preparing the team to anticipate and cope with novel situations, fostering

internal communications, and recognizing contributions. Leaders of successful virtual teams engaged in

innovative problem-solving are no different.

Leaders of virtual teams spend time mentoring the team members, enforcing norms, and recognizing

and rewarding members and the team. However, some of these responsibilities are difficult to exercise

without the benefit of physical presence. Leaders of collocated teams can physically observe when the

team is getting sluggish, when the team needs a social event to rebuild momentum, when the team

needs focus and direction, and when the team needs resources. The leaders of virtual teams don’t have

the same powers of physical observation, and have to be creative in setting up structures and processes

so that variations from expectations can be observed virtually. Leaders of virtual teams cannot assume

that members are prepared for virtual meetings. Virtual team leaders have to sense when “electronic”

silence means acquiescence rather than inattention. Leaders also have to ensure that the unique

knowledge of each distributed person on the virtual team is being fully utilized.

Table 11 Practices of effective virtual team leaders

Leadership practices of virtual team leaders How do virtual team leaders do it?

Establish and Maintain Trust Through the Use of Communication Technology

Focusing the norms on how information is communicated

Revisiting and adjusting the communication norms as the team evolves (“virtual get-

46

togethers“)

Making progress explicit through use of team virtual workspace

Equal „suffering” in the geographically distributed world

Ensure Diversity in the Team is Understood, Appreciated, and Leveraged

Prominent team expertise directory and skills matrix in the virtual workspace

Virtual sub-teaming to pair diverse members and rotate sub-team members

Allowing diverse opinions to be expressed through use of asynchronous electronic means (e.g. electronic discussion threads)

Manage Virtual Work-Cycle and Meetings All idea divergence between meetings (asynchronous idea generation) and idea convergence and conflict resolution during virtual meetings (synchronous idea convergence)

Use the start of virtual meeting (each time) for social relationship building

During meeting—ensure through „check-ins” that everyone is engaged and heard from

End of meeting—ensure that the minutes and future work plan is posted to team repository

Monitor Team Progress Through the Use of Technology

Closely scrutinize asynchronous (electronic threaded discussion and document postings in the knowledge repository) and synchronous (virtual meeting participation and instant messaging) communications patterns

Make progress explicit through balanced scorecard measurements posted in the team’s virtual workspace

Enhance External Visibility of the Team and its Members

Frequent report-outs to a virtual steering committee (comprised of local bosses of team members)

Ensure Individuals Benefit from Participating in Virtual Teams

Virtual reward ceremonies

Individual recognition at the start of each virtual meeting

Making each team member's “real location” boss aware of the member's contribution

In virtual teams, trust is often based on actions, rather than goodwill. Because goodwill is hard to

observe virtually, expectations about actions and the actions themselves need to be made as explicit as

possible for all others to see. This is done first by focusing on the norms regarding how information will

be communicated during the course of their virtual work. Some teams struggle initially because they lack

a common set of procedures or way of doing things. In the absence of communication norms, team

members resort to using the practices prevalent in their local setting. This often leads to each team

47 member communicating in her/his own way and thus not adequately sharing information with other

team members, resulting in lack of cohesion and difficulty in integrating the work of different team

members. Virtual teams need norms that describe how communication technology will be used. These

norms describe how often to check the team’s knowledge repository, how to ensure that the repository

is a “living” team room (to encourage active electronic discussions and ensure that the latest versions of

evolving documents are maintained) rather than a place to store old documents. Norms also need to be

established regarding what to post (to avoid information overload), when to post (to support work

coordination), how to comment (to ensure documents stay current), who owns documents for revisions

(to support version control), how to inform other members of their whereabouts (to help establish

virtual co-presence), etiquette for electronic communication (e.g., use of all capitals only to express

urgency), and audio-conferencing (e.g., prefacing verbal comments with team member’s name to avoid

confusion over who is talking). Trust within a team can be harmed by breaches in confidentiality outside

of the team. As breaches cannot be physically observed (given that members are not collocated), an

important norm for the team concerns what should be shared outside the team. Some teams have an

external communication norm that restricts team members from conveying negative information to

anyone outside the team. Other team has a norm that limited access to the team’s virtual workspace to

team members, “locking out” managers. Most teams have an “external-facing” website where they

would put documents to be shared with outside team members. Discussions are typically needed among

all team members to confirm that a document was ready to be shared externally. Not only must team

norms be established for the use of communication technology, but they must be repeatedly revisited.

This can be done through “virtual-get-togethers” in which members would use the time to reexamine

norms and renew their sense of purpose and shared identity. These get-togethers are called various

names including team tuning sessions, rejuvenation, yearly strategic meetings, team development

sessions, and in-process self-evaluations. Sometimes these “virtual-get-togethers” are annual,

sometimes on an as-needed basis. All shared the objective of helping the team to evaluate their process

and reinvigorate their identity and direction as a team. Effective leaders of virtual teams develop a

“virtual” sense about when these interventions are needed to reenergize their teams. They are sensitive

to clues such as participation lapses in asynchronous electronic discussions, and terse and potentially

divisive electronic communications among some members. Such electronic clues indicated that the

virtual team needs an opportunity to “clear the virtual air and get back on the same page.” Ensuring that

everyone “suffers” equally from working in a geographically distributed world also created trust. The

leader rotates the times at which weekly audio-conferences are held so that everyone (at some point in

the team’s life cycle) would experience the pain of a late night or early morning meeting. Making explicit

the task progress based on agreed-upon timelines also helped to create virtual team trust. Leaders of

successful virtual teams require their members to regularly post their work outputs in the team

repository and electronically link it to action item lists and project timelines. These postings also helped

to create competency-based trust among team members as other members could “virtually” observe the

contributions being made. The quickest ways to build trust in a virtual team is to play fair and deliver on

your promises.

48

6.1. Ways to build trust in virtual teams

Many people report that they give special effort only when they feel trusted and supported, and

conversely, when they trust and respect their leader. Rare are the employees who excel under the

punitive thumb of someone they don’t trust and who they feel doesn’t trust them. At a minimum,

without trust, productivity suffers as team members play politics, spend time covering themselves and

being compliant to dictates that they know are counterproductive, instead of working on real work

issues that affect customers. Following are a few useful tips on how to develop trust between the leader

and the team and between team members.

Communicate openly and frequently. Don’t make distance workers guess what you’re thinking. Tell them.

Unfortunately, distance employees tend to believe that no news is bad news. A lack of interaction across

distance erodes trust. When communicating over intranet, for example, we can try imbedding pictures of

team members into computer technology so that team members can “see” each other. This helps create

social bonding and eliminate at least one of the barriers to building trust that many teams encounter –

not seeing one another face-to-face.

To get trust, give trust. The best way to create an environment of trust is to begin by trusting others.

Leaders set the example. Waiting to give trust to employees until they earn it is never as effective as

assuming they are trustworthy unless they prove otherwise. As team members come to feel that a leader

trusts them, they will find it easier to trust him.

Be honest. This is perhaps the single most important variable that affects trust. Leaders who

demonstrate openness about their actions, intensions and vision soon find that people respond

positively to self-disclosure and sincerity. One needs to share good news and bad news openly. And open

and honest business climate is likely to eliminate company gossip, diffuse inappropriate politics and stifle

corporate intrigue. Further, great leaders know that they are not perfect, they make mistakes. They

openly admit their mistakes. It is much better rather than to ignore them or cover them up. A cover-up is

probably the greatest single enemy to trust.

Establish strong business ethics. Business ethics is about setting moral values for the workplace. Ethical

conduct is when there is alignment between the human behavior and this set of moral standards. In

virtual teams, it is especially important that ethical standards are understood and internalized by each

team member. These can be an important part of a team’s operating guidelines. Teams with common

ethics will be healthier, more productive, adaptable, responsive and resourceful because they will be

united under one common value set.

Do what you say you will do and make your actions visible. Visibly keeping commitments increases trust.

It doesn’t take long for team members to pick up on insincere rhetoric or broken promises. Sometimes

leaders neglect to make their actions visible to team members, thus creating the perception that they

don’t follow through. Instead of assuming that team members know a leader has done something, he or

she needs to tell them by saying “In response to your suggestion about such and such, I did such and

such yesterday. Thanks for the recommendation.” While this can happen in any team, distance magnifies

the impact of a leader’s perceived lack of action.

49 Make sure your interactions with the team are consistent and predictable. The process of building trust is

not an event, it is a process. Trust results from consistent and predictable interaction over time. If team

members see a leader respond one way this week and another way next week, it becomes harder and

harder to trust him or her.

From the outset, set the tone for future interaction. The initial actions of the leader set the tone and

establish norms that can either build trust or detract from establishing trust within the team. For

instance, Professor Sirkka Javervenpaa of the University of Texas at Austin and Associate Professor

Dorothy E. Leidner of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, discovered that in one case they studied, initial

electronic communication had a profound impact on a virtual team’s interaction throughout the life of

the project. “The appointed leader sent an introductory message with a distrustful tone, implying that he

was suspicious of other members’ commitment to the team. Throughout the project, the team was

never able to forge a trusting relationship.[14]

It has been long known that leading by example is almost always more powerful than speeches and

lectures. This is core example for the living example competency of a virtual manager.

Be accessible and responsive. A manager has to find ways to make himself regularly available to team

members. This can be tricky when working across multiple time zones. Establishing a rotating schedule of

in-person visits for different sites can help. Likewise, setting regular virtual meeting times provides team

members with the assurance that there will be an opportunity to address questions or problems without

a significant waiting period. Even in a natural work group team or co-located project team, where team

members have opportunities for interaction with the leader, unresponsiveness can cause uneasiness and

eventually distrust, which is amplified by the distance factor. Leaders need to be action oriented. Instead

of saying, “let’s think about it,” say, “let’s do this and that.” And then do it. When remote employees

contact you by e-mail or voice mail, one should respond within 24 hours, unless it is obviously an

emergency, and in that case one has to respond immediately. If the team members are having their feet

held to the fire to meet established timelines, they will look to the leader to quickly get them answers,

information or the OK to move ahead with a decision. Lack of timely response can look like sabotage to

someone sitting thousands of miles away with a customer looking them In the eye, demanding an

answer. One needs to establish agreements up front with the team on how he or she will respond to

them and in what time frame. Then needs to honor those agreements throughout the life of the project

or relationship.

Maintain confidences. Team members need to be able to express concerns, identify problems, share

sensitive information and surface relevant issues. Getting agreements early on as to how confidential or

sensitive data will be handled is important. This can usually be effectively done as a part of the operating

guidelines discussion.

Watch your language. In subtle ways a leader can unintentionally erode trust among his/her team

members. Working from the home office and referring to team members in satellite offices as “them” or

“those people” may send an unintended message. Jacklyn Kostner, in an interview in Getting Results,

calls these “location-centric words and actions.”[15]

As she points out, this can get carried to an extreme when it moves from words to actions and manager

starts assigning all the exciting parts of the project to those close to home. There are other issues around

50 language, as well. One has to be sensitive to using home office or cultural slang that might not be

understood by all team members. When terminology is used that someone doesn’t understand, their

sense of isolation is increased. For instance, when you hear words used in teleconferences, that may be

unfamiliar to some, check for understanding and ask the speaker to clarify the meaning for others. Or

when e-mail contains jargon or acronyms unique to a function, location or culture, follow up with

clarification and then coach team members to avoid using such terms in the future. Finally, it has

become increasingly common in western business to use four-letter words starting with F or S that are

not appropriate. Hearing a leader use what may be perceived as vulgarity or profanity or reading it in

writing can be offensive to some. It is best to stick with common professional business language,

especially when working across organizational or ethnic cultures.

Create social time for the team. In co-located teams, much of the trust and confidence that team

members have in one another and in the leader comes from informal social interaction. For virtual teams

to have this experience requires a little more thought and creativity. Perhaps the easiest way is to build

informal socializing time into video or teleconferences. At either beginning or the end of a call or

meeting, lead the way with informal conversation, asking about team members’ outside interests,

families, etc.

6.2. Ensure That Diversity in the Team is Understood, Appreciated, and

Leveraged

Virtual teams are composed of individuals representing a rich diversity of stakeholders, experiences,

functions, organizations, decision-making styles, and interests. The team’s ability to successfully innovate

is in large part based on how well this diversity is understood, appreciated, and leveraged. A common

way leaders of virtual teams ensure that diversity is understood and appreciated is to develop an explicit

“expertise directory” at the onset of the team. The directory can include a photo of each member along

with information about his or her training, experience, previous assignments, and professional

association affiliations. Collaboration between virtual team members starts once members knew more

about the background and expertise of each team member. Face-to-face teams will learn what they

needed to know for good collaboration over dinner and drinks, but the virtual team members will just

have to settle for the electronic directory. Another idea is to place a skills matrix of the team in a visible

location on the team’s virtual workspace to remind everyone on the team of the “deep local domain

expertise” that each member brought to the team. The expertise directory and the skills matrix are both

means to understand diversity and sow the seeds for building competency-based trust. Since members

of the virtual teams have rarely worked with one another in the past, most don’t know what the others

knew or their working styles. Team leader often assigns pairs of individuals to complete a task, picking

the pairs based on who could benefit the most by learning from each other. These pairs are often

geographically distributed and functionally diverse (e.g., pairing a design engineer in Brazil with a

marketing expert in Sweden). Such combination would not be possible in a collocated team. Once the

task is accomplished, the individuals can be redistributed to new tasks to avoid the ingroup-outgroup

fault lines often observed in virtual teams. When the virtual pairs (sub-teams) are composed of culturally

diverse members, the close working relationship proves an excellent way to break down cultural

51 stereotypes and overcome communications barriers. The virtual bonding that takes place within the

pairs and sub-groups seems to endure and carry over to the full team, contributing to greater

collaboration and team cohesiveness. Most successful virtual team leaders establish a synchronous as

well as an asynchronous collaboration rhythm. In most traditional face-to-face collaborations (and even

some unsuccessful virtual teams), team members wait until face-to-face or synchronous (such as all-

team audio conferencing) meetings to brainstorm and make progress on the innovation task. On the

other hand, successful virtual teams use the time between meetings to asynchronously (through use of

electronic discussion threads and annotation of documents in the repository) generate and evaluate

ideas. By working asynchronously virtual team members can pick and choose when they can make their

contributions. This allows team members with diverse backgrounds to have a different rhythm and pace

of generating their own ideas and digesting others’ ideas. Leaders also use asynchronous discussion

threads to identify areas of disagreements because the discussion threads give members with different

language capabilities time to share their thoughts in their non-native languages in ways that they find

difficult in synchronous (fast-paced audio-conference) sessions.

6.3. Managing Virtual Work-Cycle and Meetings

There have been some that say virtual brainstorming is not possible, that when you can’t see the “whites

of one’s eyes” it is hard to judge the confidence that others have in what they are suggesting or what

you are proposing. Yet, the team leaders have to be able to facilitate virtual brainstorming. A large

majority of team leaders will confirm that regular all-team audio-conferences are the “life-blood” of the

team, even when tasks are distributed among all the team members. The meetings are structured,

though, not just for reporting and coordination, but also for discussions. In order to “keep everyone in

the loop” it is often mandated that all team members attend these audio-conference sessions. Virtual

team leaders use meetings as the way to keep members engaged, excited about the work, and aligned

with each other. Virtual team meetings (especially the ones that involved all team members) are

“premium” activities. Team leaders need to ensure that a clear agenda is set out for these meetings and

communicated in advance. Such meetings have a tendency to get off-track. Team leaders have to ensure

that the agenda is adhered to and that the “attention-span” at virtual meetings is optimized. Because

members can be easily distracted in a virtual meeting, meetings should be treated not simply as a semi-

structured activity in which members share, but rather as an opportunity to instill creativity, focus, and

enthusiasm. For a meeting to capitalize on this opportunity, it must be managed carefully as a highly

choreographed event. Several practices can be used to turn meetings into choreographed events. These

practices can be categorized as stages in an event lifecycle:

6.3.1. Pre-meeting Practices

Planning out a meeting poorly for a collocated team is OK; but in a virtual environment, team pre-

planning is critical. Otherwise nothing gets done and bridge meetings are required to fill in the gaps. In

52 order to ensure that the work is accomplished, between virtual meetings; leaders can consider follow

these practices:

Begin electronic discussion threads about the team’s current work activities prior to all-team

audio-conference meetings. (Posting draft documents in the virtual workspace and asking team

members to comment on them often started these discussion threads. The comments posted on

the discussion threads are examined and summarized a few days before the virtual meeting

takes place. To ensure that the virtual meetings are productive, only those areas of

disagreement that were identified from the discussion thread are raised at the meeting.)

Ensure that all team meetings have clear written agendas with time allocations circulated in

advance so that members know when they should attend during a meeting.

Request that members post their progress (using draft documents, memos, drawings,

spreadsheets, analysis results, PowerPoint slides, etc.) on the repository linking them to project

timelines, action item lists, and responsibility charts prior to the meeting.

6.3.2. Start of Meeting Practice

Virtual team leaders often feel the need to have members “reconnect” at the start of a meeting. As is

often the case, virtual team members have only been in touch with each other asynchronously and most

of their electronic communications are almost exclusively task related. Virtual team leaders feel that it is

helpful to have team members reconnect with the “human” side of each individual, which helps to

remind each member of their similarities, as well as provide them “boundary objects” or common

metaphors to work from during the meeting. To reconnect, team leaders start their meetings in various

ways:

Have each member share a personal story about an event that happened to them over the last

week.

Ask each member to share a hobby they were working on.

Focus on major events in one or two of the members’ lives.

6.3.3. During Meeting Practices

Most team leaders find it critical to keep members engaged throughout a meeting. They maintain this

engagement by having members “check-in” throughout the meeting process, sometimes using voting

tools as check-in devices. For example, one can use the voting tool on the net conferencing technology

to have members vote on whether or not an issue being discussed was resolved to their satisfaction and

should continue to be discussed. Increasingly, team leaders are using Instant Messaging to stay checked-

in during meetings and engage those not participating actively.

53

6.3.4. End of Meeting Practices

Virtual meetings are the primary mechanism for creating commitment toward forward movement.

Therefore, ending each meeting with a list of action items that are then posted in the team repository is

a key practice in virtual teams. Action items include assignments of individuals to tasks and assignment

of due dates for task completion. In addition to action items, team leaders use a “minutes-on-the-go”

practice, where minutes are logged during the meeting and appear immediately on the virtual

workspace screen. The minutes are then posted to the repository immediately after the meeting. The

minute-taking responsibility is often rotated among members, supported by development of norms for

minute-taking. In some teams, norms can require that minutes be taken during the meeting on a Word

document opened and displayed in the shared workspace for all to see. The can norm also dictate that

only results of discussion (i.e., decision and rationale) be captured to reduce the burden on the note-

taker. Team members summarize what should be said in the minutes, and the minutes are posted

immediately after the meeting.

6.3.5. Between Meeting Practices

Leaders understand that virtual team members may easily forget that they are members of a team when

the team isn’t actually in a virtual meeting session. Therefore, the team leaders work hard to keep the

members engaged as a team between meetings. They use a variety of techniques including electronic

discussion threads, instant messaging (e.g., to see who’s available to discuss a problem immediately),

making spontaneous announcements on the team’s website and automatic notifications of recent

postings to the website to keep members abreast of progress of team members. By orchestrating virtual

team meetings carefully, virtual team leaders are able to reinforce the team’s mission, increase team

commitment and participation, leverage the team’s collective expertise, and reinforce the value of

virtual team membership. The challenge is to command member attention and focus in an era of multi-

tasking.

6.3.6. Importance of face-to-face meetings

Face-to-face meetings are appropriate (1) when you need the richest nonverbal cues, including body,

voice, proximity; (2) when the issues are especially sensitive; (3) when the people don't know one

another; (4) when establishing group rapport and relationships are crucial; and (5) when the participants

can be in the same place at the same time. One of the great advantages of face-to-face meetings is that

they are less technologically complex and therefore their systems are easier to use, less likely to crash,

and less likely to have compatibility problems.

Effective teams almost universally attribute at least part of their success to getting off to a good start. A

poor start-up is one of the five potential derailers for the distance leader and achieving a good start-up is

a key intervention.

54 Sitting together face-to-face to define the team's charter, set goals, establish operating guidelines,

describe communication preferences, and review boundaries helps a group to coalesce and begin

establishing trust. The team chartering exercise gives the members of the virtual team a clear and

common understanding of their purpose. This is important because automatically achieving a common

understanding of purpose is unusual when you first bring a team of people together. Team members

tend to have their own ideas of what the team is supposed to do, and those ideas may be contradictory.

In one organization, for example, some of the engineers on the team thought that their primary purpose

was to create state-of-the-art products. Other engineers on the same team thought their primary

purpose was to create products required by the customer. It wasn't until team members could sit down

face-to-face and discuss the different options that they were able to come to an agreement that saved

hours of productivity that might have otherwise been wasted.

Having this kind of conversation face-to-face is what makes it so valuable. Being face-to-face allows team

members to have a more meaningful exchange and to engage each other early on in discussion and to

debate factors critical to the team's success.

Keeping virtual team members focused and coordinated can be difficult. But bringing together an entire

team or representatives from each site on a regular basis (or at critical points in a project) can greatly

improve such efforts. Distance managers suggest mid-project and end-of-project face-to-face meetings

as a minimum. Mid-project reviews, for instance, allow people to calibrate. They provide a forum for

addressing current or potential problems and allow team members to stay emotionally connected as

well as "task connected." If a team isn't driven by a project, some regularly established time period say

once every quarter will do the same thing.

Wrap-up meetings serve to mark the end of a project or activity; they can also prepare the team to be

more effective in future assignments. A face-to-face discussion of learnings from a project allows people

to build on one another's ideas more effectively than a virtual meeting would. Deeper discussion can

ensue, which offers all participants the opportunity to take an objective but critical look at decisions that

were made, problems that were solved, issues that were addressed, and actions that were taken.

A face-to-face celebration of accomplishments provides well-earned recognition for the team and for

individual team members. It also gives the team closure on the project and allows its members to

mentally prepare for the next assignment.

Apart from meetings, other situations such as conflict resolution, performance reviews and other

performance discussions may require face-to-face time.

Discussing a team member's overall performance and his or her contribution to the team and the

organization warrants a face-to-face session. Hearing about one's performance via e-mail, voice mail, or

even teleconference or videoconference can diminish the impact of the conversation. A leader willing to

spend the time, effort, and money to have a face-to-face discussion sincerely and convincingly conveys

his or her appreciation for the team member's effort as well as the manager's commitment to coach that

person.

55 When addressing poor performance or behaviors requiring corrective action, face-to-face conversations

are almost always more effective. Discussions that include significant emotional content should take

place when people can establish eye contact and have the advantage of reading body language and

other subtle nuances. Establishing rapport and communicating one's support are critical elements of

these conversations that are difficult to accomplish without being face-to-face.

When striving to resolve conflict within the team or between the team and other parties, it is much

better to interact on a face-to-face basis. As with performance correction or improvement discussions,

dealing successfully with conflict requires building rapport and having the opportunity to make eye

contact and read body language.

6.4. Monitor Team Progress Through the Use of Technology

While all leaders monitor team progress, virtual team leaders have the opportunity to monitor progress

online; the most successful leaders leverage this opportunity. Virtual team leaders can scrutinize

asynchronous (electronic threaded discussion and document postings in the knowledge repository) and

synchronous (virtual meeting participation and Instant Messaging sessions) communications patterns to

determine who is participating in team activities and who needs support and prompting for further

participation. Virtual team leaders can also monitor how the communication technology is used and

offer coaching and training for those team members who underutilize their electronic communication

and collaboration resources. This monitoring is done in a variety of ways. Leaders track the usage of the

team’s knowledge repository on a regular basis, emailing members who do not contribute to or use the

repository regularly. Other leaders examine repository log data to determine who is using the team

repository and how often. Team leaders also assign a “facilitator” to keep track of tool usage and report

problems to the team leader. The leaders check for the possibility of “social loafing” or “coasting” when

some members fail to meet deadlines or follow work protocols. In these cases, virtual leaders waste no

time investigating problems and confronting underperformers. Virtual team leaders also diligently

monitor progress in the use of information technology to support team processes as well. Virtual teams

rarely began with their teams having all the technologies in place from the onset. Instead, team leaders

instill an attitude of: “Let’s try and work together virtually and find the tools we need to do our job.” This

attitude of experimentation means that the teams are not unduly frustrated by failure (i.e., when the

technology doesn’t work), accept some responsibility to make it work (i.e., by asking questions if they

don’t understand the technology and finding the right resources to help them), and are interested in

making something work regardless of how elegant or complete the technology solution. Team leaders

allow for flexibility in the usage of information technology tools as the needs of the team evolve, and as

the technology itself evolves. In sum, leaders closely monitor tools that work and allow for technology

evolution over time. In the words of one team leader: “Our technology use evolved over time. Our

database [of services and clients] matured. We initially had a discussion database. Then we added IM.

Then we added Change Request capability. Then we added a Call Tracking database. Then we added an

Issue Log. Then we created a view called “Management View” with schedule, costs spent to date and

project status. Then we added a Working Section view just for the team. We tried videoconferencing but

56 stopped using it when the team did not find it useful.”

6.5. Enhance External Visibility of the Team and its Members

Leading a virtual team requires parallel processing skills. While team building requires an internal focus,

virtual team leaders must especially also remain sensitive to the needs of various external stakeholders

including project sponsors, local executives, and both internal and external customers of the virtual

team’s output. When it comes to external (specifically local bosses of the virtual team members) the

phrase “out of sight, out of mind” is all the more a challenge. Therefore, leaders often develop “balanced

scorecards” for the team indicating what each manager expects from the team as a whole and from the

member who is reporting to that manager. To develop this balanced scorecard, the virtual team leaders

work with each member’s primary local manager to ensure that expectations for each member are clear.

Once established the balanced scorecard provides a relatively objective and standardized basis for the

allocation of team-level rewards. Virtual team leaders often have multiple people to report to—each of

the team members’ local managers, as well as senior executives of the organization. The virtual team

leaders can use a variety of approaches for external reporting; all, however, have the underlying goal of

continuously and clearly representing the “virtual work” of their team and its members. A team leader

can, for example, organize a steering committee of managers from the various departments and client

organizations represented, and conduct formal status briefings with this steering committee. A virtual

team in the electronics testing industry was required to report the team’s outcomes and

accomplishments to a steering committee. The steering committee was designed in a way that it had a

representative (senior level executive) from every location where there was a team member present.

This senior level executive provided the aegis under which his/her local team member worked on the

virtual team. They were also responsible for periodically ensuring that their local team member

remained at a high motivation level. In an alternative approach, the team leader expected each member

to “report out” to the sponsoring manager closest to the functional, geographical, or business unit that

the individual member represented. The choice of the approach depends on the preferences of

management, the type of tasks the team is performing, and the abilities of the team members.

Regardless of the approach selected, leaders often instill a norm whereby all reports intended for

managers are approved first by all team members so that they feel a part of the report-out process. In

addition to report-outs to management, virtual team leaders often find themselves in the position of

explaining to managers the value of a member to the team. In one case, the team leader worked with

each member’s manager to create and sign a “certificate of contribution” which clarified how the

individual’s contribution to the team would help the manager’s own division. Many leaders of face-to-

face teams have difficulty of providing individuals and teams with the recognition that they deserve.

Recognizing and rewarding virtual team work is even more complex and even more important. By

keeping virtual team members in the corporate spotlight, the rewards and recognition follow.

57

6.6. Ensure Individuals Benefit from Participating in Virtual Teams

For team members to contribute, they must believe that they personally benefit from the team.

Following activities can help ensured that individuals personally benefited from the team:

Virtual reward ceremonies, such as having gifts delivered to each individual and then having a

virtual party.

Starting each virtual meeting with recognition of specific successes. A leader of a virtual team in

the high-tech industry used the practice of giving members a “gold star” for work well done. This

award afforded the members recognition in the organization and could be parlayed for future

promotions.

Praising a manager for having a great employee. Team leaders often had the entire team or sub-

team brief executives (often virtually). When an executive was pleased with the briefings, the

team leaders would suggest that the executive inform each member’s manager about the great

work that the members were doing.

Importantly, leaders of successful virtual teams realize that team members are often in high demand by

others (their local responsibilities). Regardless of how much up-front negotiation occurs over time

commitments, team members generally gravitate to those commitments that give them the greatest

benefits: in terms of intellectual growth, visibility, and fun. Virtual team leaders understand this and

often structure team meetings to capitalize on these benefits by including mini-lectures on a topic

related to the team’s work which might be provided by an expert, short online appearances by

executives giving members an opportunity to enter into a virtual dialogue about an issue related to the

team’s work, and fun activities such as sharing hobbies, sharing catered lunches, Internet-based

scavenger hunts, and virtual celebrations. In short, the most effective virtual team leaders enhance the

team experiences for each of their members by ensuring that each has an opportunity to learn, grow,

contribute, and feel an integral part of the team.

6.7. Managing employees who work at home

First an organization should decide if home offices will work for their operation. Before team members

set up home offices, they need to learn if this approach really makes sense for their business situation.

Can the work be done remotely? How much on-site interaction with others is necessary to complete the

tasks? Is the technology necessary to equip the home office worker cost-justified? Who will pay for it,

maintain it, and own it?

Even if it makes sense to have people with remote home offices, we need to keep in mind that this work

style isn't a good fit for everyone. Some people who think they would enjoy working from home find that

they don't like it and aren't as productive as they thought they would be. Many find that their home

situation isn't conducive to their particular work or that their personal need for interaction with others

requires being around other team members on a regular basis. We need to encourage team members to

learn everything they can about work-at-home arrangements and their applicability to their personal

58 situations. The success or failure of a work-at-home arrangement depends on personality, company

support, family, peers, and customers, the availability of necessary technology, and the physical setup of

the home office. Encourage potential work-at-home team members to talk to others who are currently

working from home or who have done so in the past. How do they deal with the isolation? Do they miss

the social interaction of the on-site office? What processes have they put in place to stay "in the loop"

with on-site employees? How does it feel not to don professional attire and be "at the office?" What

issues have they encountered with their coworkers, manager, or customers? How has their family life

been impacted? What technology has been most critical?

Once the business and the individual agree that a home office operation makes sense, there are a

number of things that a distance manager can do to help this work situation be as productive as possible.

The following tips will help the home worker integrate more effectively with other team members and

be as effective as possible when working out of his or her home office.

Review the home office work arrangement regularly and formally with the on-site team members. This

allows the team to address any problems or concerns that may arise due to having one or more team

members off-site. Both employee’s concerns ("How can I stay in the loop?") and the team's concerns

("How can we contact him or her when we need him or her?") are addressed and resolved.

Encourage home office workers to define their core work hours. While working from home allows some

departure from traditional work routines, it nevertheless requires a minimum of structure, especially

around work hours. Coworkers, customers, managers, and families all need clarity about availability. For

example, an employee can define his or her core work hours as 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. This is when his or

her coworkers and customers know they can reach him or her and when teleconferences or Web

meetings are scheduled. Clearly defining work hours goes hand in hand with determining which days or

hours the home office worker will be on-site. Few work-at-home employees never go into the office.

Most are on-site at least a few days a month, usually from one-half to one day per week. Again, clearly

defining this allows affected peers and customers to plan face-to-face meetings or other interactions

that require the team member to be on-site.

Home workers should have an office with a door. They need dedicated, efficient office space to define

the territory between personal and work space. Working from home doesn't mean laying work out on

the kitchen table each morning and hoping you don't pick up any of the leftover peanut butter or

macaroni and cheese from last night's meal. A professional work area is as critical, if not more so, when

working from home than when working onsite in a corporate office. Being able to go into the office and

close the door is critical to productivity. It helps family members understand very clearly when someone

is working and can't be disturbed.

Have the right technology. Working from home is just like any other virtual work situation it can only be

successful if the right technology is in place. Getting the right technological setup may mean added cost

for the work-at-home employee. Some companies will fund the costs associated with the setup (e.g., a

mobile phone, a broadband connection, a laptop computer, e-mail, Internet access), but others will not.

Having the employee absorb the costs eliminates having to address tricky issues such as who owns the

59 equipment/services, but it can be quite expensive. As a distance manager, we need to make sure that

these issues are negotiated and agreed upon up front to avoid confusion or conflict later.

Remember that a work-at-home arrangement is still a fairly significant change for most organizations

and most employees. People's attitudes can get in the way. The thing that concerns most is when people

imply that someone is not really working on the days he or she is at home. And some people still aren't

open to even trying to work with another employee in this [work-at-home] arrangement. This creates

road-blocks that really don't need to be there. Some don't respect employee’s days at home and will

schedule meetings on those days, knowing that he or she either won't be able to attend or will need to

rearrange his or her calendar. But we have to remember that this is a major cultural change, and

flexibility goes two ways. We have to be flexible and willing to make occasional changes, too. The

distance manager needs to be alert to these inevitable conflicts, coach the parties involved, and make

sure that the issues are appropriately resolved.

6.8. Managing people who don’t report to you

Just about everybody today works with outside consultants, customers, or vendors on key projects. In

the high-tech industry it isn't even unusual to have competitors working together on the same project.

These situations pose a tremendous challenge for the distance leader who is used to leading people who

report directly to him or her.

When Boeing put together the product development team for the 777 aircraft, the company decided to

include representatives from United Airlines, the FAA, engineering, manufacturing, and maintenance.

Project leaders, therefore, had team members who did not report to them, or, in some cases, to anyone

in Boeing.

So how can we manage a virtual team when we don’t have the power of position and hierarchy?

Without hierarchy as a power source, those who are asked to lead people who don't report to them

must find other ways to get a task or project done. The power of position or title is one way to do things

but it's not necessarily the best way.

Edward Lawler, a respected and prolific author of management theory, talks about "substitutes for

hierarchy" that is, infrastructures that can be used by leaders in place of hierarchy to direct and

coordinate the workforce. It is interesting to note that leaders who are skilled at accomplishing things

without relying on position power tend to be more effective regardless of whether they have position

power. Consequently, the following substitutes for hierarchy while crucial for those leading people who

don't report to them can help leaders in any situation to be more effective.

Use persuasion and influence instead of commands. Although we can simply issue orders when people

report to us, we can't use this technique when they don't. In fact, ordering people around isn't very

effective even when we have position power. Telling others what to do implies that they are subordinate

60 to you. The hard sell ("I'll keep talking until you see it my way") erodes persuasiveness and can be viewed

as manipulative. Other approaches that erode one's ability to be persuasive include:

1. resisting compromise ("my way or the highway"), which can erode relationships and suggests

inflexibility or lack of creativity;

2. being unkind, negative, or impatient

3. being overly emotional (although appropriate emotional and empathic connection is useful)

In order to persuade others, one must first establish credibility. As credibility is a function not only of

expertise but also of the relationship one establishes with the person or persons he or she is trying to

persuade. 2 Technical competence alone will not establish credibility if you don't have the skills

necessary to create a good relationship. The world is full of people who are technically competent but

who get passed over for key assignments because they aren't skilled in developing relationships. Being

polite, employing good listening skills, and showing that you genuinely respect the other person(s) and

their work will go a long way in establishing the credibility that facilitates persuasion whether or not the

person you are trying to persuade reports to you.

Use facts and data. The most effective kind of power is information power rather than position power.

Having facts and data on your side is much more compelling than hierarchical clout. It is, for example, far

more motivating to say, "I think we need to do this because our customers require it, the government

mandates it, and competitors are doing it," than to say (or imply), "Do this because I'm the boss."

Numerical data, historical evidence, research, and real examples are all more convincing than orders

based on title or position.

Respect the expertise of all team members. A common phenomenon when crossing department or

organization lines is an increased sense of loyalty to one's own roots. This has some positive benefits and

may even be necessary to ensure that different issues are fairly represented. When manifested by the

leader, however, it can have the unfortunate consequence of failing to acknowledge and fully utilize the

expertise of all members. Find ways to involve other people as a way to tap into their expertise and

experience. Asking for their participation is the highest form of respect.

Establish common ground. Before Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat signed the Israeli-Palestinian

Declaration of Principles in September 1993, many people believed the conflict to be irresolvable.

Facilitators like Brigham Young University professor Bonner Ritchie who were involved in the peace

process met with the opposing parties to see if there wasn't something on which they could agree.

Although the two leaders had nearly intractable differences on issues associated with dividing land

ownership, government responsibilities, and other issues associated with reducing violence in the area,

there was one thing that they discovered to be common ground: Both loved their children and wanted

someday to provide a place where those children could enjoy peace. While the issues involving these

factions are still far from resolved, the motivating factor that has allowed them to continue to work

towards resolution is their common love for children.

Organizations with far less conflict than this also find this approach to be useful. When management and

unions, for example, have strong disagreement on matters of policy, they still have common ground in

61 preserving the safety of the work force. Similarly, groups with membership from different companies

may differ significantly in their basic organizational philosophies, reward and recognition systems, and

approaches to problem solving, but they still can find common ground around things such as satisfying

customer requirements or meeting certain financial targets.

Marvin Weisbord in his work Discovering Common Ground describes how, through the use of strategic

conferences in which achieving common ground plays a key role, groups of individuals from diverse

backgrounds come together to do joint planning and problem solving. Weisbord explains the approach

to such conferences:

“When we invite the right people, we will nearly always find unresolved conflicts and

disagreements. Yet we discourage conferees from "working" their differences. . . . Indeed, we

neither avoid nor confront the extremes. Rather, we put our energy into staking out the widest

common ground all can stand on without forcing or compromising. Then, from that solid base, we

spontaneously invent new forms of action, using processes devised for that purpose.

In short, we seek to hear and appreciate differences, not reconcile them. We seek to validate

polarities, not reduce the distance between them. We learn, innovate and act from a mutual base

of discovered ideas, world views, and future goals. Above all, we stick to business. We make the

conferences' central task our guiding star. 3”

Given the differences that distance teams may include, this isn't a bad model. Acknowledge differences,

work to find the widest common ground, then stick to the task at hand.

Maintain confidentiality. Chapter “Tips on building trust in virtual teams” the importance of maintaining

confidences was discussed as one of the keys to building trust in virtual teams. When leading individuals

who don't report to us and who may represent different organizations, this becomes even more critical.

Knowing that proprietary information, all confidential data, and personal concerns or issues will be

handled respectfully; helps forge stronger, more productive relationships. Within different corporate

culture seven different groups within the same company ways of dealing with confidential information

may vary dramatically. It's a good idea to discuss up front what constitutes confidential information and

develop protocols for handling such data.

Exercise conscientiousness and integrity. If a leader can't use position power, he or she can still influence

through moral authority. Research [16] indicates that leaders who demonstrate the characteristics of

both conscientiousness and integrity (Figure 11.1) are far more likely to get good results than those who

do not display these characteristics.

62 Table 12 Examples of Conscientiousness and Integrity Adapted from the Team

Conscientiousness 1. High achievement orientation 2. Self-starting 3. Takes initiative 4. Has focused objectives 5. Proactive 6. Believes that he or she can make a difference 7. Deals with problems 8. Doesn't make excuses 9. Results-oriented 10. Improvement bias 11. Doesn't blame others

Integrity 1. Honest actions, words, and emotions 2. Consistent behavior 3. Doesn't compromise values 4. Clearly articulates values 5. Actions aligned with values 6. Honest with self 7. Nonmanipulative 8. Dependable 9. Trustworthy 10. Has honor in the workplace 11. Has honor out of the workplace

Conscientious leaders are high achievers and self-starters who take initiative and have focused objectives.

Those who are conscientious have a "want to" and "choose to" rather than "have to" or "ought to''

attitude. When issues arise, they deal with them. The conscientious leader doesn't make excuses for

problems or poor performance; rather he or she works to resolve or improve them. In terms of the

competencies introduced in chapter on “Seven competences of boundary manager”, the conscientious

leader is a results catalyst.

Leaders with integrity are honest and consistent about what they say, do, and feel. They have a clear set

of values that they will not compromise, and they are non-manipulative, dependable, and trustworthy.

The leader with integrity is one who has mastered the competency of being a living example.

Interestingly, both conscientiousness and integrity are required to correlate to positive results. A

conscientious leader without integrity may be more focused on the good of his or her project or career

than on important organizational values. Conversely, the non-conscientious leader with integrity may

have tremendous values and vision but create very little progress toward accomplishing them.

6.9. Seven critical success factors

Seven factors affect the probability of a virtual team’s success:

• Human resource policies

• Training and on-the-job education and development

• Standard organizational and team processes

• Use of electronic collaboration and communication technology

• Organizational culture

• Leadership support of virtual teams

• Team-leader and team-member competencies

63 The following discussion describes the seven factors and tells how team leaders can help to create the

conditions that lead to success.

Human Resource Policies. Human resource policies should support working virtually. Systems must be

integrated and aligned to recognize, support, and reward the people who work in and lead virtual teams.

Career-Development Systems. Team leaders can help to support virtual team members by providing

career opportunities and assignments that are comparable to those in traditional team settings. Applying

promotion and career-development policies and actions fairly to people who work in virtual settings

helps to reinforce the perception that working virtually is an accepted career option. Virtual team

members often mention that they fear that they will be looked over for promotional opportunities

because they are not seen every day. This fear is not unfounded. Managers who lose visual and verbal

proximity to their employees often put up the strongest resistance to alternative work and team

arrangements.19 Virtual team leaders must ensure that the members of virtual teams have the same

career-development opportunities as the members of traditional teams.

Rewarding Cross-Boundary Work and Results. Organizational reward and recognition systems often favor

individual and functional work. Virtual team members, however, frequently operate in a cross-functional

and/or cross-organizational environment. Changes must be made in the ways in which people are

recognized and rewarded. Leaders must develop performance objectives for team members that include

working across boundaries and sharing information to support virtual teamwork.

In addition, performance measures must be adapted to reward results. In a traditional office

environment, where people are seen putting in effort every day, it is relatively easy to at least partially

reward people for effort as well as for results. In a virtual environment, effort is more difficult to discern.

When IBM went to a virtual environment, a shift to a reward structure that was based more on results

than effort was a major part of the transition.

The use of formal and informal public recognition of virtual teamwork through "on the spot" awards,

bonuses, and other mechanisms can reinforce the perception that working virtually is valued. You can

use Web-based technology, such as setting up a site for virtual team "best practices" and advertising

team successes and performance, as a way to publicly recognize people in a virtual setting. You also can

use examples of your virtual team’s success in speeches, presentations, and discussions with other team

leaders and with management.

Providing Resources and Support for Working Virtually. Create and support policies that provide your

team with technical support for working remotely. All team members should have equal and immediate

access to electronic communication and collaboration technology, training, and technical support. Many

virtual team leaders set a standard for technology and make certain that everyone has access to the

same hardware, intranet and Internet connections, and applications. They ask the information systems

group to assist in the implementation. NORTEL helps virtual team members who are telecommuters to

set up "home bases" to ensure that they have access to the best and latest technology.

Training and On-the-Job Education and Development. Formal training in using technology is vital for

success. For example, team leaders at the World Bank believed that underfunded technological training

64 for team leaders and team members was one reason that their efforts to implement groupware did not

fully succeed. Money was spent on the technology–machines, applications, and compatibility–but not on

teaching people how to effectively utilize it.

In addition to a formal training curriculum, make certain that the team members have access to

continual on-line training and technical support. Ask your training department about the feasibility of

creating and implementing these types of systems. For example, Federal Express provides many of its

technical and leadership classes through its intranet, so people can select when and where they want to

learn. NASA provides a Web site for its project managers so that they can receive help in learning how to

select, access, and use the appropriate electronic communication and collaboration tools. In both cases,

the training, tools, and support are upgraded on a regular basis to ensure that they are state of the art.

Learning how to use technology is not enough to guarantee success. Team leaders should make certain

that they get the training and support they need to be adept at facilitating meetings using technical and

nontechnical methods. Training in facilitation skills should be an integral part of a development

curriculum for team leaders and team members.

Provide training and support for your team in working collaboratively across organizational, cultural, and

functional boundaries. Many organizations provide direct consulting support and training to virtual

teams in this area. Johnson & Johnson’s Learning Services offers support to virtual team leaders in

enhancing collaboration skills in cross-cultural and functional interactions, using what it calls the Team

Performance Series. See if your organization offers similar services.

Create and implement systems for sharing knowledge across functions, projects, and organizations.

Shared lessons, databases, knowledge repositories, and chat rooms are used in organizations that

embrace virtual teamwork. NASA’s Web site for project managers contains a place where "lessons

learned" are stored. It also has a bulletin board where project managers can ask questions and receive

suggestions from other project managers. In many cases, these knowledge-sharing projects were created

by virtual teams themselves.

Standard Organizational and Team Processes. Consider developing and implementing standard team

processes. The use of standard processes reduces the time needed for team startup and may eliminate

the need for unnecessary reinvention of operating practices each time a team is chartered. Practices

need to be flexible, however, to promote adaptation to a particular virtual team’s situation. Common

standard technical processes, especially for parallel, project, or network teams include

• Definitions of requirements

• Estimates of costs

• Procurement

• Team charters

• Project planning

• Documentation

• Reporting

• Controlling

65 It also is a good idea to define the preferred software for each of these major processes. Many

organizations use standard project-management software packages so that any team, virtual or co-

located, is familiar with and trained in using that package. Also have agreed-on team processes in "soft"

areas, such as the establishment of team norms, conflict-resolution procedures, and communication

protocols. Experienced virtual teams prepare team charters that delineate suggested team norms and

communication standards. They use these as starting points to create processes suitable for their unique

situations. Reinforce and expect the use of both technical and soft processes from the team.

Electronic Collaboration and Communication Technology. As a virtual team leader, you will need to select

electronic collaboration and communication technology that meets the needs of your team. You also will

need to ensure that the organization is ready to support your technical needs. Introducing the electronic

communication and collaboration technology needed for virtual teamwork, such as desktop video

conferencing or groupware, requires that three primary organizational conditions be in place:

1. The organization has a well-funded, respected, and established information systems

staff, whose members are experienced in installing and supporting electronic

collaboration technologies in many different locations.

2. There is commitment by the organization to keep personal computer systems as up-

to-date as possible, regardless of a person’s title or duties. When systems fall behind,

the costs of upgrades and the time to introduce them mounts quickly. Productivity

also may fall as people spend time attempting to fix their equipment or work around

it.

3. The organization has a well-maintained corporate network that has room to expand

to meet the needs of more complex systems and users.

If your organization is lacking in any of these three areas, we might consider adopting a less complex

suite of technology than if they are in place. In either case, it is important to select a reasonable set of

standards for your team in electronic communication and collaboration technology. Standards should

meet the business needs of the team and match its mission and strategy.

A global team that needs to communicate and work collaboratively, for example, must have a minimum

set of standards for technology. For communication, this includes touch tone telephones, audio

conferencing equipment, voice mail, fax capability, and access to a common e-mail system that allows

people to send messages and exchange files. Video conferencing, scheduling, real-time data

conferencing, electronic meeting systems, collaborative writing tools, and whiteboards can be added if

the strategy calls for intensive collaborative work or if sufficient information systems resources exist to

make the technology work reliably. Make certain that external partners and suppliers have access to

compatible communication and collaboration technologies if they are considered part of the team.

Ensure that skill in using the electronic communication and collaboration technology is equally

distributed among team members from different functional areas, geographic locations, and partner

organizations. Often skill in, access to, and use of electronic communication and collaboration

technology is more prevalent in technical functions, such as engineering and information systems, than

in less technical areas, such as marketing, human resources, and finance. If this is the case, there is a risk

66 that team members from less technical areas, if they are not able to use the technologies well, may be

perceived by other teammates as having less status.

Ensure that the technology used by each virtual team is available to all team members, wherever they

are located. One team leader ran into trouble when some of her team members in China did not have

access to touch tone telephones and their word processing software was outdated. The Chinese

managers were using technology to signify status and intentionally did not upgrade the team members’

equipment. Of course, these actions put the team members at a disadvantage relative to their

teammates and decreased productivity.

Finally, factor electronic collaboration hardware and software directly into the team’s budget. It is

important to recognize that the benefits of technology grow over time. Virtual teams do reduce costs,

but often there is an up-front and long-term investment for technology and training to make them work

effectively. The more people and teams work virtually, the more quickly these business practices will

translate into savings.

Organizational Culture. Organizational culture includes norms regarding the free flow of information,

shared leadership, and cross-boundary collaboration. Help to create organizational norms and values

that focus on collaboration, respecting and working with people from all cultures, keeping criticism

constructive, and sharing information. The organization’s culture sets the standard for how virtual team

members work together. An adaptive, technologically advanced, and nonhierarchical organization is

more likely to succeed with virtual teams than is a highly structured, control-oriented organization.

The success of virtual teams is related to how the organization fosters or impedes trust between itself

and its external partners. Treating partners as less than equal, hoarding information, forgetting to share

data or results in a timely manner, and using competitive or proprietary information inappropriately can

erode trust quickly. For example, many Australian firms report that they have abandoned virtual

partnering structures because of issues of trust and control.

If the organization is multinational or global, norms must honor different ways of doing business if they

are to be effective. Create policies about how to do business in different cultures. Be aware that legal

issues, such as who owns the copyright to product designs, can become murky when teams are working

across national boundaries.

Many virtual team leaders cannot affect organizational culture with the same clout as can senior

managers. It is possible, however, to create a "microclimate" that supports effective norms and values.

Team leaders who act in a conscious manner to build trust across boundaries and to share information

and power create environments in which this type of culture can grow from the ground up.

Leadership. For virtual teams to succeed, the organization’s leadership must establish a culture that

values teamwork, communication, learning, and capitalizing on diversity. The key to establishing an

organizational culture that promotes virtual teamwork is that managers and virtual team leaders at all

levels must be open to change and must support virtual teamwork. Richard Karl Goeltz, vice chairman

and chief financial officer of American Express, notes, "It’s important to have a multifunction team of

[senior] managers promoting and supporting a virtual office initiative right from the start."

67 Virtual team leaders and members can help managers to develop supportive behaviors. They can offer

specific suggestions to management regarding the four categories of leadership behaviors that

encourage virtual team performance: communicating, establishing expectations, allocating resources,

and modeling desired behaviors.

First, it is critically important to communicate throughout the organization that working across time and

distance and with organizational partners is not just a temporary fad but a new way of doing business,

one that leverages knowledge and skills and capitalizes on diversity. This includes assigning virtual teams

important and high-visibility tasks and projects and reporting the benefits and results of their work so

that virtual teamwork is respected in the organization.

Second, it is important to establish clear expectations about how virtual teams work. Procedures and

goals must be clear, so that virtual team members know how they are to work and what their objectives

are. With all the new things they must learn about operating in a virtual team, the team members need

clear guidelines and objectives to steer by. The other members of the organization also need to

understand how virtual teams operate and that the teams’ end goals are aligned with organizational

objectives and are, in effect, the same as those of co-located teams. Setting high expectations for

performance also strengthens the perception that virtual teams deliver results.

It also is important to gain the support of customers and other important stakeholders by helping them

to see the benefits of virtual teamwork. This includes establishing expectations about the virtual work

environment and how virtual teamwork is going to affect their contacts with team members. Leaders

must stress the benefits, such as lower costs and what the stakeholders have to gain, and find ways to

make customers part of the change. One best practice is to invite external customers who work with

virtual teams to team kickoff sessions in which norms and communication plans are discussed.

Customers and other stakeholders also can be offered training in team technology. Customers can be

provided with software to "sit in" on team meetings. This helps customers who are unsure of the virtual

team approach to become more comfortable with it.

Leaders also can work with stakeholders such as leaders and managers from other functions, or suppliers

who interface with the teams, to help them to understand and support the virtual team concept. They

can make it clear to peers and to other managers in the organization that virtual teams work as hard and

as productively as co-located teams. Leaders can become adept at providing evidence, including

schedule and cost data, to sway more skeptical stakeholders. Finally, they can help to establish

reasonable expectations about the time it takes to realize a return on the investment. The paradox is

that the complexities of working across time and distance can, in the short run, lead to increased costs

and longer cycle times because of difficulties with operating procedures and startup issues.

Third, leaders who allocate resources for training, technology, and travel send strong signals that bolster

the message that virtual teams are important. Chartering virtual teams to work in an underfunded

environment is a prescription for failure. Time and money must be allocated for training for virtual team

members in areas such as cross-cultural work, project management, and technology. Time and money

must be allocated for team leaders to travel for face-to-face meetings with team members at the

68 beginning of the team’s life and then when necessary. Resources also must be dedicated to acquiring

and maintaining the technology needed to facilitate the team’s work.

Fourth, and most important, effective leaders model the behaviors they expect. They align cross-

functional and regional goals and objectives. They work with other managers across geographic and

cultural boundaries. They solicit team members’ input and demonstrate trust in their judgment,

particularly in the members’ functional areas of expertise. Effective team leaders show flexibility,

changing as business conditions dictate. They do not expect behaviors from others that they do not

engage in themselves.

Team-Leader Competencies. The challenges that virtual team leaders face are immense. Many report

that they feel as if they are the "glue" that holds their teams together. They have to establish trust in an

environment with little or no face-to-face contact or feedback. These challenges necessitate the

development of an additional set of competencies that complement the skills for leading traditional

teams. These competencies are as follows:

1. Coaching and managing performance without traditional forms of feedback

2. Selecting and appropriately using electronic communication and collaboration

technologies

3. Leading in a cross-cultural environment

4. Helping to develop and transition team members5. Building and maintaining trust

5. Networking across hierarchical and organizational boundaries

6. Developing and adapting organizational processes to meet the demands of the team

Team leaders can champion their own development by deliberately undertaking training and on-the-job

assignments that build competence in these areas.

Team-Member Competencies. The people who work as virtual team members have to develop their own

competencies. First, virtual teamwork is not for everyone. Serving on a virtual team may seem too

transitory for some individuals who need face-to-face interaction and stability in a work environment.

Without the structure of a co-located setting and day-to-day contact with team members, they may feel

lonely or left out.

All members of traditional and virtual teams need solid grounding in their respective disciplines.

However, virtual team members need new competencies. Team leaders can help to facilitate

competence development by working with team members to create learning plans that use training and

on-the-job assignments. The definitions of team member competencies will vary, depending on the

team’s type, mission, and composition. There is, however, a relatively stable set of six critical

competencies:

1. Project-management techniques

2. Networking across functional, hierarchical, and organizational boundaries

3. Using electronic communication and collaboration technologies effectively

4. Setting personal boundaries and managing time

5. Working across cultural and functional boundaries

69

6. Using interpersonal awareness

Over time, most people can develop the competencies that are needed to work virtually. Adequate

training, education, and leadership support and feedback can speed development.

7. VIRTUAL TEAM TRAINING AND COACHING

Good coaching clarifies goals and measures, and entails lots of communication and employee

involvement. The reward systems need to be aligned with the goals. Goals and measurements are

especially important to leaders who must coach from a distance. Metrics are almost like a virtual

manager that keeps everyone focused on the most important priorities. They are always there, whether

the coach is physically present or not. It takes a lot of effort to determine, communicate, and reinforce

performance goals and metrics.

Coaching in virtual organizations consumes a significant amount of the distance leader's time. As virtual

employees take on increasingly complex tasks and the decision making and problem solving associated

with working remotely, this function becomes an even greater necessity.

Taking a proactive approach to coaching is one way to ease the complexity of distance coaching.

Proactive coaching in combination with a technique called Socratic coaching and the use of effective

accountability systems can pave the way for mutually satisfying coaching interventions. In this chapter

we will examine each of these suggestions in more detail. Additionally, we will discuss what is perhaps

the most complicated coaching situation the distance manager faces identifying and coaching problem

performance.

7.1. Socratic Coaching

Building capability in individuals who are working virtually is one of the most important pieces of

coaching a distance manager can do. An effective way to transfer capability is to ask questions instead of

giving answers. We call this Socratic coaching. The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was a great

teacher who believed that the most effective way to teach was to ask questions instead of lecturing.

Socratic coaching questions are intended to initiate learning and to help others learn through self-

discovery. They are not, however, to be used as an inquisition or ''game" such as "20 Questions." The

better questions focus on where information can be found or on teaching particular thinking processes

that help group members make good decisions.

Rather than asking questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no," ask open-ended

questions that invite further dialogue and get people thinking. If done well, Socratic coaching teaches,

strengthens, and empowers.

70 Table 13 Sample Socratic Coaching Questions

How will you know if you're successful?

How will you measure progress?

What information will you need?

What are the priorities?

How will you work with other team members on this?

What processes/tools will you use?

Who will give input on the decisions?

How much will this cost? What will be the impact on the budget?

How will this affect quality?

What other alternatives have you considered?

How can I help?

What went well in this project/activity?

What are our key learnings from this project/activity?

What recommendations would we make for future activities based on this experience?

What things didn't go as well as we had anticipated? How might we avoid similar problems in the

future?

Coaching Questions NOT to Ask

Yes/No questions (Do you have a plan? Have you used data?)

Judgment questions (What in heaven's name were you thinking? Why did you do that? Why didn't

you check with so and so?)

Abdication questions (What do you think you should do?)

7.2. Proactive Coaching

Coaching involves more than just addressing performance problems when they occur. It includes

coaching up front, along the way, and at the end of projects, assignments, and daily tasks. We can't limit

coaching to game time. Good coaches coach before, during, and after the game. The coach who only

addresses problems or accomplishments when they arise severely limits his or her ability to affect either

the individual or the organization as a whole. You have to coach not just on negative performance, but

on positive performance as well.

Being a proactive coach requires learning the skills that are necessary to coach "on the spot." For

distance managers, "on-the-spot" coaching usually occurs in a teleconference, videoconference, or when

responding to e-mail. We must be sensitive to the appropriateness and timing of coaching in those

situations. For instance, if the situation calls for corrective feedback, don't provide the coaching during

the teleconference while a team member's peers are listening in. Follow-up individually after the call to

provide the feedback and to have the coaching discussion.

71 Bringing a team together at the outset of a project is an ideal time to provide up-front coaching. Use

Socratic coaching questions (see Table 13 for sample questions) to help team members think through all

aspects of the project and its outcome.

Similarly, a wrap-up session at the close of a project or activity provides a good opportunity to reflect on

well-dones and opportunities for improvements in future endeavors.

7.3. Accountability Systems

More than simple delegation (where managers allocate responsibility only for selected projects or

activities), shared accountability creates a feeling of real partnership. Good accountability systems create

a feeling of clarity, purpose, and empowerment. They help everyone know who is responsible for what.

They also enable people to learn from both their successes and their mistakes.

The keys to accountability are: (1) clarity (What is the area of accountability? Who is responsible for it?

Who will help them? How will they help?) and (2) metrics (What are the key measures? Who will track

the measures? What will happen when measures are off-target?). Groups that operate effectively in a

virtual environment identify the major areas of business accountability for which specific individuals

need to be responsible. For example, in a typical project the critical areas of accountability might include

customer satisfaction, cost, quality, productivity, and project schedule. Some virtual teams display this in

the form of a star, with a team member identified as the star point leader for each accountability

category.

Once the critical accountability categories are established, performance goals and metrics can be set.

These should be: (1) specific; (2) measurable (i.e., based on real business results used throughout the

organization); (3) challenging (i.e., difficult enough that people feel motivated to "stretch"); and (4)

realistic (i.e., achievable enough that group members feel motivated to make an attempt).

With metrics determined, the team can decide who should be personally accountable for each category.

Although the distance manager can never abandon his/her own personal accountability for team results,

performance of the entire group improves when individuals accept leadership for key result areas in

addition to their normal responsibilities.

Table 14 An Accountability Matrix

Area of accountability

What are our goals for this area?

Specific

Measurable

Who is accountable for this area? (Confider individual expertise,

Who has secondary accountability? Who should begin to prepare for

What should be expected of all team members to achieve these goals?

What development needs are required for the team? For those

72

Challenging

Realistic

immediate needs and future goals)

future accountability?

accountable?

Customer satisfaction

Training

Productivity

Cost

Quality

Scheduling

Safety

Other

7.4. Tips for Distance Coaching

Respond to subtleties and nuances. Leading across miles demands constant vigilance on the part of the

leader to watch for clues that will tell him or her when to step in and coach. For example, an employee

may behave nice towards his or her manager, but completely change his or her behavior towards those

people below him or her in the hierarchy. Catching these signs early on and earlier intervention might

produce a positive response. The employee can improve his or her behavior before it could become a

difficult-to-change habit, and he or she will be thankful for a quick response.

Implement a peer feedback process. Managing from a distance severely limits a leader's visibility of

performance. Even if they aren't co-located, peers often work together on projects and understand the

demands, requirements, and expected outcomes facing one another. If properly prepared, peers can

provide very helpful coaching to each other. However, unless a formal system for doing so is provided

and giving feedback is an established norm within the group, peers are often reluctant to raise issues

regarding one another's performance. One useful tool for peer feedback is the Stop, Start, Continue

exercise. This process can be used at regular intervals (e.g., every six months, once a year) as a way for

every member of the group to receive feedback from every other member on what they do that is

helpful to others, what is not helpful, and ideas for how they can improve in the future. The process is

most effective when the feedback is delivered via a one-on-one conversation conducted face-to-face or

over videoconference. Some virtual team members will complain that their manager isn't around enough

to understand the issues and problems facing the team. Having peers give input provides a more

balanced and accurate picture.

73 Table 15 Stop, Start, Continue Example

Stop

Sending me non-work-related e-mail (jokes and stories).

Interrupting me during discussions.

Start

Telling me openly and honestly when you disagree with me.

Taking more credit for your ideas.

Continue

Your excellent technical work.

Your honest, caring feedback.

Involving me with you in

solving problems that affect both of us.

Establishing regular one-on-one coaching sessions with each employee. Staying in touch with team

members is crucial. A distance leader cannot assume that everything is OK. The need to stay in touch and

in tune is critical. Some leaders assume that if you don't hear anything, that it is fine 'No news is good

news.' Some individuals will use the fact that they are in a virtual situation as an excuse not to be

structured about staying in touch with the team. But the leaders who are effective are the ones who are

out there a lot. One-on-one sessions allow the leader to stay up-to-date on projects, keep informed on

issues and problems, and strengthen and maintain good relationships with employees. Having such

sessions on a regular basis moves the coaching process into the arena of developmental conversations,

versus coaching only when problems arise. Some leaders choose to follow a standard format for these

discussions.

Table 16 One-on-One Coaching Format

Team member name: Date:

1. Update on personal development plan:

2. Discussion of key projects (including deadlines, issues, problems, etc.):

3. Business information for team member:

4. Feedback on team member performance (including well dones, areas for improvement,

etc.):

Use a structured improvement plan. When performance issues warrant it, request that the employee put

together a performance improvement plan that he/she will commit to. Be clear about expectations and

set boundaries for what needs to be included in the plan, but keep responsibility for success with the

individual. Finally, provide regular coaching and other help as needed to help ensure a successful

outcome.

74

7.5. Distance training

We repeatedly hear that only very senior people can work away from the main office because junior

people need to be at the main office in order to learn. This line of reasoning is used to justify confining

senior people to the central site because they need to be present to provide guidance. The idea that

people can only learn from face-to-face interaction is completely inaccurate. Face-to-face mentoring

may be the only process for teaching currently in some company, but this changes quickly. The idea of

distance learning has been with us for many years now. For example in remote villages in north of

Finland children are thought by remote teachers from Helsinki or other cities via video chats. Students

do prefer to be taught in a classroom or face-to-face setting, and there are certain management and

communication skills that are best communicated face-to-face. However, the majority of skills required

for a job can be effectively mentored from a distance.

Mentoring for technical skills involves increasing proficiency in core business skills. Example of this can

be teaching chemists about new chemical process, or teaching programmers a new programming

language. Technical skills are great candidates for independent, self-paced learning.

Mentoring in work process skills has to do with teaching team members how business is done on the

team. There are both task-oriented and non-task oriented work-process skills. An example of task-

oriented work-process skill for a software engineer is learning where and how to get copies of the

current software release from the company server. An example of non-task-oriented work-process skill is

how to submit an expense report or a purchase order. Most “on the job” mentoring has to do with work

process skills.

In designing a plan for mentoring communication skills we need to determine what kinds of

communication are key for the team. It is not just written and verbal communication anymore. E-mail

skills, videoconference skills and the types of distance-communication skills are crucial to team success.

Remote workers also need to understand how to motivate and influence other team members as well as

obtain management skills which include self-management skills, such as time management, as well as

team management skills.

Technology is advancing at such a fast pace and in such exciting ways that remote training is fast

becoming the delivery method of choice for all kinds of topics. This is good news for distance leaders

who struggle with the challenge of how to provide skill-building and learning activities for a team that is

distributed across time, space, and culture.

There is actually historical evidence and research to support the notion that training doesn't have to be

done in classic classroom style to be effective. According to one of the earliest studies on media-

comparison for training, multiple training media compared favorably to classroom training. In the

research study, the same material was put in film, in a classroom training session, and in a self-study

handbook. There was no significant difference in learning between the three groups studied. Hundreds

of later studies have verified these conclusions. Effective distance learning courses are available in

75 virtually every major university in the world now. It is the design of the instruction that causes learning

not whether it is delivered in person or through another medium, such as the Web. [17]

However, in spite of such encouraging data, there is no doubt that Web-based training does present its

own set of challenges. The following are web training tips to ensure that Web-based training is successful,

so that those using it can reap benefits it provides.

Limit Web-based training sessions to two hours or less. Working virtually via technologies such as

computers, videoconferencing, and teleconferencing is extremely tiring. Two hours is the maximum span

that almost anyone can be effective working remotely.

Where possible, use a combination of remote training and face-to-face sessions. Even if people aren't

"technophobic," some topics or discussions are still more effective face-to-face. Adult learners have "an

enduring preference for face-to-face, real-time, interactive learning environments."[18] As Margaret

Driscoll points out in her critically acclaimed book, Web-based Training: Using Technology to Design

Adult Learning Experiences, "Adult learners also bring a wealth of real-life experience to training that can

be a resource for learning."[19] Driscoll suggests that when using Web-based training the trainers

"create interactions in which learners share their experiences with others."[20] Much of this can be done

remotely. However, adding some face-to-face time enhances the training dramatically.

Stay focused on results, not activities. In other words, don't do training for training's sake. Make sure the

training provided is linked to organization goals or the professional development goals of participants.

This is good advice regardless of the methodology being used to train.

Take into consideration the environment in which the individual(s) will be located. For instance, if you are

expecting remote participants to log on and train from a home office, make sure they will have the

privacy, quiet, and uninterrupted time necessary to allow them to fully engage and participate. This is

probably resolved or thwarted by good planning letting each individual know what the process will be,

how long it will take, and what preparations need to be undertaken to ensure that learning can occur.

Assess the needs of your team to assure that the appropriate topics and methods of delivery are used.

Remember that different people learn in different ways. Most people have preferred learning styles.

While Web-based training activities supplemented by simultaneous teleconferencing are very effective

for some persons, Web training modules without sound are not very effective. High-impact graphics

(especially with video) are more helpful to other persons. We must know how team members respond to

training and plan accordingly. To reach the broadest possible audience, we choose training options that

appeal to a variety of the senses (and learning styles) and have a high degree of interactivity.

Try to simulate face-to-face training as much as possible. Simulating a face-to-face training environment

is very helpful. In synchronous training use polling. Polling is a process of asking participants to

periodically respond to questions during a presentation to keep them involved and engaged. It also

allows the trainer to slow down, speed up, or make other appropriate modifications that a trainer who

was physically present would notice (maybe without even asking) by looking at the participants. Do other

things that simulate the physical environment as well. Asking people to break away from their computers

and do an assignment with the other people in their location is helpful. For asynchronous training have

76 people e-mail an instructor with questions that will be responded to shortly thereby allowing team

members to approximate face to face interaction.

Carefully select the method of Web-based training. Depending on the topic, Web-based training can be

delivered any number of ways. For example, self-paced learning (one person sitting in front of a

computer operating the training at the speed that is right for him or her) is very useful for technical skill

development. Using video is also helpful in this regard. Instead of saying, "Here is how you do a search

on the Internet," for example, incorporate a video of someone going through the process step by step,

allowing the learner to stop the program and repeat sections that he or she didn't understand.

However, self-paced training is not as useful for social skill development that requires interaction with

others. Developing social skills such as giving and receiving feedback, resolving conflict, and

communicating effectively require practice sessions with other people. These types of training activities

are better suited to either face-to-face activities or to instructor-led Web-based presentations that a

whole team participates in at the same time, even if they are located in different places.

8. Communication and collaboration tools and techniques

8.1. Communication tools

Communication tools are more focused on information sharing. They facilitate information

dissemination across the organization and beyond its boundaries in a secure, trusted and a reliable

format.

Meeting and Conferencing – A critical set of tools that facilitate the functioning of virtual teams

are virtual meeting and conferencing tools. Since the teams seldom will have any face to face

interactions , they must be able to setup meetings virtually. The meeting and conferencing tools

should have capabilities beyond just voice transmission. They need to be able to transmit video

and should have features for document and screen sharing as well. A face to face interaction can

be substituted by a video conferencing call. WebEx from Cisco is a good example.

Instant Messaging Systems – Enterprise instant messaging systems allow a quick communication

between two or more members of the team. These are quicker and more economical than

communication over traditional voice technologies. Most Enterprise instant messaging

applications also allow voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) functionality for voice chats.

Portals and Blogs – Blogs and portals are quick ways of publishing information to a wide and a

physically spread out audience. Since they do not require any code and most of them have out of

the box setup and configurations, they are both cost and resource effective. Discussion boards

and forums should be part of this system to encourage an interactive participation.

77

8.1.1. Meeting and conferencing tools

Cisco’s WebEx is probably one of the best meeting and conferencing tools currently available. It is an all-

in-one solution for remote meetings, webinars, training and support. Paid subscription of $19/month

allows up to 8 participants per meeting, unlimited number of meetings with free mobile access, High-

definition video conferencing, integrated voice conferencing, file, application and desktop sharing,

remote control of applications and desktop, recording and playback of meetings and much more. While

paid subscription of $49/month extends number of participants to 500.

Scheduling a meeting is very easy and it is done through an online WebEx meeting center application.

Figure 8 WebEx: Schedule a meeting

When a meeting has been scheduled an e-mail is send to participants added when scheduling the

meeting. This is the most common way to attend the meetings, through e-mail invitation.

78

Figure 9 WebEx: Meeting invitation e-mail

After a participant receives the e-mail, he/she needs to follow 4 simple steps shown on Figure 9.

WebEx offers the possibility to view up to six participant’s web cameras at once and switch the main

video according to who is talking at the moment.

79

Figure 10 WebEx video conferencing

It also provides the possibility to share any document from users’ computer and to share users’ desktop

with others in the meeting and give them control if needed.

Figure 11 WebEx: Sharing desktop and applications with other meeting participants

Not only desktop but user can also share running applications, like PowerPoint, and hold a presentation

to all meeting participants. Moreover WebEx desktop application has a build-in whiteboard which when

activated gives all participants an opportunity to add their ideas on the meeting topic.

80

Figure 12 WebEx: Whiteboard

Meetings can be recorded so that those people who were not able to attend can listen to it later. WebEx

records audio and video for shared documents or whiteboard, if used. Recorded meeting are saved and

can be accessed through WebEx meeting center. From there recorded meeting can be shared. If one or

more of the participants are on the go, they can join via mobile device. WebEx offers applications for

iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Symbian devices.

As mentioned above, WebEx is a complete meeting and conferencing tool, but it does come at a price

which some smaller companies and start-up or those companies who do not require regular remote

meetings not want to pay. Luckily there are cheaper alternatives which get the job done.

One of the best is MeetingBurner. MeetingBurner offers similar service as WebEx with a free

subscription plan. A guaranteed “Forever free” subscription plan offers attendance of up to 15

participants per meeting, unlimited number of meetings with mobile attendance, audio and video

conferencing, desktop sharing, e-mail reminders and others. However free version does not offer high-

definition video nor does it offer meeting recording. These featured can be overlooked for those

companies who do not rely heavily of such tools.

81

8.1.2. Instant Messaging Systems

Instance messaging (IM) has been available for a while. From IRC channels, MSN Hotmail messengers,

ICQ to Google talk and Blackberry messenger it has become a norm and preferred way of communication

in many business. Here are a few reasons why this is the case.

First, workers have become more mobile and a lot harder to track down, particularly as secretarial

support has disappeared and voice mail becomes the norm. IM automatically tells you who is available,

and who is not, at any given hour of the day.

Second, e-mail is no longer the productivity tool it once was, now that pipes are clogged with spam,

viruses and phishing attacks. Getting a quick response via e-mail now seems so quaint, so last year,

especially when you converse in real time with IM.

Third, IM enables better collaboration and a tighter sense of community. With IM, you can educate an

entire team, give them real-time feedback, develop relationships and cement the team together.

Fourth, the next generation of IM is not just about text chats; it offers solid integration with voice-, web-

and videoconferencing, making it easier for remote workers to feel a part of the action.

Finally, IM's features and its ability to track down someone no matter where he is located are attractive

to customers, partners and suppliers that need a guaranteed method of communication with you.

The key is in personal mobility. With instant messengers being available on almost all platforms from

desktop to mobile, Windows to Linux, you can always get in touch with your workers or just create

feeling of presence when workers see you can be reached.

8.1.3. Portals and Blogs

Portals and blogs are great ways to share knowledge within your team or a broader community. They

help you create community centered on common interests and are great tools for problem

determination, discussions and keeping track of lessons learned by whole team.

An internal blog, generally accessed through the corporation's Intranet, is a weblog that any employee

can view. Many blogs are also communal, allowing anyone to post to them. Internal blogs are generally

used to enhance the communication and culture in a company.

Blogs may also allow individuals who otherwise would not have been aware of or invited to participate in

a discussion to contribute their expertise.

8.2. Collaboration tools

Collaboration tools enable virtual teams to accomplish the common goal. Virtual teams need to interact

82 in the same manner as other traditional teams; the collaboration tools facilitate this interaction.

Collaboration tools include:

Wiki – Wikis have been hugely popular with the open source and development communities for

quite some time. However they are also being adopted to be used at an enterprise level. The

main feature of a wiki is that it allows online collaborative editing of documents thus making it

an ideal tool when working with virtual teams. Wikis also allow synchronous collaboration rather

than asynchronous collaboration.

Document Management Systems – Document Management systems allow storing, sharing,

archiving and retrieval of documents. As virtual teams are located in different physical locations

a centralized document management system provides an efficient mechanism to share

documents. Most document management systems also allow implementation of role based

access so that enterprises can implement appropriate security policies. Document management

systems can be implemented in-house like using packaged applications like Sharepoint or can be

used implemented in SaaS model over the cloud like DropBox.

8.2.1. Wiki

Wiki is a web based tool which allows its users to add, modify or delete its content via simplified markup

language or text editors. They are used mostly for knowledge management and note taking.

Many wiki communities are private, particularly within enterprises. They are often used as internal

documentation for in-house systems and applications. Some companies use wikis to allow customers to

help produce software documentation. Wiki users could be divided into "synthesizers" and "adders" of

content. Synthesizers' frequency of contribution is affected more by their impact on other wiki users,

while adders' contribution frequency is affected more by being able to accomplish their immediate work.

It is estimated that wikis are now mainstream collaboration tools for 60% of corporations. Wikis can be

used for project management.

Wikis constitute excellent tools for documentation and communication, two critical aspects of project

management. The biggest advantage is its open nature which allows the project manager to structure or

format the tool as required.

Most projects call for certain documentation to be open to collaborative writing and wikis serve this

purpose. Wikis allow each team member or stakeholder in a project to view, edit and update wiki based

documents at any time. This facilitates pooling of knowledge to create comprehensive documents.

People with access and full privileges may add, delete and edit content in a wiki with ease. One can also

comment on the content of the Wiki, by placing the comments in a colored box. Wikis are ideal for

maintaining notes and sharing/discussing ideas and information with the project team. They can be used

to draft the documents of various brain storming sessions as well as provide a set of instructions and a

class-based curriculum. It is preferable that the project manager decides which topics to store or include

83 in the wiki, and the manner it is to be organized. Such advance planning eliminates dead links and

preempts the need to rebuild the wiki’s structure after too many people add too much information.

It is easy to format Wiki documents using basic text-based commands. Syndication allows sharing wiki

documents with outside members, without allowing them rights to make unauthorized editing.

It is possible to track the history of changes made to each wiki automatically. The history feature displays

what changes were made, when, and by whom. The members can work on a live document, knowing the

full history of changes made by various people, available any time.

8.2.2. Document management system (DMS)

Document management system is an effective system for the administration of documents in electronic

form, especially since it ensures a quick and clear access to the needed documents, their creation, the

search for them and their editing.

Figure 13 DMS high level overview

DMS allows subsequent archiving of the data, their maximum accessibility and the definition of

individual rights to the documents for authorized persons only – while preserving high-security of course.

One important function is the so-called workflow - a circulation of documents in electronic form, typical

of approving received invoices, contracts and alike.

Most poplar platform for document management in business is Micorsoft Sharpoint.

84

Conclusion

With a constant advance of information and communication technologies bringing people to work

together has never been easier. Projects now benefit from participation of experts located all over the

globe and companies are now able to provide 24/7 support to their clients by distributing their

employees in various time zones. Technology improves from day to day and what it boils down to is that

virtual teams are the way of the future and companies need to focus on the “human factor” of its teams

members in order to ensure success. Virtual teams need to be brought together in face-to-face

interactions at least a few times a year. They also need to have access to several forms of

communication to keep in touch. Chat rooms, webcams, conference calls, and specialized training in

forming and keeping interpersonal relationships across long distances are all methods that a company

can use to promote the success of its virtual teams.

Teams consisting of members from various cultural backgrounds not only have to manage “long distance

relationships” with each other, they also have to understand cultural differences and methods to form

lasting, productive relationships. It is virtually impossible to conduct business in an environment where

one does not understand, trust, or even have the ability to speak face to face with their team members.

Technology has allowed for the development of virtual teams and marketplace globalization but it is the

human capital of every participating organization that will carry it into the next phase of success. In

order to ensure a lasting spot in the world’s marketplace, companies will need to focus on advancing

their virtual teams by providing communication tools to their members.

Virtual teams benefit from consultative facilitation to enable the team to clarify roles, address

interpersonal conflict issues, develop communication protocols, and devise a methodology to identify

and resolve barriers to productivity. In many cases it is not always practical, because of cost constraints,

for the team to have the necessary face to face interaction. In this case, in order for the team to work

strategically and for its members to work effectively with each other and with their stakeholders (clients,

other teams, peers, customers), it is imperative that the leader develops innovative strategies and

protocols. The term “innovative” is used because, for many leaders and companies, virtual teams

present a real challenge based on the “newness” of the phenomenon and limited experience in

managing them. These innovative protocols should help the team members identify their unique “team

culture”, often distinct from each team member’s national culture. In order to achieve this focus should

be on team leader coaching and training in order to enable the leader to identify and develop the

competencies and protocols he/she needs to guide the virtual team to maximum performance.

Competencies which relate to “emotional intelligence” are particularly important and often overlooked

in the management of virtual teams.

85

Literature

[1] Anne Powell, Gabriele Piccoli, and Blake Ives. Virtual teams: a review of current literature and

directions for future research. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems - Winter Vol. 35,

issue 1, 2004

[2] Ale Ebrahim, N.; Ahmed, S.; Taha, Z. (December 2009). "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium

enterprises: A literature review". Scientific Research and Essay 4 (13): 1575–1590. Retrieved January 18,

2011.

[3] Christian Welz and Felix Wolf (Eurofound), “Telework in the European Union”, 2010, Internet,

http://bit.ly/IIYc8C

[4] Michelle M. Hawkins, Louise L. Soe, Lara Preiser-Houy, “The Effectiveness of Telecommuting for the

Employee, Employer, and Society”, 1999, Internet, http://bit.ly/IJ001n

[5] Martha Haywood, “Managing virtual teams: Practical Techniques for High-Technology Project

Managers”, Management Strategies Inc., 1998. Page 2

[6] Deborah L. Duarte, Nancy Tennant Snyder, “Mastering virtual teams: strategies, tools, and techniques

that succeed”, Jossey-Bass, 2006. Page 4

[7] Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership (second edition), Jossey-Bass, January 1997.

[8] Lin Grensing-Pophal, “Training Supervisors to Manage Teleworkers”, HR Magasine, Jan 1999. Page 67.

[9] David Hanna, Designing Organizations for High Performance, Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-

Wesley O.D. Series, 1988.

[10] Kimball Fisher, Leading Self-Directed Teams, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. Chapter 23, “Creating

Accountability Systems for Teams.”

[11] Kimbal Fisher, Mareen Fisher, The Distance Manager, McGraw-Hill, p32

[12] Richard Walton, “From control to commitment in the Workplace.”, Harvard Business Review, March-

April 1985.

[13] James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, “The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things

Done in Organizations”, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987.

[14] Diane L. Coutu, “Trust in Virtual Teams,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 1998. Page 20.

[15] Jacklyn Kostner, “Learn to be a Distance Manager,” Getting Results, July 1997. Page 6.

[16] Robert P. Tett, "Is Conscientiousness ALWAYS Positively Related to Job Performance?" for the

Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

http://bit.ly/IIYc8C

http://bit.ly/IJ001n

86 [17] Ruth Colvin Clark and Chopeta Lyons, "Using Web-based Training Wisely," Training Magazine, (July

1999), p. 51.

[18] Ruth Colvin Clark and Chopeta Lyons, "Using Web-based Training Wisely," Training Magazine, (July

1999), p. 51.

[19] Margaret Driscoll, Web-based Training: Using Technology to Design Adult Learning Experiences, San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 1998, p. 14.

[20] Margaret Driscoll, Web-based Training: Using Technology to Design Adult Learning Experiences, San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 1998, p. 14.

managing virtual teams - masaryk university

Documents