Managing Virtual Teams
Performance Objectives for managing virtual teams
Establishing
Defining
Ensuring
Respecting
Managing
Working
Dealing
Encouraging
Scheduling
Celebrating
• Establishing clear goals
• Defining roles and responsibilities
• Ensuring effective communication
• Respecting diversity
• Managing relationships
• Working together to achieve tasks and milestones
• Dealing with conflict resolution
• Encouraging team bonding
• Scheduling regular one-on-ones
• Celebrating successes and sharing recognition.
Key Concepts to managing virtual teams
• Building the foundation for superior performance
• Establishing clear goals
• Running great meetings
• Communicating clearly
• Leveraging team members' individual and collective strengths
• Enhancing communication
• Building trust
• Increasing productivity
• Following best practices
• Using examples.
Case study via infographic
Why do virtual teams
fail?
o In the book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Lencioni he looks at the characteristics of why teams fail. Lencioni has five (5) indicators that a team is functioning poorly.
Absence of Trust – roles are unclear, people stay quiet, work in silos, they do not bring ‘undiscussables’ to the team meetings.
False Harmony - team members do not engage in tough questioning because they fear it will hurt people’s feelings and impede group harmony.
Ambiguity – team members are vague in their commitment to the unit, there are conflicting goals and ownership of common goals is not shared.
Low standards – no follow through on engagement, team members let things slide as they do not want to hold each other accountable, nor do they want to hurt their feelings.
Status and ego – team members see the monitoring process as unimportant, seeks recognition and attention for themselves, team does not have data to substantiate workflow or show its progress
o Lencioni also describes in the book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” five habits of high-performing teams.
Trust – team leaders have set clear roles, team member opens up to each other, admits mistakes, weaknesses and concerns without being reprimanded
What are the characteristics of successful virtual teams?
Creative Conflict Resolution – team members ask difficult questions, challenge each other’s assumption, team members keep pushing and probing discussions until they are satisfied.
Commitment – team members set common goals and commits to achieving them together.
Accountability – team members hold each other accountable for their performance. Under performance is mentioned at once and in direct, honest terms.
Attention to results – team members monitor each other’s progress towards achieving the stated goal. Events are not glossed over, focuses on data and actual results.
How can a leader accelerate virtual team performance?
Habit #1
Habit #2
Habit #3
Habit #4
Habit #5
Trust vs Absence of Trust
• Create psychological safety and team empowerment by having processes in place to manage conflict effectively, have reliable technology and form team norm early, have a predictable communication pattern, group-based rewards. What Can We Learn from Ten Years of Virtual Team Research?
Creative Conflict vs Artificial Harmony
• Create an environment where team members can be creative and have the ability to share honestly different viewpoints. Research shows that task conflict is healthy and encourages and sparks creative and innovation. Too Much Team Harmony Can Kill Creativity
Commitment vs. Ambiguity
• In order to achieve commitment, team leaders need to spend more time clarifying work priorities and expectations. This can be achieved by setting goals early, creating a positive social environment when team members are in the office, predictable communication patterns, structured procedures and training interventions. Remote Work Trends to Guide High Performance During COVID-19
Accountability vs. Low Standards
• Team members can benefit from this habit by having frequent feedback. This helps to establish a pattern of collaboration and share accountability. This strategy must be systematized and intentional. A remote team's guide to accountability.
Attention to Results vs. Status Ego
• This habit emphasizes and reiterates that virtual teams adopt an agile approach to working. Some key items to pay attention is the importance of setting well defined goals, having short term sprints, and having more regular and frequent meetings. Create a dashboard that tracks results and progress. Focus on the results rather than on the number of hours worked. Today's virtual teams: Adapting lessons learned to the pandemic context
Resources for Managing Virtual Teams
3 Tips to Avoid WFH Burnout (Laura M. Girge and Venessa K. Bohns, HBR)
9 Tips for Managing Remote Employees (Mary Baker, Smarter with Gartner)
13 Tips for Leading and Managing Remote Teams (Brent Gleeson, Forbes)
How to Combat Zoom Fatigue (Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy, HBR)
How to Transition Between Work Time and Personal Time (Elizabeth Grace Saunders, HBR)
Leading Remotely Managers Need Keep Teams Engaged (Sofia Kluch, Gallup)
Top 15 Tips to Effectively Manage Remote Employees (Forbes Coaches Council)
What it Takes to Run a Great Virtual Meeting (Bob Frisch and Cary Greene, HBR)
Resources for Managing Virtual Teams Books
Dare Lead: Brave Wor
k. Tough Conversation
s. Whole Hearts . (Brené Brown)
Leading Remote Team s: Embrace the Future of Remote Work (Alexis Gert)
Empathetic Leadershi p (Michael Brisciana)
Guide to Virtual Team Building (Konstantin Degner)
Leading Anywhere: Th e Essential Guide to M anaging Remote Team s (David Burkus)
Working from Home: Making the New Norm al Work for You (Karen Mangia)
Remote Leadership: S uccessfully Leading W ork-from-Anywhere an d Hybrid Teams (Debra A. Dinnocenzo and Jason Morwick)
Remote Work Revoluti on: Succeeding from A nywhere (Tsedal Neeley)
The Long-Distance Le ader (Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel)
Resources for Managing Virtual Teams Videos
Effectively Managi ng Remote Teams (Simon Sinek)
How Teams Can M eaningfully Conne ct Remotely (Simon Sinek)
How to Build Trust on a Virtual Team (HBR)
How to Effectively Lead a Remote Te am (LearnLoft)
How to Lead: Buil ding a manceHigh-Perfor Virtual Tea m (Jason Whaling)
Trusting Teams (Simon Sinek)
How to Make Virtu al Meetings Seem More Real (HBR)
Resources for Managing Virtual Teams LinkedIn Learning Courses
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2
3
4
Leading at a Distance: Tactics and strategies for empowering remote teams and team members, as well as teams that consist of remote and in-person employees.
Leading Virtual Meetings: Explore the challenges and benefits associated with online meetings and discover strategies for leading an effective meeting from a distance.
Managing Remote Teams - Setting Expectation, Beha viors, and Habits: Best practices on how to provide employees with the trust, tools, and structure they need to be successful in a virtual environment.
Managing Skills for Remot e Leaders: How to create a sense of community and build an inclusive culture that spans virtual workspaces and shares values, goodwill, and ideas.
Virtual leader self reflection tool
3 = Usually 2 = Sometimes 1 = Rarely Self Reflection
#
Using the scale below, indicate how each statement applies to your team. Please briefly evaluate the statements without over-thinking your answers.
1 Hold frequent check-ins – e.g. morning and afternoon huddles.
2 Delegate – clarify expectations and then get out of the way.
3 Follow up to ensure communication is flowing among team members.
4 Provide feedback to team members often, both appreciative and constructive. Remember to be specific.
5 Help people assume personal responsibility for their actions and behavior by asking powerful questions.
6 Identify milestones and deliverables in writing.
7 Assess results and progress on a regular basis as a team.
8 Ensure that clear priorities are set and shared
9 Develop team “operating principles” such as responding within a certain time frame or regularity of check-in meetings.
10 Set aside time for full discussion of challenging topics and invite full participation.
11 Understand people’s constraints and personal challenges. Be flexible and empathetic.
12 Use digital tools to share information and enable your team to track its progress toward achieving specific milestones and goals.
13 Keep asking: Where are we being successful? Why? What could we be doing better?
14 Celebrate wins and milestones accomplished.
15 Ask for feedback about how you’re doing!
Areas where your scored 3 is a probable indication that you are leading with awareness.
Areas where your scored 2 is a probable indication that you need to add more tools to your tool box to become more effective
Areas where your scored 1 is a probable indication that you need some additional resources and to look at revamping some of the strategies in place