Imagine the freedom – gone are the four walls holding you in, no chains attaching you to your desk, your hours are yours to do as you please – no it’s not unemployment – but the reality for many people working in a “virtual team.”
Globalisation, technological advances and tightening budgets have pushed a boom in the numbers of virtual teams.
Such a team doesn’t conform to the traditional office structure; rather they are spread across the globe, communicating virtually by phone, email, Skype, text – saving both money and time.
The bonuses aside – there are challenges to creating a sense of team work within a virtual team.
Facing the challenges
Strategies need to be put in place to deal such challenges. Virtual teams, like any other, need the same things all teams need – a clear mission, an explicit statement of roles and responsibilities, effective communication pathways and learning opportunities.
Judith Holton an executive consultant for the Holland College on Prince Edward Island in Canada says a virtual team needs a solid base of trust and collaboration to work effectively.
She says techniques can be borrowed from the face-to-face environment and adapted to virtual work, in order to enhance trust – but there is no quick fix. “By focussing attention and time on virtual team building it is possible a team will experience enhanced collaboration and cohesiveness.”
Humanity in the virtual world
“Caring, talk, personal conversations and story telling are forms of discourse which can establish a mood of support and encourage self-disclosure and the sharing of feelings,” Holton says.
“As social beings, face-to-face interaction will continue to play a very important role in our relationships regardless of how virtual our environment may become. A wise virtual team leader will also seek to build opportunities for face-to-face meetings into virtual team work whenever possible as a means of enhancing team understanding and accelerating intra-group bonding.”
So how should we do it – as a starting point we have provided three quick keys – to unlock the door to virtual success.
3 keys to managing a virtual team
Innovative leadership
A virtual team needs a manager who provides clearly defined direction. Team leaders need to formalise roles and responsibilities.
Creative decision making
Having a virtual team means a vastly different culture of decision making. Try out different ways.
Communication – use your body
A stagnant image peering out of the computer screens lacks authority, body language can help you develop interpersonal skills which cross the virtual medium, and can help you develop influence.
