The Core Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams

Management at Work » Managing virtual teams.

I came across this article by Karen McHenry; consultant, writer, and professor, which I feel clearly and succinctly describes the core challenges of managing virtual teams – and what new skills are required for managers who are accostomed to leading co-located teams.

Ms. McHenry states:

When organizations elect to create virtual teams, they focus on the potential advantages, such as the diversity of the team, or the potential for “round the clock” productivity with employees working in multiple time zones. However, companies must also be aware of the challenges that accompany virtual teams. For these groups to be successful, managers cannot use the old rules of leadership. New ways of working require different skills.

While I agree with this statement I believe that most of the adjustments required are small changes to team interaction or management style; and many ultimately amount to being more deliberate about process and workflow. Some of them are simply good, fundamental management skills that get overlooked when team members see each other regularly. So I think it’s important to note that while new skills and workstyle changes are required to be successful, distributed teamwork does not require a whole new way of working.

Have a look at McHenry’s article and see if you agree that much of what she suggests would be good practices regardless of the structure of your team or where members are located.

Useful Links – “Follow me on Twitter” Edition

The buzz about Twitter has been steadily growing over the past few months so I’m sure you have heard something about it. I’ve recently begun using it and am discovering it is a wonderful way to communicate, network, find useful resources, get questions answered, and connect with other like minded people.

If you’re on Twitter – I invite you to follow me – http://twitter.com/philmontero. I will be sharing lots of ideas, resources, and links much like I do on this blog. Its also gives you a chance to pick my brain and ask your most pressing question about virtual teams, mobile work technology, or remote collaboration.

Now on with the links . . .

OPM announces new governmentwide telework policy: Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry on Wednesday announced a broad new telework plan for employees, in part to deal with growing concern over the spread of swine flu in the United States. Why does it always take something this serious for people to think about the benefits of telework?

Effective Communication for Managing Virtual Office Employees: This article from Entrepreneur.com shares helpful strategies and software to better manage employees from afar.

5 Things You’ll Miss by Not Working In An Office: While there is no shortage of things you won’t miss about the office when telecommuting you may be surprised to find there are a few things you long for. The good news is, once you know what you’re missing, you can find ways to enjoy those same benefits while working remotely.

4 Ways to Make Every Day Earth Day with The Anywhere Office

While we have been preaching the environmental benefits of telecommuting and virtual teams for many, many years -today being Earth Day seemed like a good time to give you a quick rundown of some ways that the tools and strategies of The Anywhere Office® can help you go green and make every day Earth Day.

Here are 4 things you can easily do starting today to make a difference:

Eliminate or reduce the daily commute

Do you or your employees commute daily to a central office?  Consider telecommuting even a few days a week or month.  This can reduce tons of CO2 emissions annually.  Just how much?  Check out the carbon calculator at http://www.thegreenoffice.com/carboncalculator/calculator/.

SunMicrosystems Open Work program saved million in real estate and energy costs and cut carbon emissions by 29,000 tons in 2007.

If you need to access computers or documents in the office you can use a remote access service like GoToMyPC for easy remote access.

Or take a bold leap forward and go completely virtual by allowing your team or organization to work full time from their home offices. Read more

The importance of developing effective virtual leaders

I came across this short thought-provoking video created by Team Builders Plus and some of the
statistics and points it raises are real eye-openers.

What’s it like where you work?

As they point out:

Leadership, trust, and communication are more important than ever, but if your organization is like many today, the intense focus on cost-containment and fears about the economy dominate
the conversation at work.

While millions of people are losing their jobs and an increasing number of companies are going out of business the landscape of business will be changing in the near future.

With more than 25% of the working population reaching retirement age by 2010 a massive workers shortage looms on the horizon. This means organizations will be forced to do more with less and increase productivity from fewer employees.

In a study of more than 1000 organizations, leadership was identified as the single biggest challenge. Increasingly people lack confidence and trust in their managers and leaders.

We’ve found that these issues are magnified when managing remote employees or virtual teams. That is why our training focuses on improving communication and increasing trust in virtual teams when managing virtually. Read more

Growing Your Business in Difficult Economic Times

Cut costs, improve productivity, and actually GROW your business while your competition is operating in survival mode.

Whether you view the current situation in the global marketplace as a depression, a recession, or simply an economic crisis; no one can argue that there aren’t several important indicators of a worldwide economic downturn.

These include high oil prices, which contribute to both high food prices and a declining dollar value; a sub-prime mortgage crisis; increasing unemployment; the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers; a substantial credit shortage leading to the bankruptcy of several large and well established investment banks and an intervention totalling HUNDREDS of BILLIONS that has yet to slow plunging stock values or stabilize a faltering real estate market.

Each and every one of us has begun to feel the effects – in our neighborhoods, at the grocery store, in the job market…

What does all of this mean for your business? Should you let employees go? Put a freeze on hiring? Cut back on marketing? Backburner plans to explore new markets?

Trimming fat from your business is smart in lean times; but there is a danger of entering a downward spiral which leads to going out of business. When revenues are low you cut back on marketing – which brings less clients, which in turn decreases revenue further – leading to more cutbacks. A few cycles of this and you’ll be out of business.

It is only natural to revisit your overall business strategy when market conditions change, but it is important to recognize that slow economical conditions may offer a significant opportunity to improve your business model. Read more

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