Virtual Teams

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Virtual Teams

• Tempting Templates
• Special Topics Report

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Virtual Teams
Virtual Teams enable organizations to exploit
time differences, the availability of skills, not
to mention cost differences to get projects done
faster, better and cheaper.
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Challenges of Virtual Teams

• Differences in culture, time zones and language
• Building trust and social bonding
• Distributing information
• Feelings of isolation in team members
• Communicating clearly

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Effective Virtual Teams

• Start with good planning - minimize dependencies
• Keep in touch regularly - avoid isolation
• Respond quickly to problems
• Use technology to bridge the communication gap
• Create peer review groups to share information
• Hold effective meetings
• Have escalation procedures for issues
• Have fun together - try to get together once in a
  while
• Build trust within the team

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Trust
The Bad News People are more likely to deceive,
be less persuaded by and initially cooperate less
with someone they believe is in a distant city as
opposed to in the same city as them. The Good
News Peoples willingness to cooperate increases
quickly with interaction.
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Building Trust

• Show respect for opinions
• Focus on the problem, rather than blame
• Be a role model by demonstrating constructive
  behavior
• Take time for team members to get to know each
  other
• Budget an initial face-to-face team meeting
• Do what you say you will do
• Do not make negative remarks about the team or
  team members performance in public
• Give each team member the opportunity to
  contribute

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5 Key Skills for Virtual PMs

• 1. Motivation - Overcome the sense of isolation.
• Need for Achievement - technical people
• Need for Affiliation - communicators
• Need for Power - leaders
• 2. Collaborative Leadership - leadership based on
  skills, not status or position
• 3. Communication - must be accurate, clear and
  direct
• 4. Commitment - create a charter and clearly
  define roles and responsibilities
• 5. Conflict Resolution - communication is more
  easily misinterpreted

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Building Remote Team Spirit

• Create a chat area where workers can discuss
  professional or personal issues.
• Post photos or stories of team members
  professional or personal success on a team web
  site.
• Create a team newsletter with team activities, as
  well as non-work related information about team
  members.
• Plan group events when team members are in the
  same physical location.
• Create a team collage or a map showing where
  everyone is located.

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Our Teams Experience

• Communications Plan, Team Contract and Charter
• Weekly progress meetings via phone
• Updates via email - notify all team members on
  all correspondence
• Clearly defined project plan
• Documented meeting minutes
• Collaborative Leadership Everyone led at least
  one key piece of the project

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References

• Eight Ways to Build (remote) Team Spirit
  http//www.nwfusion.com/net.worker/columnists/2001
  /0709zbar.html
• Highest Levels of Trust, http//www.mapnp.org
  /library/grp_skll/virtual/teambild.pdf
• Key People Skills for Virtual Project Managers,
  http//www.allpm.com/article.php?sid440
• Teamwork is the Key to Remote Development
  http//archive.infoworld.com/articles/tc/xml/01/03
  /05/010305tcdistdev.xml
• Virtual Teamwork Tools and Techniques for
  Working together Online, http//www.intranetjo
  urnal.com/articles/200105/pwc_05_09_01a.html
• Why Distance Matters Effects on Cooperation,
  Persuasion and Deception, Erin Bradner and
  Gloria Mark, Proceedings of the ACM Conference on
  CSCW, New Orleans, Nov 16-20,2002, New
  YorkACM Press