Presented by: Ian Beeson

1
Building High PerformingVirtual Teams

• Presented by Ian Beeson
• The Performance Through Development Group
• Melbourne, Australia
• April, 2006

2
About this Presentation

• Slides are very busy to allow for
• Easier understanding for those whose primary
  language is not English
• Use as a prompter or reminder booklet
• Clearer communication than simply by phone
• Material drawn from many sources
• Acknowledged in credits at end
• Primary source is Ken Blanchard resources

3
Agenda

• To Begin Some Definitions
• Warming Up Setting Up for Success
• The Saga Continues Managing the Journey
• Shutting Down Wrapping it Up
• Some Thoughts and Tools
• Discussion Questions
• Credits References

4
To Begin Some Definitions

• What is a Virtual Team?
• Range of definitions, depending on the writer
• Lipnack Stamps suggest that any team which
  operates outside a 50 foot (15.25m) radius will
  demonstrate some of the characteristics of a
  virtual team.
• To me, its any team where regular face-to-face
  contact is difficult or impossible, due to
• Time zones, shifts or schedules
• Geography

5
Thinking About Virtual Teams

• Why? What are the Benefits?
• Cost reduction
• Perform work in most cost-effective location
• Reduce travel accommodation expenses (NOT
  ELIMINATE!)
• Reduce consulting through access to skilled
  internal personnel
• Lower real estate costs
• Productivity Effectiveness
• Apply most appropriate resources (from anywhere)
  to job
• Can schedule to follow-the-sun/around-the-clock
• Reduced susceptibility to disaster (multiple
  locations)
• Management Buy-In
• Involvement tends to foster support
• May allow staff to operate closer to customers
• Improved Staff Satisfaction
• Opportunity to participate in projects they may
  not otherwise
• Can build ongoing relationships/networks across
  business

6
Warming Up Setting Up for Success

• Common Themes with ALL Project Management
• Fail to Plan Plan to Fail!
• Select resources appropriate to goal
• Ensure Standards Protocols are understood
• All Regular Team Leadership Rules Apply
• Some Additional Considerations
• Some additional leadership management issues
• Some additional communication issues
• Some additional risks

7
Fail to Plan Plan to Fail

• Leader needs to have COMPELLING vision
• It needs to be at a level higher than the local
  view
• It needs to imply local benefit
• It needs to be clear enough to enable empowerment
• It needs to be continually restated to maintain
  alignment
• Beware the Budget!
• Do NOT allow travel costs to be eliminated
• Ensure your risk contingency is appropriate
• Schedules
• Need to identify INDIVIDUAL deliverables and
  deadlines
• Need to include teleconferences, meetings, etc.
  for planning

8
Selecting Your Resources

• Task competence becomes MORE critical
• Individuals may have less support available
  locally
• Estimates for completion may be less accurate
• Concern over performance may lead to withdrawal
• Communication competence becomes critical
• Individuals must be able to manage communications
• Individuals must be able to communicate
• Progress task-related questions
• Issues, concerns, problems
• Information relevant to other team members

9
Standards and Protocols

• Team Members come from diverse backgrounds
• Provide clear standards for all work, available
  to everyone (e.g. website, eRoom, etc)
• Refer back to these standards, and allow them to
  continue growing and developing
• Include a range of things logos, templates,
  samples of finished work, checklists, anything
  that helps!
• How do you address one another?
• Ian, Beeson-san, Mr. Beeson? Oba? Gung?
• What are your calendars? Website? Outlook?
• Public holidays
• Religious requirements

10
Standards and Protocols

• Ensure behavioural norms are documented and
  understood
• Date Time references
• GST? AEDT? 24h or am/pm?
• dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy or yymmdd?
• When is close of business, Friday?
• How long to return phone calls and emails?
• What are the teams working hours, when can you
  call?
• To whom do you copy which emails?
• What does finished mean? Draft? Final? Handed
  over?
• Who does peer reviews for whom? When? How?

11
Team Leadership Applies!

• Proven model can be useful
• I have found the Situational Leadership II model
  accessible useful
• Suited to both individuals and teams
• Well supported by books and training
• Good coverage of issues(but NOT silver bullet)
• Tried and tested over many years
• Ensure that the team is kicked off appropriately!
• Assemble the team at the start
• Use session for chartering, training, planning
  relationship building
• Research shows this is a CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR!

12
Challenges Leadership
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About the Previous Table

• From Dubé Paré Montréal
• Takes their observations on key team leadership
  factors and enables a profile to be drawn so
  that
• Risks can be identified and managed
• Training needs can be identified and addressed
• Tools and technology can be procured and
  implemented
• Very useful as a thinking guide!

14
Challenges Communication

• Consider the existing tool set
• Is it appropriate to the task at hand?
• Is it available to all members of the team?
• Is it reliable?
• Communications vary widely across countries
• Do the team members understand its use?
• Consider language
• Avoid local terms select a team language
• Avoid emotional terms they can be misconstrued
• Use active skills in verbal communication
• Ensure proper respect is maintained for all team
  members
• See checklist in tools for additional ideas

15
Challenges Communication

• Consider Pushed vs. Pulled communication
• Examples of Pushed
• Face to face meetings
• Pagers
• Outbound telephone calls to team members
• Unprioritised (or broadcast) email messages
• Unprioritised voice mail messages
• Examples of Pulled communication
• eBulletin Boards (eRooms, Notes DBs, etc)
• Intranet sites
• Personal/team/task web pages
• Source and document control systems
• As the team matures, the proportion of Pushed
  communication decreases to around 10 of total
  consumption by team members
• Empower the team enable the tools!

16
Additional Risks

• Consider
• Team member focus being pulled to local tasks
• Team member inaccuracy in estimating completion
• Inconsistency in quality of delivered outcomes
• Failure in communication/delivery infrastructure
• Additional time required to
• Develop skills for team members, where required
• Review and coach team members
• Conduct meetings
• Maintain stakeholder participation

17
The Saga ContinuesManaging the Journey

• So, what could possibly go wrong?
• Consider this 2002 German study quoted by
  Dustdar

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The Saga ContinuesManaging the Journey

• Common Themes
• Trust
• Getting it and maintaining it
• Encouraging the team to build relationships
• Communication
• Keeping it open and relevant
• Having processes that work and are used
• Attentiveness
• Keeping the priorities clear, and consistent
• Maintaining contribution to the goal
• Managing The Stakeholders

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Lets Talk About Trust

• Cant be assumed must be earned
• Leader can encourage the development of trust
• Needs to happen AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
• Needs constant maintenance
• Beware amplifying processes
• Low trust ? tighter scrutiny ? detection of minor
  transgression ? lowered trust ? more scrutiny
• Increases transaction costs, lowers morale
• BUT need to find middle ground

20
Building Trust

• Basis of trust in virtual teams
• Common vision, purpose, values (charter)
• Clear, practical processes
• Valuing contributions and capabilities of
  colleagues
• Building trust between members
• Keep the vision, purpose and values front of
  mind
• Use kick-off meeting for experiential learning
  games
• Create key delivery dates (mini-milestones)
• Ensure processes are executed and deal
  effectively with delivery failures
• Publicly recognise and reinforce compliance with
  processes
• Share praise and recognition amongst team as
  appropriate
• Team culture that everyone keeps their commitments

21
Lack of Trust

• Lack of trust can be indicated by
• Unwillingness to share information
• Withdrawal of effort or just doing the minimum
• Discounting others contributions
• Remember that the BEST virtual team is STILL a
  weak matrix organisation!
• People will be influenced by those who pay them!
• Local management can support/decay trust
• Keep them on board, and involved!

22
Lets Talk about Communication

• So, youve planned it well now what?
• Maintain the flow
• Meetings
• One-on-Ones
• Repositories
• Keep it clear
• Clarity
• Respect

23
Maintaining the Flow

• Meetings (teleconferences, etc)
• Create a schedule and stick to it
• Be sensitive to time zones
• Ensure that the early and late sessions are
  shared
• Allow for visits in the plan
• Mix visits to remote sites with visits from
  remote sites
• Facilitate meetings to ensure all voices are
  heard
• Follow up all meetings with confirming minutes
• Key decisions taken
• Actions and deadlines

24
Maintaining the Flow

• One-On-Ones
• Contact team members regularly to avoid isolation
• As appropriate, use their preferred names to help
  establish rapport
• Strongly reinforce desired behaviour
• Use diagnosis skills to identify where coaching
  or redirection might be required, and deliver it
• If necessary, supplement with local mentor/coach
• Keep notes of meeting and share with member

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Keep Communication Clear

• Clarity
• Send important messages via several media
• Check for understanding (esp. in voice comms)
• Followup concerns individually
• Respect
• Ensure all opinions are heard
• Do not take offence when asked for rationale
• Invite members to offer opinions
• Be aware of language capabilities of members
• Can cause embarrassment all members need
  patience
• Can cause confusion check meaning by restating

26
Maintaining the Flow

• Repositories
• Use intuitive structures to make things easy to
  find
• Ensure technology supports the team (e.g.
  response)
• Consider giving each team member a web site
• Their contact details, time zones, etc
• Allow them to personalise it(photos, hobbies,
  etc)
• Deliverables, schedules, etc.
• Ensure information in repositoriesis current
• Have a one thing one place policy

27
Attentiveness/Participation

• What does this mean?
• Individual Dynamics
• Embracing and resolving conflict
• Effective decision making
• Equality of access andrecognition

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Individual Dynamics

• Think about members preferred work styles
• Phone vs. email vs. instant messaging
• Scheduled vs. ad-hoc communication
• Written vs. verbal communication
• Long vs. short lead times
• Think about members personality types
• Information from kick-off session
• Introvert/extrovert?
• Creator/producer?
• Auditory/kinesthetic/visual learner

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Individual Dynamics

• Perception of time
• What does a schedule mean?
• When shouldnt I schedule meetings?
• Perception of power
• Is it OK to challenge/ask questions?
• Is it more important to act as an individual or
  team member?
• Perception of priority
• Should I give priority to the task or my
  colleagues?
• Perception of conflict
• Is conflict a constructive or destructive force?

30
Conflict

• Results from
• Goal Incongruence
• What are we doing? Why is it important?
• Inconsistent direction local vs. remote
  management
• Trust
• Am I contributing more than X? Why does X get the
  rewards?
• You dont know what youre talking about!
• Culture
• We dont do it that way here!
• I cant say that!

31
Conflict

• Consider Blanchards Team Development Stages
• Orientation
• Politeness, enthusiasm, low conflict
• Leader needs to encourage discussion of why
• Dissatisfaction
• Power struggles, high conflict, awareness of
  incompetence
• Leader needs to maintain focus on goal and
  provide tools to constructively resolve conflict
• Integration
• Facilitation, desire for peace, low conflict
• Leader needs to encourage conflict to ensure flow
  of ideas and contribution of team members to goal
• Production
• Constructive conflict, managed between peers,
  high performance
• Conflict is understood as healthy and necessary
  to success of team

32
Conflict

• Worth a whole program on its own!
• Things you can do
• Embrace it and encourage it!
• Fosters generation of new ideas, approaches and
  solutions
• Enriches knowledge through sharing from others
• Enables participation
• Clears emotional or other blockages
• Focus on the outcome or deliverable (not the
  person)
• Reinforce constructive, useful comments
• Redirect people away from emotive terms
  language
• Use tools to support resolution and
  participation
• Thomas-Kilman Conflict Approach
• de Bonos Six Hats

33
Decision Making

• Establish processes during chartering
• Consensus? Majority?
• Remember Situational LeadershipII
• You may have different rules for different
  situations
• e.g. Dont expect lots of contributions for a
  brand new goal!
• Recognise that (generally) teams make better
  decisions than individuals
• Remember to focus on the process of decision
  making as well as the outcome
• Ensure that the team is satisfied that the
  rationale is rational!
• Document the decision and its rationale!

34
Equality of Access Recognition

• Keep in mind
• Its more tempting to talk with those you are
  collocated with, than those on the other end of a
  phone but its isolating for those at the other
  end!
• Often the leader of a virtual team is at the
  centre, or headquarters, and so gets the
  recognition for the job ensure the credit gets
  distributed evenly
• Company newspapers are a great way to do this!
• Ensure you respond to all team members ideas and
  correspondence!

35
Managing the Stakeholders

• As always we LOVE our stakeholders!
• Even when we dont like them very much!
• Remote management is a key stakeholder
• Influences work load on team members
• Has input to members performance appraisals
• Leaders job is to keep them involved and
  informed
• Recognise contribution of their people and its
  importance
• Demonstrate (where possible) value of their
  contribution
• Establish good governance processes
• To support collaboration win-win
• To avoid opportunism/gold-plating/scope creep for
  local benefit
• With participation from all key stakeholders
  (local remote)

36
Shutting Down Wrapping it Up

• Remember that normal issues of Termination Stage
  apply
• If team members have been exclusively assigned,
  they need to be clear about their next role
• Input to their performance appraisals must be
  completed and transmitted
• Need to ensure all remote management receives
  copy of completion report, to allow them to
• See that their contribution was valued
• Which will make them more willing next time
• The project is seen by the executive as
  successful
• Which they can claim some credit for (success by
  association!)
• Need to ensure appropriate recognition event for
  team members
• Dont miss this opportunity (often cut from
  budget wrongly!)
• Try to get all team members together, like an
  anti-kick-off

37
Some Thoughts and Tools

• Some thoughts
• If you havent done this before, seek help
• Experienced colleagues
• Experienced consultants (e.g. PTD, Blanchards)
• Not all of the tools or models apply all the
  time
• Need to have them in your toolkit use when
  appropriate
• Do your homework
• Know what youre trying to achieve and why its
  virtual
• Take care when selecting your resources and tools
• Perform good project planning

38
Some Thoughts Tools

• Some Tools Dos Donts
• Do
• Do devote time to building and maintaining
  relationships with those they lead over distance
• Communication face to face at the beginning of
  the relationship
• Have periodic planned and spontaneous visits to
  remote sites
• Provide opportunities for representatives of
  remote sites to visit HQ periodically
• Engage in small talk with distanced individuals
  in face to face settings and computer mediated
  exchanges
• Regularly distribute company-dies information to
  remote employees (e.g. newsletter, real or
  virtual)

• Notify long distance employees of news that
  impacts them at the same time you tell local
  employees
• Match the appropriate communications technology
  to the desired leadership objectives
• Be specific and detailed with directions given
  over email
• Initiate follow-up phone calls to important email
  messages
• Forward email messages only to relevant parties
• Delete unnecessary parts of emails before
  forwarding or replying
• Beware reply are you replying to an
  individual or a list

From Connaughton
39
Some Thoughts Tools

• Some Tools Dos Donts
• Dont
• Deliver bad news via email
• Use local colloquialisms with foreigners
  especially in email
• Use email to discuss emotionally charged issues
  (e.g. disagreements)
• Assume that one an email is sent, it will be read
  an understood
• Relate information only at one time and in one
  way

• Always travel to remote sites or expect remote
  individuals to always travel to you mix it up
• Disclose pertinent information to local
  individuals before distanced individuals
• Assume meanings are shared
• Allow email to completely replace phones and
  teleconferences

From Connaughton
40
Discussion Questions

• If you would like to contact us, we are
• In Australia The PTD Group
• Melbourne 0419 007 076
• Sydney 02 9858 2822
• In the USA The Ken Blanchard Companies
• Toll-Free 800 728-6000
• In the UK
• London 44 (0) 20 8540 5404
• In Canada
• Mississauga 905 568-2678

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Credits References

• Carmela Sperlazza Southers, Eunice Parisi-Carew,
  Don Carew Virtual Teams Handbook, The Ken
  Blanchard Companies, Escondido, Ca. USA
• Managing Virtual Teams Martha Haywood, Mgt
  Strategies, inc, Boston, ISBN 0-89006-913-1

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Credits References

• Jessica Lipnack Jeffrey Stamps, Virtual
  Teams, Wiley, NY, ISBN 0-471-16553-0
• Managing Virtual Teams - Text of speech given by
  Lisa Kimball for Team Strategies Conference
  sponsored by Federated Press, Toronto, Canada,
  1997. Lisa Kimball ais the Executive Producer of
  Group Jazz (www.groupjazz.com).
• Velda Stohr Stevie Peterson, Virtual Teams
  Toolkit, University of St.Thomas in St.Paul,
  Minnesota, USA (http//www.managementhelp.org/grp_
  skll/virtual/virtual.htm)
• Virtual Teams Projects, Protocols and
  Processes, The Idea Group 2004 (ISBN
  1-59140-166-6 hardcover)
• Chapter 1 Line Dubé, Guy Paré HEC, Montréal
• Chapter 2 - Walter Fernandez, University of
  Queensland, Australia
• Chapter 5 - Connaughton (Rutgers University)
  Daly (University of Texas in Austin
• Chapter 6 Dustdar, Vienna University of
  Technology, Austria
• Dustdar quotes Akademie für Führungskräfte 2002
  reportProbleme bei der Teamarbeit Germany
• Chapter 7 Staples, Wong Cameron, Queens
  University, Canada