101 Leadership Actions for Creating and Managing Virtual Teams

Table of contents

1. 101 Leadership Actions for Creating and Managing Virtual Teams
   1. Copyright
   2. Preface
   3. Chapter 1: How This Book Is Organized
   4. Chapter 2: Using this Book Effectively
   5. Chapter 3: Strategy and Virtual Teams
      1. 1 Develop a clear business strategy.
      2. 2 Provide “line of sight.”
      3. 3 Make the whole visible to everyone.
      4. 4 Stimulate rich conversations within your organization.
      5. 5 Develop a clear purpose and focus for the team.
      6. 6 Develop clear objectives for the team.
      7. 7 Develop clear objectives for individuals on the team.
      8. 8 Encourage carefully chosen small steps initially.
      9. 9 Light a “fire in the belly.”
      10. 10 Identify the benefits of virtual teams.
      11. 11 Identify the liabilities of virtual teams.
      12. 12 Solicit the support of top management.
   6. Chapter 4: Structure and Virtual Teams
      1. 13 Eliminate the hierarchy.
      2. 14 Establish position or group status of members and define task roles of group members.
      3. 15 Establish some work rules.
      4. 16 Consider the issue of location.
      5. 17 Create a formal meeting structure.
      6. 18 Regularly redesign your meeting structure.
   7. Chapter 5: The Practices of Virtual Teams
      1. 19 Explain rules, define terminology, and use explicit language and descriptions.
      2. 20 Foster social presence.
      3. 21 Establish norms for group interaction.
      4. 22 Evaluate your team’s performance against the norms members have chosen.
      5. 23 Establish a creating stage for your team’s work.
      6. 24 Establish procedures for group discussion.
      7. 25 Establish rules of “netiquette” and create an active list of “ebbreviations.”
      8. 26 Create a newspaper-style report after each meeting, and publish it for the rest of the team.
      9. 27 Encourage the team to acknowledge who is present and who is absent at the beginning of every meeting, and develop clear strategies for involving all members in the team’s work.
      10. 28 Develop a team policy of sending out “hot news” bulletins.
      11. 29 Create ways to celebrate accomplishments as a team, even when the team is not physically together.
      12. 30 Use “information mapping” to communicate information.
      13. 31 Amplify energy.
      14. 32 Establish regular communication practices as a means of avoiding communication gaps.
      15. 33 Establish agreeable guidelines regarding team communication.
      16. 34 Monitor and manage communication effectiveness.
      17. 35 Stimulate communication within the network of team members.
      18. 36 Build trust in your virtual team based on proven performance, rather than on social bonds.
      19. 37 Create a virtual environment of inclusiveness and involvement.
      20. 38 Creative approaches for providing feedback, coaching, and support for the virtual team.
      21. 39 Encourage team members to develop interpersonal relationships.
      22. 40 Clarify goals at every meeting.
      23. 41 Develop visual, online reminders of the progress being made toward important goals, tasks, and projects.
      24. 42 Keep team interactions upbeat and action oriented.
      25. 43 Standardize common protocols.
      26. 44 Celebrate the achievement of milestones.
      27. 45 Identify the barriers to collaboration that your team needs to overcome.
      28. 46 Identify what people should do in the event of a crisis.
      29. 47 Assume nothing, but spell out everything.
      30. 48 Watch for conflict.
      31. 49 Effectively manage conflict.
      32. 50 Do better next time.
      33. 51 Monitor and manage meeting behavior.
      34. 52 Consider obtaining the services of a meeting facilitator.
   8. Chapter 6: The Tools of Virtual Teams
      1. 53 Create a sign, a logo, or a symbol to represent your team.
      2. 54 Make your team members aware of the rules for online communication.
      3. 55 Provide extensive training in virtual teamwork to help overcome process loss.
      4. 56 Develop tools for the selection of high-quality virtual team members.
      5. 57 Create a shared virtual space where team members can interact beyond the scope of work.
      6. 58 Regularly consider the need for training.
      7. 59 Review and align processes periodically.
      8. 60 Develop and make available a variety of job aids.
      9. 61 Perform a readiness assessment.
   9. Chapter 7: Managing Virtual Teams
      1. 62 Define team objectives.
      2. 63 Identify appropriate team members.
      3. 64 Establish a team leader.
      4. 65 Clarify the position of group members.
      5. 66 Develop cross-team groups that are focused on particular skills.
      6. 67 Create in-house mentoring and coaching initiatives.
      7. 68 Create ad hoc teams for unique tasks or opportunities.
      8. 69 Make sure that you understand and uphold the group’s norms.
      9. 70 Take on the role of “chief communicator.”
      10. 71 Find ways to spotlight individuals or small groups who are making exciting things happen.
      11. 72 If team members have not worked together in the past, allow time for them to get to know one another.
      12. 73 Make sure that your team members have a healthy balance of technical and interpersonal skills.
      13. 74 Emphasize the need for commitment to the virtual team.
      14. 75 Create new ways of managing conflict.
      15. 76 Assess the work that has to be accomplished.
      16. 77 Challenge each person on your team to be a self starter and a strong communicator.
      17. 78 “Mega-communicate.”
      18. 79 Blend cultures and backgrounds on your virtual team.
      19. 80 Make the transition from managing time to managing projects.
      20. 81 Provide regular assessment of progress toward goals and objectives.
   10. Chapter 8: Technology and Virtual Teams
       1. 82 Give team members access to tools that support highly interdependent work, such as advanced groupware or videoconferencing.
       2. 83 Create a “virtual water cooler” within an electronic communication system to informally share information and perspectives about what is going on with regard to individuals on the team or the team’s work.
       3. 84 Create tracks and footprints in physical space.
       4. 85 Learn how to use a variety of electronic communication media strategically.
       5. 86 Use the phone more often.
       6. 87 Switch media for greater impact.
       7. 88 Create and use virtual conferences often to introduce or share expertise.
       8. 89 Use the grouping feature of e-mail software to increase the effectiveness of the virtual team.
       9. 90 Use virtual meetings to handle specific near-focus issues quickly.
       10. 91 Adapt decision-making software to facilitate problem solving and decision making.
       11. 92 The more you interact by voice, text, and audio, the more you will be able to overcome the barriers of time, distance, and culture.
       12. 93 Consider the cost.
   11. Chapter 9: Systems and Virtual Teams
       1. 94 Establish the appropriate quantitative and qualitative data for accurate assessment of virtual team members.
       2. 95 Develop a thorough understanding of e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing.
       3. 96 Compensate creatively.
       4. 97 Reconsider performance management.
       5. 98 Examine and revise your reward structure.
       6. 99 Consider the factor of system selection.
       7. 100 Thoroughly consider how you store your documentation.
       8. 101 Actively evaluate and reevaluate all the systems that affect the virtual team.
   12. Chapter 10: What’s Next with Your Virtual Team?
       1. 102 Identify five actions from this book that are critical to your virtual team’s success and create an action plan for their implementation.
       2. 103 Share this book and the actions contained herein liberally with those who share the responsibility for the success of your virtual teams.