A Manager's Guide to Virtual Teams

CHAPTER 2Setting Up Your Virtual Team

Virtual teams are teams that “work together apart,” whose members may be scattered across the street, across the continent, or across the globe. Although members do not share the same location, they must still work collaboratively to meet common objectives, managing their roles and daily responsibilities in challenging circumstances. What keeps these individuals organized, communicative, and productive without the ongoing face-to-face connection that people who work in close proximity share? The answer is twofold: (1) Tools, guidelines, and processes are set up to enable connection, and (2) the manager acts as the main “connector,” keeping members who are beyond arm’s reach aligned to each other—in essence, ...