The Handbook of High Performance Virtual Teams: A Toolkit for Collaborating Across Boundaries

Chapter 2. Design Principles for Successful Virtual Teams

Harwood Gail Goodrich

I thank and acknowledge the Continuous Learning Group; the University of Southern California Center for Effective Organizations; Deborah Bethea Berkley; Kathie Dannemiller; Jay Galbraith; James Hartigan; Chuck Raben; Julie Smith; and Paul Tolchinsky.

Virtual collaboration is assumed to present particular organizational challenges. It can be argued, however, that "virtual" actually sets up the conditions for more effective collaboration. Any collaborative effort requires good design, clear vision and goals, boundary setting, and explicit work agreements. When collaborators are not seen or perhaps not even known, the requirement for good design intensifies. The very nature ...