Leading Virtual Teams - The Top 4 Challenges and 3 Winning Strategies

We call them "Virtual Teams" but the only thing virtual about these teams is their cyber office. Otherwise, these teams are made up of real people solving real problems and producing real deliverables. 

These teams have some special challenges. If you are leading a virtual team, there are three dimensions of communication you need to know.   Distributed Teams are More Challenging Let's start with the problem. Why treat virtual teams any differently than other project team? What's special? Distance. This translates into four specific challenges: First, where's the informal communication that happens at the coffee pot or water cooler? "So tell me, Eric, how many of these kinds of projects have you worked on?" or "I have a few simple questions I didn't really want to raise in the team meeting - you know, I didn't want to look dumb, but..." Second, what are you going to do about that old rule of thumb that 75% of communication is non-verbal when the only communication you have is verbal or written? Now add that most teams hit headwinds and must rely on trust and commitment to stick together when the going gets rough. Can you build trust and commitment across time zones? Then there's the logistics: What time do you meet? And where do you keep the project's "stuff"? Three Winning Communication Strategies of Leading Distributed Teams Notice the key term is leading. Not organizing, but leading.  Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, emphasizes that "leaders have followers." To be a leader of a distributed group of people that you don't see daily, you must be conscious of three dimensions of communication.

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About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a leading performance consulting and training firm that helps high growth technology, services, and life-science companies create a competitive advantage by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with their strategy. Learn more about getting aligned

Project Team Toolkit

Do you need to get your team rowing in the same direction?

Recognizing that nearly all projects are accomplished through the concerted, coordinated work of project teams, effective project team leaders balance the art of leadership and the science of project management.

Whether your teams are made up of part-time volunteers or highly-skilled professionals, their productivity and success is dramatically affected by the relationships within the team and the ability to function as a cohesive unit.

Project teams have a special challenge: they come together for a temporary assignment in which they face a unique problem. Successful project teams build a positive project team environment and learn to work together to solve problems even in the face of conflict. 

This research-backed project team toolkit includes:

• The Critical Characteristics of a Great Executive Project Sponsor
• The Top 5 Warning Signs of a Bad Project Leader
• The 3 Keys to Successful Project Leadership
• How to Break the Resource Gridlock: Prioritize to Accelerate
• Must Have Tips for Getting the Project Resources You Need to Succeed
• Proven Strategies on How to Better Choose Between Projects
• The 6 "Get Right" Basics of a Great Project Kick-off Meeting
• The Top 4 Project Challenges Every Team Must Overcome
• 3 Proven Steps to Better Manage Internal and External Project Stakeholder Risks
• The Top 5 Warning Signs that Your Performance Environment May Be Destroying Your Project
• 20 Project Management Best Practice Templates
• 5 Steps to Get Your Project Team Pulling in the Same Direction
• How to Best Handle a Fixed Deadline when Project Scope is Unclear
• Top 10 Project Mistakes and How to Prevent Them

Get Your Project Team Toolkit Now

About LSA Global

Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a leading performance consulting and training firm that helps high growth technology, services, and life-science companies create a competitive advantage by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with their strategy. Learn more about getting aligned