CHAPTER 3

Strategies for Virtual Team Success

Creating social relationships can be more challenging in virtual teams and take more time than in face-to-face settings. Virtual teamwork is not the preferred work mode for many, as people often feel isolated and detached from actual work production and from colleagues. Both leaders and team members require an understanding of virtual team dynamics as well as the possession of a unique skill set.

Leadership Selection

Selection of a qualified leader is paramount to virtual team success, and leaders who excel in face-to-face settings may not prove successful in the virtual environment. Virtual team leaders must not only understand the dynamics of team interaction but also adapt to the differences in face-to-face and virtual communication. Skilled leaders possess the essential qualities in Table 3.1.3 Rate your own abilities in each category, with a score of 5 representing full competence.

Table 3.1 Virtual leadership assessment

While many organizations have found that the quality of output from virtual teams is comparable to that of face-to-face teams, more time is typically required for virtual teams to reach decisions. An effective virtual team leader must be skilled in moving people toward negotiation, consensus, and ultimate solutions.

The collaboration of a virtual team with a wide range of expertise is required to solve many of the complex tasks businesses face today. Unlike the teams of years past, today’s teams are often larger, more diverse, require long-distance cooperation, and include members with a wider range of expertise. An in-depth study of 15 multinational companies revealed that the same characteristics so important to solving complex business problems can also undermine the team’s success. For instance, as the size of the team increases and teams become virtual, the tendency to collaborate naturally decreases. The greater the diversity of the team, including the number of strangers on the team, the less likely team members are to share knowledge or exhibit collaborative behaviors. The researchers found that the greater the proportion of experts on the team, the more likely it was to disintegrate into a nonproductive conflict or stalemate.4

To maximize the effectiveness of large, diverse teams, managers must take deliberate measures to promote collaboration. Best practices that help teams overcome the difficulties posed by size, long-distance communication, diversity, and specialization include the following:5

• Executive support. Teams do well when managers invest in supporting social relationships, demonstrating collaborative behavior themselves, and creating a “gift culture”—one in which employees experience interactions with leaders and colleagues as something valuable and generously offered.
• Focused HR practices. Team performance improves when the organization supports informal community building and provides training in collaborative skills. These skills include appreciating others, being able to engage in purposeful conversations, resolving conflicts productively and creatively, and managing programs. Some companies are finding success using virtual games such as “Warcraft” and “Ever Quest” to build leadership and team skills. The use of social media and blogs, wikis, and other online collaborative tools can help dissimilar people find common ground for communicating and sharing.6
• Capable team leaders. Assigning task- and relationship-­oriented team leaders produces higher levels of collaborative behavior. An effective leadership style for virtual teams typically leans more heavily on task orientation at the outset of the project and then shifts toward a relationship orientation once the work is in full swing.
• Team formation and structure. Because team members are often reluctant to share knowledge with strangers, a best practice is to place at least a few people who know one another on the team. Cooperation increases when the roles of individual team members are clearly defined and well-­understood, yet the team is given latitude on how to achieve the task.

Achieving collaboration requires a disciplined approach from the beginning of the project. The proper organizational climate, carefully trained virtual leaders and members, and clear team processes are critical to building collaborative behaviors needed to solve complex issues.

Virtual Team Membership

Working virtually has revolutionized the workplace, giving employees freedom to collaborate across continents while carrying their offices in the palms of their hands. While the vast majority of employees enjoy this newly acquired freedom, some individuals are better suited than are others for membership in virtual teams because of their temperament and experiences. Understanding the need to choose the right people for virtual work, companies such as Hewlett-Packard offer employees self-­assessments to determine if they are cut out for the world of virtual work.7 Careful team member selection is followed by intentional, continual training to develop lacking skills, continual effort to build strong team and leadership skills, and encouraging members to coach one another.

Strong technical skills are critical for virtual employees’ success because collaboration with peers and team leaders separated by vast distances is most often accomplished through technology. However, managers are discovering that technology alone, even with the most dazzling gadgets and software, does not build teams. Instead, strong interpersonal skills are the secret to the success of highly effective virtual teams. This social skill set allows individuals to create a sense of community with far-flung team members so they can do their best work.8

Skilled members of virtual teams possess the essential qualities shown in Table 3.2.9 Rate your own abilities in each category, with a score of 5 representing full competence.

Table 3.2 Virtual team member assessment

Team Member Preparation

Virtual teams need competent and experienced team members to overcome the distance factor and deliver on the team assignment in a timely fashion. Team members should not only be carefully selected but also skillfully introduced to the virtual team experience. The following elements of team preparation will help ensure effective functioning:

• Team scope and purpose. These essential elements must be clearly understood by all team members. Creating a sense of importance helps to establish commitment and secure the “buy-in” necessary from each participant. This shared vision can be created early in the process by planning face-to-face or virtual team building activities focused on helping team members to get to know each other better personally and professionally and to establish principles for how the team will work.
• Technological competence. Comfortable use of technology is required for those who will communicate virtually. Unfortunately, technology tools are often underused in virtual teams due to lack of knowledge, coaching, and reward. Because virtual teams are so dependent on technology for communication, team participants must be aware of available information technology tools, know when to use each tool for maximum impact, and invest time and energy in needed training. Web meeting platforms, file-sharing tools, wikis, and other online tools can be used to create and share content and make important human connections. Assuring technical ability is probably the easiest aspect of preparing people to participate in a virtual team.
• Face-to-face time. Same location interchange, when possible, is enormously beneficial to virtual team formation. In addition to an initial face-to-face meeting for team members to meet and socialize, periodic in-person meetings are beneficial throughout the project life. These meetings help establish ties and strengthen responsibility to one another. Online civility and respect are enhanced when participants know each other beyond a mere online screen name.
• Virtual presence. When physical presence is impossible, strategies are needed to foster “virtual presence”—making a connection with the invisible virtual worker behind the e-mails. Without explicit efforts to create a “virtual water cooler” where members gather to share information and reinforce social bonds, meetings and other communication will be merely task-focused. This sterile environment may limit members’ willingness to share important information and weaken team cohesion.10 Some companies encourage team members to create team names and to use visual reminders of their team members such as photos on their phones or computers. Using a company sponsored social networking hub or Facebook or Twitter provides team members with a place to talk about their families, vacations, and interests. Phone calls and online chats allow virtual team members to share information about the whole person.11

Regular virtual team building activities should be planned to strengthen connections; and if possible, the team should be brought together periodically to relax and brainstorm important projects. While strategies to increase virtual team happiness and productivity are critical to build camaraderie and increase team cohesion, they must be designed carefully to avoid overwhelming team members with more work.12

Trust Building

Trust is an essential element in all successful teams and is particularly challenging in virtual teams in which members may have never met face-to-face. Since traditional oversight based on constant scrutiny is impossible in a virtual environment, management of virtual organizations must be based more on trust than control. The leader must set the example for team trust and assist the team in developing trust in one another. The following principles guide effective trust building.

The swift trust paradigm. The swift trust paradigm principle suggests team members assume from the beginning that the other team members are trustworthy, and they adjust that assumption during the lifetime of the team.13 To achieve high trust levels in the early stages of group life, virtual teams need social and enthusiastic communication. The team leader should be positive about the team’s purpose, effectively relate the importance of the team’s tasks, and exercise skill in moving the team from social communication to task assignments.

Grounds for trust. Research indicates that high-performing virtual teams spend up to half their time in the first two weeks exchanging social information as a means of building initial trust, the first stage of trust development. As initial trust declines over time because of limited face time, virtual teams rely on cognitive trust, which is based on their experiences with each other. In this second phase of trust development, trust is earned by replying promptly and competently to e-mails, meeting deadlines, reliably attending virtual meetings, avoiding the temptation to multitask during virtual meetings, and following up on promises made.14

Team cohesion. Effort should be made to avoid putting teams together too quickly and pressing them to perform immediately without the luxury of important relationship-building communication. In ­situations that allow for face-to-face team time, trust-building activities can be used to enhance team member cohesion. Such experiences can range from physical ropes courses to interpersonal activities designed to promote openness, identification of common ground, and discovery of shared values and differences. By taking the time to highlight differences as well as similarities (cultures, procedures, time zones, and more), a virtual team can reduce the likelihood of judgmental behavior and increase respect and mutual understanding.15

Open and rich communication. Relying solely on online communication tends to inhibit trust, the sense of responsibility, and participation. Even if sophisticated technology is available, using richer forms of communication such as face-to-face contact helps sustain trust through long periods of online communication. In addition to e-mail contact, teams should consider establishing regular times when they can take phone calls or meet online to brainstorm or solve problems and remain online whenever possible for immediate and reliable access. This open communication can also facilitate resolution of conflict as soon as it appears.

Effective Communication

Maintaining effective communication in a widely dispersed team is essential to success. In fact, it is estimated that the time needed for planning for communication in a virtual team is at least double that required for a colocated team.16 Team members can often have trouble getting in touch with one another, and frustration results when e-mails and phone calls go unanswered for days and individual progress is slowed or halted. Weeks can slip by without team progress as members are busy with their other job responsibilities. A lack of frequent and incidental communication also leads to mistakes that may not be identified until late in the process. Additionally, team members tend to have lower levels of commitment to team goals when communication is limited.

Studies of the communication practices of high-performing and low-performing teams underscore the importance of effective communication in the success of virtual teams. Studies indicate that high-­performing teams communicate more than lower performing teams and with messages that focus on key aspects of the tasks. Researchers in one study concluded that the increased communication may have generated a greater number of high-quality and creative ideas. Leaders of the high-performing teams also sent considerably more and longer messages that focused on summarizing the team’s work and sharing these summaries with team members. The summaries served a coordination function by keeping members aware of team members’ ideas and progress. Many of the summary comments appeared in the final team report, providing evidence that the leader’s summaries helped move the team from the idea generation phase to building consensus and generating the deliverable.17 The following strategies have been shown to support good team communication.

Establish a Team Code of Conduct

Establishing a “code of conduct” at the team’s onset establishes a commonly understood expectation for accountability. This clear, disciplined game plan helps alleviate pitfalls to optimal team performance. The code may include a principle of acknowledging a request for information within 24 or 48 hours. A complete response might require more time, but at least the person requesting the information knows that the request will be addressed. Keeping a common team calendar or having members post notices when they will be away keeps everyone informed about availability. The code of conduct might also address preferred ways for contacting team members, voicing opinions, and keeping time frames in mind for workers in different time zones. Expected behavior when participating in virtual meetings might also be addressed, such as not multitasking, limiting background noise and side conversations, talking clearly and at a reasonable pace, listening attentively, not dominating conversations, and so on.

Karan Sorensen, chief information officer and vice president for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical research and development, set up rules of engagement for her virtual teams, such as identifying team members’ communication preferences to address cultural differences, alternating call times so that certain members weren’t always dialing in at midnight, and encouraging the team to place photos of one another by the phone.18

To be effective, the team code of conduct should be reviewed and adjustments made on a regular basis. During a virtual meeting, take the time to ask the following questions: Which agreements are working well and why? Which ones are not working? Do we need some new agreements or adjust some existing ones?19

Have a Regular Schedule of Contact

Since communication is the life-blood of a virtual team, scheduling regular contact with team members is vital, whether it is by phone, web, or in person. The leader may schedule a weekly videoconference and use e-mail or instant messaging for work updates or memos. Ideally, the videoconference should occur on the same day and time each week with a regular rotation of meeting time to accommodate team members working in different time zones with members. Leaders should share the meeting agenda in advance, enforce agreed-on communication protocols, and start and finish the meeting on time. Establishing and enforcing these rhythms in virtual team work allows team members working separately to stay connected to the normal rhythms of work life.20

Additionally research has shown that teams with a predictable rhythm of face-to-face virtual meetings outperform those who choose to meet “as needed” even if they have less face-to-face interaction overall.21 Teleworkers in another study reported added stress caused by increased face-to-face communication, e-mail, instant messaging, and videoconferencing. Thus, managers must carefully weigh the value of any added communication.22

Manage Technology

Overcoming technological constraints is necessary for good communication. E-mail filters out the cues that humans give each other in social contact, thus reducing the richness of team communication, which can lead to less-than-sensitive communication and eventual team conflict. Deriving meaning from text alone can be difficult, especially when interpreting if the other person is expressing sarcasm or speaking tongue-in-cheek. Emoticons (smiley and frowny faces and other visual depictions of emotions) offer a reasonable substitute for facial expression and other body-language cues. The following strategies can aid in overcoming technology constraints:

• Choose an appropriate technology option. With the message’s purpose and human relations factors in mind, team members can determine when to reply with an e-mail rather than picking up the phone, take the time to create and post a document on a shared workspace, or schedule a virtual meeting. They understand that e-mail is not recommended for handling important discussions. Research reported by Kerry Patterson in Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High indicated that 87 percent of those he managed admitted that using high-tech methods to resolve a workplace confrontation had not worked. Nearly 90 percent indicated that e-mail, text messaging, and voice mail can hinder workplace relationships.23
• Use a good mix of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. This combination tends to produce the most favorable results. For example, a team that communicates solely by e-mail might save time but eventually face misunderstandings or a lack of team cohesion. Likewise, a leader who dislikes communicating virtually and saves all communication for weekly web meetings may overwhelm the team or not share enough vital information.24
• Evaluate technology on the communication trifecta: simplicity, reliability, and accessibility. Optimally, technology should allow teams members to get connected easily without complex setup time and steep learning curves, enable members to send messages to their intended target, and provide accessibility to the entire team regardless of location and time zone.25 Collaborative technology must also archive messages for timely retrieval. These critical criteria must rank high when judging the merits of new versions of technology with countless new features.

Agree on E-mail Etiquette

When face-to-face communication isn’t an option, a timely, well-­written e-mail message can be key to getting work done, building trust, and fostering collaboration. The team might agree on an e-mail etiquette guide to enhance results and minimize communication that could be insensitive to different ages, genders, cultures, and so on. Remote workers may find the following e-mail practices especially useful:26

• Respond to e-mails at the beginning of the day, especially if working in different time zones, as many new messages may have arrived during the night or were sent out before the end of the working day.
• Give top priority to e-mails from the remote manager to provide assurance of individual and group performance.
• Reply “inline” to e-mails that contain numerous questions. Embedding comments within the questions will make the conversation easier to follow.
• Acknowledge a coworker’s e-mail when additional time is needed to address the issue. A quick “I’ll be in touch with you on Tuesday” will relieve the frustration caused by uncertainty and isolation.
• Be “present” via instant messenger or a web-based chat tool. Being available in this virtual space provides the same feeling as dropping in and out of a physical office to exchange short messages and files.
• Use the appropriate online collaborative tools for the task. For example, avoid sending file attachments back and forth when coediting a document. Instead, use a shared file space that allows for editing and then repost for others to access.

Craft Clear Online Messages

In addition to observing e-mail etiquette, the following advice will aid in creating e-mail messages that are read, have impact, and motivate people to take action:27

• Motivate the reader to open the message by including a clear subject line that conveys the message’s purpose.
• Keep the reader’s attention by designing a message that is visually appealing and easy to read. For example, use bullet points and boldface or italics to emphasize key points and ideas.
• Present the purpose of the message immediately and write concisely and clearly using short sentences and paragraphs. When scheduling a meeting, provide at least three dates and times from which readers can choose.
• Tailor the message to a single recipient rather than to many in the organization. Sending an e-mail to the right person will lead to results.

To avoid potential hurt feelings due to limited nonverbal cues present in e-mail, focus on being polite, keep the tone friendly and approachable, and avoid sarcasm and humor that could be misinterpreted by diverse team members. An intentionally positive tone is especially important when communicating negative ideas such as disagreement with another’s opinion or idea. If possible, begin by sharing something that you do agree with; then, provide clear, supported rationale for disagreement and offer alternatives or suggestions that moves the discussion in a positive direction. Review word choice carefully, being certain that the language is positive and nonjudgmental.28

Use Phone Calls Effectively

With increased reliance on virtual teams, conference calls are taking the place of preferred face-to-face communication. Even routine conversations related to day-to-day work contain both verbal and nonverbal messages vital to effective communication. The understanding gathered from a person’s tone, delivery, and body language is often more impor­tant than the meaning conveyed in a person’s words, especially when the discussion involves an issue that needs to be discussed openly. Clearly, face-to-face meetings or at least videoconferences should be arranged for these important conversations so that both the visual and verbal data needed for understanding are available. While phone calls lack the visual dimension, the following tips can help you make them, especially calls involving conflict resolution, more productive:29

• Explain that while you would prefer holding the conversation face to face, you want to take special care to see that the problem can be resolved in a way that satisfies both of you.
• Take steps to ensure you are relaxed so you can maintain a conversation rather than starting off in debate mode. Breathe deeply, relax your grip on the phone, smile, and seek to understand what the other person has to offer.
• Pay close attention to what is said since you cannot see the person. Listen for pauses, tone, pacing, and vocal tension that would indicate the person is feeling stressed or threatened. Listen for words that indicate hedging or whitewashing.
• Summarize the conversation frequently and check for understanding since you can’t see a confused look. Ask, “Did I explain that well, or should I take another pass at it?” Ask if the phone conversation is working to resolve the issue and make adjustments if necessary.
• After addressing a difference of opinion on the phone, follow up with e-mail to confirm understanding of what was discussed by phone.

Documentation and Evaluation

Effective virtual work requires deliberate efforts to document progress and assess consensus. The leader cannot take for granted that all team members are up to date on assignments and deadlines or that everyone is in agreement about the team’s progress.

Thorough Documentation

Documenting team ideas, decisions, and follow-up is essential to virtual team success. Posting or sending team members copies of updated project schedules, completed documents, and schedule charts keeps everyone on the same page for discussions and facilitates individual work. Effective documentation also helps provide the transparency necessary to maintain cohesion and trust among team members.

The electronic environment facilitates the sharing of documents for current and future reference. For example, a “deliverables dashboard” visible to all team members on a collaborative hub provides timely status reports and tracks team members’ commitments.30 Traditional team documents such as agendas and minutes are essential for virtual meetings and are discussed in Chapter 4, along with other ideas for conducting effective meetings.

Checks for Understanding and Agreement

A prevalent issue in ongoing team success is the lack of project visibility. Team members often understand what they are doing individually but may not be sure how their pieces fit into the overall puzzle. Periodic assessment of team progress and member satisfaction will help uncover problem areas that need to be addressed. For instance, team members might be asked early in the team’s development to rate the effectiveness of the team’s meetings, using an instrument similar to the one shown in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Virtual meeting evaluation

Virtual teams find it useful at certain key points in a project to take time to assess team progress and ensure any problems are out in the open. The Virtual Team Progress Assessment exercise can be completed as a group activity, with differences in opinion voiced and problem areas discussed.

Intercultural Training

Virtual communication can be difficult when it involves people from different areas of the world who have different communication styles. Low-context communicators, such as North Americans, who rely heavily on the meaning of words, are likely to find it difficult to communicate virtually with high-context communicators, such as Asians, who tend to deliver parts of their messages with silence or nonverbal signs. In such cases, the virtual method of communication, devoid of rich nonverbal cues, becomes an obstacle in itself.

Intercultural training can help provide strategies and skills to communicate more effectively with international counterparts. Such training raises team members’ awareness of potential differences in communication patterns and expectations and helps them find ways to both send and receive messages without confusion. Training is a perfect opportunity to bring the team together in a face-to-face context, or they can parti­cipate in a virtual training session to help them identify and deal with cultural challenges. Online cultural training is available from a variety of vendors and is designed to improve team skills and enable global team collaboration.

Celebration of Team Accomplishments

Recognition of team accomplishments is difficult in virtual settings, as geography and expense often make physical celebrations impossible. Some teams are able to meet to celebrate in person at the completion of the project, but most must rely on “virtual partying.” The team leader may offer group recognition for a job well done via e-mail or a conference call. While the team may not be able to physically take an afternoon or evening off from work to celebrate together, awarding members with a free afternoon or day off following project completion is a tangible expression of appreciation and allows them to structure their own celebrations. The team leader can also use individual communications with team members to thank each one separately for his or her particular contribution and effort.

Manon DeFelice, founder and CEO of Inkwell, a specialized professional staffing company, often sends company-wide e-mails praising the team and singling out colleagues for notable work. She says these e-mails provide the same validation that an employee would receive if he or she were walking down the hall and the supervisor called out the praise so that colleagues could hear and know that this team member is working hard.31

Assess your virtual team leadership skills with the questionnaire shown in Table 3.4. A score of 5 represents full competence.

Which skill do you feel is most challenging for you as you lead virtual teams? Why? How can you improve your virtual skill set?

Table 3.4 Virtual team leadership skills assessment