In recent times, technological advances enable teams to function across space and time. No longer do members have to meet face-to-face. Now individuals working in various geographic locations and at other times coordinate their efforts through virtual teams. Virtual teams use e-mail, videoconferencing, blogs, zoom, google meet, Microsoft teams, online bulletin boards, project management software, and other electronic means to carry out their work.
Before the pandemic outbreak, large organizations often rely on virtual teams to carry out marketing, consulting, project engineering, customer service, and other functions. For example, it has been said that two-thirds of employees at Microsoft, IBM, INTEL collaborate with team members at various locations around the world. A majority of global companies use virtual teams. Businesses and nonprofits want to draw on a wide variety of expertise worldwide without the expense of relocating employees or flying them to a central location. Virtual global teams can also respond more rapidly to changing international conditions than conventional teams, reducing product development times and costs.
Experts agree that leading a virtual team is more challenging than teaching a traditional unit. Virtual teams add a layer of complexity. Leaders must carry out all the functions by making effective decisions, building a collaborative climate, encouraging, unified, commitment, and so forth. Simultaneously, they also have to cope with the problems created by space, time, cultural differences, and computer-mediated communication channels. Therefore, team members often feel isolated and find it hard to stay committed to other team members they might never meet in person. It is easier for them to get distracted by competing demands in their immediate physical environments and to do less than their fair share of the team’s work. Some in the group may have to get up early or stay up late to meet with those in other time zones.
In virtual global teams, members have to manage cultural differences because electronic communication is not as rich as it doesn’t carry as much information as face-to-face communication; hence miscommunication is more likely. E-mail recipients have to decode messages without the benefit of verbal and nonverbal cues like tone of voice, facial expressions, and posture.
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Research suggests that effective team leaders meet the added challenges of virtual teams through the following strategies. You can draw on these tactics if you find yourself in charge of a virtually dispersed team.
First, virtual team members often operate “out of sight, out of mind.” Much of the work they do is invisible to co-workers and, more importantly, to supervisors. They don’t get the notice that in-person workers get from coming to work early and leaving late, for instance. Consequently, bosses are less likely to recognize virtual team members’ contributions during performance reviews and less likely to make supportive comments. To be an effective virtual team leader, ensure that other leaders within the organization know that your team members are engaged in meaningful work. Also, you must make sure that team members are rewarded for their efforts. You can do this by hosting virtual reward ceremonies, acknowledging individual members’ successes at the beginning of meetings, praising your team members to outside executives, and assuring that virtual work is seen as a path to career success.
Second, in traditional groups, cohesion comes mainly from the informal interaction between group members, like gathering after work or impromptu discussions at the lobby or restaurant. In virtual teams, collaboration with team members is more dependent on task performance and consistently carrying through on promises and assignments, and responding quickly to requests. As a virtual team leader, you must not ignore the social dimension of group work. You may devote a good portion of initial e-mails and meetings to informal interaction about hobbies, work background, and family. However, the social component of team building complements the task dimension.
Perceptions of other team members’ trustworthiness form within the first interactions, from offhanded comments, ambiguous messages, and additional credibility reducing behaviours that undermine trust. You can help build a trusting climate by rallying the group around a joint project or task and expressing their commitment and enthusiasm. As a leader and team member, your response to messages is particularly important to fostering collaboration in the virtual environment. Timely e-mail responses signal involvement, attraction, and attachment. Delayed responses frustrate communicators, and it can be interpreted as a signal of disinterest or dislike. You must encourage team members to quickly respond to messages as this enhances predictability, which also plays a significant role in building cohesion.
Third, while creating and maintaining a workplace structure is necessary for on-site teams, it takes on added importance in virtual teaming. Virtual teams need clear guidelines and structure to help overcome distance barriers, cultural backgrounds, and competing demands on their time. As a team leader, you must be proactive by outlining the group’s purpose and team member roles before the team is formed. You must provide detailed instructions in writing, describing the workflow, outline operating rules, and set forth clear performance standards. Also, you must continuously monitor group interaction and individual and collective performance, providing ongoing feedback to members on how well they are fulfilling their roles, and meeting objectives.
