Managers Guide To Virtual Teams

With an increasing number of employees working remotely, it is more difficult than ever to ensure that team members are working smoothly and productively. This books provides a roadmap for bridging the logistical, cultural and communication gaps that can prevent any virtual team from reaching its full potential.

Get solid collaboration from team members in remote locations Globalization and new technologies have made team collaboration from distant geographical locations—on the road, from home or client sites, even on the other side of the globe—a routine part of business. Managing these teams requires new skills and sensitivities to maximize team and organizational performance. Emphasizing pragmatism over theory and offering helpful tips instead of vague observations, Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams helps you bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation and get peak performance from employees you rarely see. You will learn how to: Keep team members in remote locations motivated and involved Coach for peak performance via e-mail, telephone, teleconference, and videoconference Help widely scattered team members understand their contribution to the business Build consensus for decisions among virtual team members Learn effective communication and feedback techniques for enhancing team performance Briefcase Books, written specifically for today’s busy manager, feature eye-catching icons, checklists, and sidebars to guide managers step by step through everyday workplace situations. Look for these innovative features to help you navigate each page: Clear definitions of key terms and concepts Tactics and strategies for managing virtual teams Tricks of the trade for executing effective management techniques Practical advice for minimizing the possibility of error Warning signs for when things are about to go wrong Examples of successful virtual managing Specific planning procedures, tactics, and hands-on techniques

In today’s complex organizations it is not uncommon to have as many as 50 percent of employees working on virtual teams. As the “virtual revolution” continues to spread, how can companies ensure that virtual team collaboration is producing the desired results? Highly practical and easy to navigate, Virtual Team Success leverages the authors’ robust global research study and hands-on experience to provide an immediately usable resource for virtual team members and team leaders. This groundbreaking book is a hands-on, practical toolkit filled with down-to-earth examples and insights that can enhance the virtual team experience for everyone involved. The authors’ research study is one of the most comprehensive applied studies ever conducted on virtual teams, and all of the recommendations outlined are based on these findings as well as the authors’ years of experience helping virtual teams and virtual team leaders effectively lead and collaborate from a distance. To help organizations and leaders enhance virtual team performance, the book includes: Why Virtual Teams Fail—outlines the four pitfalls that frequently derail virtual teams Profile of High Performing Teams—addresses the characteristics of the most effective virtual teams and what makes them successful Virtual Team Launch Kit—provides practical guidelines and tools for successfully launching virtual teams How to RAMP Up Your Team’s Effectiveness—introduces a practical research-based model of virtual team effectiveness to improve team performance Profile of Top Performing Virtual Team Leaders—identifies the practices of the most successful virtual team leaders Facilitating High-Impact Virtual Meetings—includes tips and techniques to effectively lead “v-meetings” Virtual Team Success also includes practical resources for virtual team leaders, quick reference guides for diagnosing virtual team problems, and six lessons for virtual team success.

Manage your team from anywhere. Leading any team involves managing people, technical oversight, and project administration, but leaders of virtual teams perform these functions from afar. Leading Virtual Teams walks you through the basics of: Connecting your people to each other—and to the team’s mission Surmounting language, distance, and technology barriers Identifying and using the right communication channels Don't have much time? Get up to speed fast on the most essential business skills with HBR's 20-Minute Manager series. Whether you need a crash course or a brief refresher, each book in the series is a concise, practical primer that will help you brush up on a key management topic. Advice you can quickly read and apply, for ambitious professionals and aspiring executives—from the most trusted source in business.

This third edition of the best-selling resource Mastering Virtual Teams offers a toolkit for leaders and members of virtual teams. The revised and expanded edition includes a CD-ROM with useful resources that allow virtual teams to access and use the book's checklists, assessments, and other practical tools quickly and easily. Deborah L. Durate and Nancy Tennant Snyder include updated guidelines, strategies, and best practices for working effectively with virtual teams across time and distance to see a project through. The useful tools, exercises, and real-life examples show how anyone can master the unique dynamics of virtual team participation in an environment where the old rules no longer apply.

With an increasing number employees working remotely, it is more difficult than ever to ensure that team members are working smoothly and productively together. A Manager's Guide to Virtual Teams is a practical roadmap for bridging the logistical, cultural, and communication gaps that can prevent any virtual team from reaching its full potential. The book explores the four most critical elements to team success: - Trust and Accountability. Ten tips for creating trust within and across virtual teams - Communication. The particular challenges of the virtual world, especially in cross-cultural collaborations - Conflict Management. Examples, case scenarios, and resolution strategies - Deliverables. How virtual teams can get their work "out the door" faster and better A Manager's Guide to Virtual Teams features the author's proprietary Trust Wheel model, which includes powerful tools to help teams develop and ensure trust without face-to-face interaction. Filled with self-study exercises, activities, and advice based on the author's 20 years' consulting experience, this book can help any organization realize the promise of professionals working closely together--even if they've never met.

This book is full of new ways to overcome the barriers created when people work in different locations: How to create a forum for idea-sharing, solve problems among people from multiple functions, keep everyone in the "virtual loop," prevent things from slipping through the cracks, keep members up-to-date on changes and decisions, and much more.

Get solid collaboration from team members in remote locations Globalization and new technologies have made team collaboration from distant geographical locations—on the road, from home or client sites, even on the other side of the globe—a routine part of business. Managing these teams requires new skills and sensitivities to maximize team and organizational performance. Emphasizing pragmatism over theory and offering helpful tips instead of vague observations, Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams helps you bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation and get peak performance from employees you rarely see. You will learn how to: Keep team members in remote locations motivated and involved Coach for peak performance via e-mail, telephone, teleconference, and videoconference Help widely scattered team members understand their contribution to the business Build consensus for decisions among virtual team members Learn effective communication and feedback techniques for enhancing team performance Briefcase Books, written specifically for today’s busy manager, feature eye-catching icons, checklists, and sidebars to guide managers step by step through everyday workplace situations. Look for these innovative features to help you navigate each page: Clear definitions of key terms and concepts Tactics and strategies for managing virtual teams Tricks of the trade for executing effective management techniques Practical advice for minimizing the possibility of error Warning signs for when things are about to go wrong Examples of successful virtual managing Specific planning procedures, tactics, and hands-on techniques

In today’s complex organizations it is not uncommon to have as many as 50 percent of employees working on virtual teams. As the “virtual revolution” continues to spread, how can companies ensure that virtual team collaboration is producing the desired results? Highly practical and easy to navigate, Virtual Team Success leverages the authors’ robust global research study and hands-on experience to provide an immediately usable resource for virtual team members and team leaders. This groundbreaking book is a hands-on, practical toolkit filled with down-to-earth examples and insights that can enhance the virtual team experience for everyone involved. The authors’ research study is one of the most comprehensive applied studies ever conducted on virtual teams, and all of the recommendations outlined are based on these findings as well as the authors’ years of experience helping virtual teams and virtual team leaders effectively lead and collaborate from a distance. To help organizations and leaders enhance virtual team performance, the book includes: Why Virtual Teams Fail—outlines the four pitfalls that frequently derail virtual teams Profile of High Performing Teams—addresses the characteristics of the most effective virtual teams and what makes them successful Virtual Team Launch Kit—provides practical guidelines and tools for successfully launching virtual teams How to RAMP Up Your Team’s Effectiveness—introduces a practical research-based model of virtual team effectiveness to improve team performance Profile of Top Performing Virtual Team Leaders—identifies the practices of the most successful virtual team leaders Facilitating High-Impact Virtual Meetings—includes tips and techniques to effectively lead “v-meetings” Virtual Team Success also includes practical resources for virtual team leaders, quick reference guides for diagnosing virtual team problems, and six lessons for virtual team success.

To advance in today's workplace requires virtual team skills. Most individuals assume their face-to-face skills will translate, but competency with virtual communication and teamwork requires an entirely new set of skills. This book guides readers down the path to success. Electronic communication is now embedded in our daily experience, as is work involving off-site collaborators. Virtual communication has become an essential job skill that is critical to individual and group success, yet most people just muddle through it without giving it any thought. Drawing on decades of scientific research in the fields of psychology, organizational behavior, and sociology, this book explains how to master the art and science of communicating virtually. The author first analyzes the subtle but significant changes that result when conversations are moved online, providing examples and tips to avoid common pitfalls, then discusses how team behavior and decision making can best be guided in this realm. Readers will fully understand what makes teams "click"—what inspires trust, how to get a team "off on the right foot," and what steps to take in order to make good collaborative decisions—as well as other key topics for virtual teamwork, such as best practices for working in the cross-cultural environment. The book serves as an ideal guide for anyone who participates in or manages a virtual team but is also suitable as a supplemental textbook in a business school course on organizational behavior or business communication.