Virtual Distance – “Virtual distance” refers to various kinds of distance, any one of which may impact a team by diminishing trust, communication, and shared vision. Beyond simple physical distance, consider the impact of time differences and organizational boundaries that create distance on a project team. Operational distance is the distance that arises from daily busywork, like email. Time spent with the team is reduced and psychological gaps grow between team members. Affinity distance is a result of cultural disconnects, emotional disconnects, social issues and differing values where team members lack a shared work history. In their book “Uniting the Virtual Workforce,” Lojeski & Reilly, (John Wiley & Sons, 2008) argue that as virtual distance increases there are negative effects:
• 50% decline in project success
• 90% drop in innovation effectiveness
• 80% plummet in work satisfaction
• 83% fall off in trust
• 65% decrease in role and goal clarity
• 50% decline in leader effectiveness

LEAN Office Principles – LEAN office principles are a method for eliminating waste and improving quality adapted from manufacturing and production. LEAN originated with Toyota and is used extensively by Boeing and other firms; many organizations now apply these manufacturing principles to the office environment seeking improved quality, speed and a reduction in wasted effort.

Global Managers – The Internet and globalized business demand Global Managers who work well with distributed teams and are sensitive to value differences, incentive systems, and work styles inherent to staff of different cultural backgrounds. Global Managers encourage customers to interact with product solutions by sharing requirements, case studies, communications and feedback with customers. Global Managers work to turn company business processes inside-out using the Internet, involving customers in the product lifecycle. They understand how to utilize and integrate technologies to enable customers to interact with the solution infrastructure; this is how Global Managers work to improve credibility and foster market demand.

- Alden

This will help you ensure that you select the appropriate technology to support your process (link appropriate technology to agenda items).  This will also help you facilitate the meeting, and track the meeting’s success.

Build some informality or fun into the agenda.

Add a short ice breaker, game or activity.  Develop ways to nurture a feeling of social presence and inclusion, or “being there”.

Vary interaction styles.

Variety is the spice of life!  Even the most creative minds can be dampened by a repetitive process.  Try different techniques at your meetings for attaining similar goals.  Mix electronic and verbal interaction modes during the meeting if possible.

Actively facilitate the meetings.

If some team members haven’t spoken, ask if they have anything to contribute before closing out discussion.  If the meeting is conducted in a language that is not native to all team members, provide a “think break” for non-native members to get their thoughts together.

Implement Best Practices for meetings using different technologies

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.  There are best practices around technology usage, many of which are common sense.

Please email us to find out more:  info@kivacollaboration.com

- Caroline

You’d like to do something to improve team productivity and effectiveness … but where to begin? We suggest you start by creating a “collaboration framework.” Whatever tools you choose to enhance team collaboration, when it comes to productivity in the office environment, tools are never as important as the discipline you put in place for your users. That’s where a collaboration framework can help.

A collaboration framework will be your map for working effectively in the “space of flows”. Academic Manuel Castells coined the “space of flows” in 1986 to describe the impact electronic tools have on distributed teams. A collaboration framework consists of the processes, tools, content rules, and workflow that helps team members perform. Tying the effort to a revenue-generating business process makes it easier to measure your impact on achieving goals of the firm. Find a process in your company that generates revenue, like the sales cycle, the product lifecycle, the employee lifecycle or a production cycle.

A “collaboration framework” is a best practice for virtual teams as it sets the context for many activities by documenting a key business process and illuminating it with people, tools, deliverables and information needed at important decision points.

Utilizing a collaboration framework is critical for those working successfully in the Space of Flows.

- Alden

As leader, it is your responsibility to create the vision, know where you are headed, inspire the group, and coach individuals to meet the challenges that arise. Part of your responsibility includes understanding aspects of human nature, such as the fact that what we expect of our team members often shapes the reality of the performance that ensues. Leaders tap into this powerful notion, using it to foster collaboration and get more performance out of a team. The leader influences the capability of others based on expectations of what this group can achieve. If you believe they can achieve greatness, they can. If you believe they are inept, they will be.

* A leader must set high, but realistic goals for the team
* Once a project begins team members will infer what their leader values from his or her behavior. Inconsistency between action and a stated goal creates cynicism, and resistance
* Seek out opportunities to comment to each team member about their strengths when you observe them in action
* Develop the perspective that enables you to see in others what they cannot see in themselves
* Using logic, arguing, or ignoring an individual’s concerns indicate to the individual you are not concerned with their emotional reaction to change. Like any relationship, patience and good listening skills go a long way
* Covert resistance consists of a variety of symptoms: passive/aggressive behavior, apathy, and excessive complaining. Surface resistance early by establishing rapport, asking open-ended questions, seeking feedback, encouraging rather than punishing those who speak up, establishing expectations, listening without trying to change the other person’s mind, and seeking to create a win-win

2. Servant Leadership

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor” (p.11) — Max DePree, Leadership is an Art (1989).

In business, many organizations spend a great deal of money every year in the pursuit of developing leadership — with mixed results. Leading a group through a stressful adventure most often requires leadership by example. U.S. Army studies have make clear the “top-down,” command-and-control model does not provide the best structure for combat situations; errors occur when individual soldiers are not informed of mission objectives, because they are not able to make key decisions needed to ensure success in combat. So it is with what might be called “servant leadership.” This style of leadership is one in which followers are inspired, rather than manipulated, to strive to a common goal with their leader.

Followers grow and develop leadership skills of their own as a natural outcome of working with individual’s who model and share information and accountability with their followers. Innumerable decisions are made everyday by individuals that affect the health and viability of the team. In an environment of rapid change, servant leaders bring strength and resilience to the team. Servant leaders lead by example, and inspire others to follow that example: they encourage the heart, challenge the status quo, share information and seek to build capability in others.

* Servant leaders understand the power of expectations and cultivate leadership skills within their ranks, inspiring others to take on responsibility and hold themselves accountable
* There is within many people a desire to serve; to fulfill a mission in life greater than self, and when an individual taps into this desire, a leader is born. Servant leaders bring out this same desire to serve in those around them
* Leadership is often situational; individuals step forward based on their interests, passions, and values when a situation demands

3. Building Capability “From The Inside Out”
Many leaders have been trained to talk only about the “issue” and not the person in an effort to keep from making an issue “personal.” This is both a very logical, and professional, approach. But what may be only business to you, may be a very personal issue to another individual, and may carry a lot of baggage, in the form of irrational fear that has nothing to do with logic.

One strategy for pushing an individual through fear is to appeal to “individual values.” When an individual is passionate enough about achieving a desired outcome, they can deal more effectively with fear and behave in a manner congruent with their values. Key to the strategy is the use of questions; professional sports coaches don’t have all the answers, they simply know how to ask the right questions to determine if processes are blocking player success or whether emotions or values are not aligned with the desired outcome.

As leader you can set a direction and help individuals identify with objectives of the group. Individuals ordinarily do not act contrary to their beliefs and self-image for an extended period of time. So, not surprisingly, individual physical performances are superior when behavior, attitude, and belief systems are aligned.

4. Assessing Group Culture
In its most basic form the culture of a group, or organization, can be described as its “personality.” That personality drives the reaction to stimulus. For example, one who thinks negatively responds negatively, while the optimist reacts differently. We instinctively work to protect of our self-image and perspective on life and we are likely to be defensive when we think someone is working to change us or how we view the world. Often the quickest way to break through cultural types of resistance is to appeal directly to the self interest of the individuals concerned by attacking the “what’s in it for me?” issue head on, providing examples of the advantages. For example, reaching a destination, achieving a desired personal or performance goal, a team celebration, a meal, or just “living to write home about it.”

5. Communicating Change
Executives and managers often underestimate the amount of communication planning required for initiatives designed to elicit new behavior from their staff or work groups, especially when change is mandated. As a result, managers and executives are often taken by surprise at the level of resistance that develops after installing a change.

One reason this happens is that the element of surprise leads to a loss of control. It’s hard to think strategically when events outside take charge. In addition a “siege mentality” ensues, which leads to a short-term focus. All decision making narrows down to the shortest time period, and panic sets in, which leads to an escalation in the crisis within the organization. That’s why it’s best to make plans to avoid crisis, whenever possible. Communicate early; inform the group about a change, the reasons for the change, and when the change is to occur. Since group resistance is based on an emotional reaction to change, emotional intensity increases if people feel victimized. Early communications usually allow the team to deal with change up-front. Key elements in communicating effectively and managing change include:

* Recognize the past, including contributions from key persons
* Allow time for the group to disengage from the past and gain a sense of closure
* Communicate what will remain the same, as well as what will be different
* Develop a regular communication schedule
* Develop a formal means of obtaining feedback from the group
* Solicit employee involvement in planning how to reach the desired future state
* Involve informal leaders in the dissemination of information and enlist their help in communicating the vision of the future state

Have other tips of your own? Let us know.

- Alden

On September 24th, 2009 I’ll be hosting a free Webinar, sponsored by Enlaso, designed to help global managers and staff who oversee geographically distributed “virtual teams.”  We’ll talk about tips for building a collaboration framework, reducing virtual distance challenges, and we’ll take a look at how 300 translators spread around the world coordinate their activities for Enlaso’s localization clients. Register: https://enlasoevents.webex.com

- Alden