Share an experience that is relevant to a colleague’s post about having managed, lead, and/or participated on teams that largely collaborated in a virtual environment. Evaluate the factors that made the teams successful or ineffective. Expand on a colleague’s post with relevant concerns or observations, based on your experiences or the readings in the classroom, about working on or managing virtual teams. Expand on a colleague’s post by offering resources and processes that should be in place to support virtual teams and how to mitigate the risks that working virtually creates.
Ethan:
There are many challenges and benefits for a manager tasked with handling a virtual team as opposed to managing a non-virtual team. Berry states “Virtual team members may be located across the office, but almost as easily across the country or across the world, and may rarely or perhaps never meet face to face (pp. 187). I have quite some experience working on a virtual team, and have witnessed how it has been managed as well. In my office we have almost a half virtual team, with some employees working from their home and some located here in house. There have been multiple occasions where I have worked on a project with a virtual team member, and it can be a challenge. It can be challenging as a manager to develop a virtual team because you don’t have the luxury of seeing the team members interact, and have to go off of online or phone communication only. Berry states “A team that does most of its work through use of the telephone, e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, chat groups, electronic databases, or teleconferences, and rarely if ever meets face to face, is more virtual than a team that meets regularly face to face, even if both teams use exactly the same technologies to some extent in doing their work” (pp. 188). Although I communicate via phone and email to other team members located in the same office, there is definitely more of a disconnect when communicating that way to virtual team members, knowing that is our only line of communication. DeRosa states “Less effective leaders of virtual teams find it especially difficult to build relationships and develop collaboration among the team members” (pp. 11). This is exactly what I have observed when taking part on a project with virtual team members. All of the work seemed to be segmented person by person, as opposed to an in house team that can share responsibilities and delegate tasks accordingly from the manger.
One challenge I believe should be brought to management is the prioritizing of work. When everyone is together and functioning around a similar schedule, it is much easier to understand what is a higher priority item based on the feedback of your team members and the time you spend discussing in person. DeRosa states “The most effective leaders of virtual teams develop a process for establishing and adjusting priorities as a tool to address these challenges” (pp. 10). The best manager will outline expectations early, identifying the most crucial components of the project, to be sure all team members have the same understanding moving forward. Berry states “Virtual team members must communicate and collaborate to problem solve, to continue the work process, and to produce a product or service, just as any team does” (pp. 189). By setting up all of these guidelines and expectations early, the manger is allowing for the same streamlined communication from virtual team members as if they were in the office.
If I were to be in a management position overseeing a virtual team, it would be very important to me to set clear expectations early, and follow through on them. In order to manage a team made up of face to face interactions as well as over email and phone, building trust within my employees would be critical to any success. Mockaitis states “trust is a critical factor for the effective functioning of groups” (pp. 197). Once I am able to gain the trust of all members, communication will become easier. A possible challenge I may face is the timing/schedule of the virtual team members. We could battle different time zones, different work schedules, and ultimately different completion time frames for assigned work. To battle against this issue, all communication will clearly be dictated by time zone, and deadlines will be communicated the same way.
References:
Berry, G. R. (2011). Enhancing effectiveness on virtual teams. Journal of Business Communication, 48(2), 186-206
Retrieved from: Walden Library Databases
DeRosa, D. (2009). Virtual success: The keys to effectiveness in leading from a distance. Leadership in Action, 28(6), 9–11. Retrieved from: Walden Library Databases
Mockaitis, A. I., Rose, E. L., & Zettinig, P. (2012). The power of individual cultural values in global virtual teams. International journal of cross cultural management. 12(2), 193-210.
Retrieved From: Walden Library Databases
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