Turning virtual teams into a reality

Virtual teams represent a radical departure from the domestic team model, yet many leaders apply the same approach to the global virtual environment when a new skill set is needed.

Christie Caldwell

Senior consultant and manager for IP research and development, Aperian Global

www.aperianglobal.com

Jai Singh works for a Japanese financial corporation and is based in its London office.* He was recently asked to head up a global standardisation process for IT services, leading a functional team with members based in Singapore, Tokyo, New York and Dubai.

Although Singh has a great track record leading teams in the London office, this is the first time he has been tasked to head up a global virtual team. As no budget exists for a face-to-face meeting, Singh is struggling to make this team work. For example, team members in Singapore are new hires from mainland China, and Singh is concerned about their commitment to the team's priorities. Singh sees that Wang Yijian and Liu Kun are working very long hours online, yet they sometimes still fail to meet the team's deadlines.

Singh has no sight-line into the other demands on their time, and when he asks them about other commitments, they say that everything is fine. In fact, Singh finds it difficult to know how any of his decisions are being received since these team members rarely speak up during conference calls.

In Singapore, Wang and Liu tend to agree with him when he asks their opinions and say "yes" when he inquires if deadlines are feasible. However, problems always seem to crop up as the due date nears. This is only one location. Each team member's locale brings its own set of challenges.

Meeting goals

Creating a high-performing team to meet ambitious goals in a virtual matrix environment - spanning multiple time zones and comprising colleagues who have never met - often feels like an insurmountable challenge.

The reality is that it is the new norm. Virtual teams represent a radical departure from the domestic team model. Yet many companies and individuals seek to draw from their domestic experience and apply the same mindset and approach to a global, virtual environment. In fact, an entirely new skill set is needed.

Research shows that multicultural teams can take several additional months to become as effective as teams with members from the same culture. Users of virtual communication methods can take up to four times as long to exchange the same number of messages as others who are communicating in person.

We have identified a global team effectiveness model comprising of seven dimensions critical to the success of dispersed multicultural teams. We identify which dimensions are the team's weakest and which are deemed as priorities for skill-building.

In the case of Singh's IT team, the two dimensions requiring immediate help are "team foundations" and "virtual communication".

Team foundations

Singh's team is struggling with team trust, role clarity and obtaining support and resources from other parts of the company. Singh's colleagues in Singapore are from a hierarchical culture where roles are clear and one always knows who is in charge. Their previous boss knew their capabilities (because he closely followed their work) and their daily tasks (because he delegated them).

In this new matrix reporting structure, Wang and Liu's functional team priorities are constantly competing with those of their Singaporean boss. Their local boss has the power to determine if things go well or poorly for them on a daily basis and the expectations are clear. As a result, he has more pull.

Hierarchy also dictates that Wang and Liu feel uncomfortable saying "no" directly to Singh. Since Singh is the team lead, they expect him to know what they need to complete their tasks without them having to "insult" him by relaying this directly. Besides, they have no relationship with Singh to gauge how he will react.

Recommendations for the virtual team leader

• Increase awareness of cultural differences affecting team dynamics.

• Determine the team's competing stakeholders. Meet with them directly to understand team member's workload, gain buy-in for team priorities, clarify roles and align expectations.

• Create an "interview template" to gain context on team members' local work environment, membership on other teams and infrastructure challenges.

• Build personal relationships with team members.

• Ask open-ended questions and listen for subtle messages.

Recommendations for team members

• Provide context and visibility around daily requirements, competing priorities and infrastructure challenges.

Team meetings

Singh's team is struggling to obtain balanced participation and to openly share ideas and feedback. Most of his team members are operating in a second language on team conference calls.

Many come from cultures where impromptu brainstorming is foreign, meetings are rarely used for decision-making and hierarchy dictates that you preserve your superior's face by aligning with them in a public setting. The mix of verbal and non-verbal cultures also affects participation. Singh's expectations, therefore, create much discomfort.

Recommendations for the team leader

• Gain awareness about diverse meeting expectations and clarify team-meeting protocols.

• Create alternative communication options to increase feedback (instant messaging chats, anonymous polls).

• Personalise communication with photo exchanges and informal time ("virtual tea breaks").

Pre-meeting

• Send agenda in advance and highlight areas requiring input preparation.

• Introduce a "buddy system" between team members as a low-risk venue for feedback, discussion and idea-generation.

• Hold one-to-one chats about agenda items to obtain informal feedback.

During the meeting

• Ensure balanced participation through turn-taking and prepare input opportunities in the agenda.

• Allow silence and time for side conversations.

After the meeting

• Extend opportunities for feedback beyond formal meeting times.

• Follow up with one-to-one calls.

Recommendations for team members

• Request time to process or discuss offline.

• Prepare feedback in advance and use alternative communication modes.

• Ask questions, clarify instructions and request conclusions from a discussion.

While the challenges for global virtual teams are much greater, diverse teams have the potential to out-perform more homogenous ones if managed well.

Recognising the vastly different requirements for dispersed team leadership and changing one's approach accordingly is a key first step to ensure global teams reach their potential.

* While this team and the scenario described are real, the name of the corporation has been concealed and names changed to protect confidentiality.

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