Comments on: Tips for Avoiding Problems on Virtual Teams

By: Latest Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)

Latest Diigo Bookmarks (weekly) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:33:16 +0000

[...] Tips for Avoiding Problems on Virtual Teams » VisualsSpeak blog [...]

By: Virginia Yonkers

Virginia Yonkers — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:25:25 +0000

Christine, as promised, I blogged about the lessons my students learned in participating in international virtual projects.

By: Christine Martell

Christine Martell — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:53:16 +0000

Terry,
Good thing you didn’t put too much pressure on us to perform, or we may not have been quite so playful about the continuous technical messes we co-created. I’m still amazed at how insistent we all were at ignoring your continued guidance to focus on the process and instead jumping right into the task. I was fascinated to watch myself doing it, even having been a process facilitator for a long time. It was an important lesson to learn in a class environment. Now I hope I can really remember the lesson when I apply the class content in the rest of my life.

By: Christine Martell

Christine Martell — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:27:05 +0000

Norm,
Now we just need to convince our organizations that the expense is worthwhile. Wonder if the studies Terry quoted have been quantified, you know? So we can make a better business case.

By: Terry Brake

Terry Brake — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:26:49 +0000

It was great that you could work through the technical issues in a pragmatic way. Too many people panic when the technology let’s them down, but there are so many different options available now (contingency plans are good to have). What I also like is your emphasis on team process. In my experience many teams don’t take the time – periodically – to ask “Is the way we’re working together enabling or inhibiting the achievement of our goals. I ask all the teams I work with to do a ‘process check’ – putting aside the task for a moment and focusing on the processes for communication,etc. Also important is what you say about the working conditions other team members are facing. Virtuality doesn’t lend itself well to the development of empathy, but it is so important for trust. You send me an email to say you want certain information from me quickly, but you don’t see that in my culture the hierarchy is strong, and I don’t have access to that information. When the information doesn’t come back right away, you might attribute that to my laziness or incompetence. But my ground realities need to be understood. How? Through dialogue. Investing the time to talk together and reach shared understanding.

By: Norman Duarte

Norman Duarte — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:25:14 +0000

Hi Class,

As Terry mentioned one of this days, I think the in-person meeting is SUBSTANTIALLY important before, or during working with people virtually. In my experience, this meeting allow team members to become more connected to each other’s reality while interacting on the common group purpose.

In my line of work, understanding each team member culture dimensions have helped me work when interacting with virtual teams. By Culture dimensions I mean what Terry called “Country Navigators”, where you can research about cultures and have a base line understanding people from other cultures.

Thanks for the great time!

By: Christine Martell

Christine Martell — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:14:20 +0000

Ash,
That is a great addition to the list. maybe: What technologies do you feel most comfortable with?

By: Ash

Ash — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:12:35 +0000

I like the question you bring out into the open “What does silence mean to you?” When you consider that 70% of the information in normal face-to-face communication are the non-verbal cues technology can place major barriers on understanding and resolving issues. When you consider that silence is the only time non-verbal communication makes up 100% of the information in face-to-face communication the importance of this issue becomes clear. In my opinion this makes silence the largest unknown when you have to communicate in a format that is not face-to-face.

The only other question I might add is that sometimes silence may be because there is not a tool/medium in place that a team member feels comfortable communicating in. It may not always be a lack of communication but a lack of opportunity within a persons comfort zone.

Overall, great information drawing attention to one of the more subtle, but most important challenges in virtual communication.