TEAM Shining Star
An analysis of team diversity needs and
issues surrounding global virtual teams
Team Diversity in
Virtual and Global Leadership
Virtual Global Teams Related Articles
Check out these articles related to Virtual Global Teams and Team Diversity...
Psst! Meet me at the watercooler.
By Astrin T. Whitfield
Yeah, so we are a virtual team and there is no water cooler between us. The biggest obstacle that virtual teams face is the lack of face-to-face communication. Virtual teams have come a long way with their communication techniques. The use of emails of yesteryear is so common that even non-virtual teams are doing it. Virtual teams have at their use many technologies that allow them to communicate in real time, e.g. Skpe, Go-to-Meeting. However, even these technologies can be a problem for a GLOBAL virtual team.
Why? Well people may be located in different parts of the world from one another. Green and Wheeler (2004) found that people had a need to become “in-sync” (not to be confused with a formerly popular boy band). If its 1 AM your time that may impede us getting on the same level.
Photo Credits:
http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/48296/why-are-normal-water-coolers-so-low. Licensed under: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Other technology can be useful in bridging these gaps, e.g. shared electronic databases, that allow team members to work on projects simultaneously. The added benefit for leaders of a global virtual team, is that the members can seek input for their submissions and reduce any cultural misunderstandings that could arise in-person. Kind of like cultural-spell checker. Global virtual teams for the win!
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But your resume said you had the skills for this new project development?!
By Astrin T. Whitfield
On paper, you have all the technical skills and expertise to get the job done, right? Wrong. It is estimated that 90% of international managers are chosen based only on their technical skills. Often underestimated, overlooked, or completely unaware is the need for cultural and diversity awareness.
In the 2001 study by Chen, Gu, and Tubbs, the researchers examined 7 competencies that global leaders lack:
Ignorance
You cannot understand something you that you have no contact with.
Awareness
Are you aware of the cultural differences that exists? How can you unearth any “unconscious denial” in your misunderstandings about said culture?
Understanding
By this point you will need to start understanding the differences of the other culture, e.g. the whys and the hows. What are their value systems? Traditions? The history of how they got from the past to today?
Appreciation
This stage is what Chen et al., (2001) calls taking “a leap of faith”. Getting to the point of you think the way you do and I think the way I do and I can appreciate that.
Photo Credits:
http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/48296/why-are-normal-water-coolers-so-low. Licensed under: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Acceptance/Internalization
At this stage, you can begin to understand that your way of doing things may not be the best way or at least the only way to get the job done.
Transformation
Finally, cultural understanding has become a fluency for you. Fer of the unknowns no longer cloud your consciousness and you are willing and eager to learn from the differences as they are presented to you.
To begin this process, it all begins with exposure to people that are different with yourself. The more you understand the cultural differences of your virtual group, the more likely they are to want to contribute to the project at hand (or computer screen).
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Structuring A Virtual Team: The People Puzzle
By Astrin T. Whitfield
Putting together any team is like putting together a puzzle. For global virtual teams, the access to people world wide means that there are thousands of pieces to choose from. While that may seem overwhelming, this is one of the biggest advantages for organizations.
Global virtual teams bring variety and innovation that culturally similar groups may lack. So when putting together a virtual team, it is important to keep these factors in mind:
Keep the team small as possible.
The number one reason to keep a team small is to prevent social loafing. Team cohesion can be affected if the group feels someone is not pulling their preverbal weight.
Use many communication methods to be able to connect your virtual team (hey they are all over the place).
Email, skype, text, video conference, shared drives, etc. All are useful for connecting people in different geographical locations. Some are better at allowing misunderstandings to be vetted prior to submitting to the group.
Not all tasks are best suited for the virtual environment.
Project and projection tasks are usually more favorable for virtual groups. Also, conflict is reduced for tasks that are routine. For new virtual teams this may be the place to start and work up to more decision-making tasks once the group is solidified.
Photo Credits:
http://grantgoddess.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html. Licensed under: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Cultural plays a huge role in member personality
and how they will interact on the team.
Some people may not openly reject ideas that are presented by their managers or their teammates. Some people have no problem with an eye roll, smirk, or just plain verbal rejection. And that’s okay. Its important for team leaders and team members to be open to collecting input and feedback in a manner that is comfortable for the group. The loud person should not be the only one who gets their ideas heard (unless they are the best, of course).
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Trust Me! I'm just as good as there.
By Thandi S. Bradix
There are many reasons why one would need to work remotely. It may be due to inclement weather, personal matters that only take part of the day and logistically makes sense not to commute or remaining productive while traveling. Leadership should trust the fact that work will still be done. But, trust should not be assumed.
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Photo Credits: United Featured Syndicated, Inc. 1997.
While it may be up to management discretion and technical capability to allow virtual team work, the key factor that makes it possible is earning leadership trust to make it happen effectively. Leadership would need to rely upon the productivity of output and trust the maturity of the individual to permit virtual team work. Trust is multifaceted. Leadership should trust, virtual members must earn trust and feel they can be trusted, and virtual team peers must trust one another to ensure positive team relationships and successful interdependent task outcomes.
Lastly, earning trust is not a "one-off". Trust must be continually maintained via open communication, transparency with project/task-related activities, having reliable technologies to ensure work can be done, exhibiting character (responsible, mature, reliable, etc.) that warrants trust and producing results according to leadership and team expectations. Keep earning trust and leadership should trust the virtual team member.
Why Trust is Lost in Some Virtual Global Relationships:
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Lapses in communication
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Not producing as expected
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Not meeting deadlines
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Being influenced by non-work dynamics
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Outdated or unreliable technologies
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Barking dogs
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Ringing doorbells
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Poor time management
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Crying/demanding children
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Crying/demanding adults
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There’s no need to motivate my team as a virtual leader; they are all self-motivated.
By Amber M. Harrington
Yes, in order to work virtually without having the ability to access a manager or coworkers by simply standing up and heading over to the next office, cubicle, building, etc., one must have a certain level of self-motivation to be successful. However, this does not mean that at times they need assistance with their motivation levels from a leader.
As a leader, one must be able to appeal each of their team members motivational approaches. It’s important for a leader to not only focus on approaches to help motivate each team member individually, but also the team as a whole (Levin & Rad, 2006).
Although having motivation present in a team does not guarantee an exceptional performance, it does push the group in the opposite direction from having long-term problems due to a lack of motivation (Levin & Rad, 2006).
From Levin and Rad’s (2006) article, some common themes/approaches to avoid when working with a diverse team, even when they have the best intentions at hand, include:
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“Whatever motivates me will motivate others”
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“People are motivated primarily by money”
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“Team members love to receive formal awards”
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“Give them a rally slogan”
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“The best project manager is a strong cheerleader”
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“These people are professionals. They don’t need motivating”
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“I’ll motivate them when there is a problem”
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“I’ll treat everyone the same. People like that, and it will be motivating for them”
These mindsets are particularly important for leaders of culturally diverse teams. It’s imperative for leaders to stay on top of their employees' motivational levels and ensure that everyone’s needs are being met.
Reference:
Levin, G. & Rad, P. F. (2006). Successful motivational techniques for virtual teams. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2006 – EMEA, Madrid, Spain, Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
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A team can’t be successful with only communicating virtually.
By Amber M. Harrington
Well, this is wrong. Virtual teams are becoming more and more common in organizations. It is an opportunity for the group to expand their opportunities to reach individuals with higher skills that are more qualified for the group and meet the team’s needs.
One common goal that can be throughout any organization would be to achieve high performance, to be successful.
When it comes to discussing a project team, one can define high performance as the ability to work at the highest level of effectiveness for an extended period of time.
An important step that leaders need to keep in mind when it comes to performance is finding a way to accurately measure performance. When measuring it is important to keep a balance between objective measures and the subjective measures.
Pitagorsky (2007) mentions that there are dysfunctional and healthy teams. A leader of a healthy team that desires high performance can ensure that their team is engaging in a few things. Ensuring that the team is promoting synergy by communicating, effectively managing conflict, managing expectations, and making sure that there are objectives that are uniting the members of the team.
As with everything when it comes to working in teams, whether it be virtually or face-to-face, culturally diverse or similar, it is important to keep a positive attitude!
Reference:
Pitagorsky, G. (2007). Managing virtual teams for high performance. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2007 – North America, Atlanta, GA. Newtown Square PA: Project Management Institute.