Researches show that majority of the workforce globally work in virtual work teams in some way or another; such as working from home, customer site, offices across the town, offices across the country or offices across the world.
Although co-located teams usually show better engagement and productivity trails, distribution of workforce is no longer optional for the businesses today. Providing effective leadership to a distributed team is always challenging yet interesting and may require extra tactical care. Such challenges could be cultural, technical, personal or efficiency related.
Although co-located teams usually show better engagement and productivity trails, distribution of workforce is no longer optional for the businesses today. Providing effective leadership to a distributed team is always challenging yet interesting and may require extra tactical care. Such challenges could be cultural, technical, personal or efficiency related.
Key Success Factors of Remote Management
To maximize the efficiency of a distributed team, it is essential that they are given a set of common goals. Such goals doesn't have to be precise but closer to the targeted outcome. A team with a clear idea on what to do, where to go, when to do and anticipate change are likely to be more productive and healthy. In addition it is important that team members are given clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Trust
In a team setting we rely on team members on their integrity and strengths. Trust is integral to make an effective team and it helps to boost innovation, collaboration, creativity and productivity among the team members.The leadership team has a vital role in building trust by leading by example, communicating openly, and trusting the team members. When there is trust, the team members feel safe in the team setting which leads to being open and innovative.
Team
It's a dream of any leader to build a high flying team. On this, it is very important to hire the right talent with the fine blend of personality mix. For a team to make a successful journey every individual should feel accepted and accomplished. Sense of belonging is important in terms of social psychological level in the team. Such a team with a pride of being one group will make the team win battles continuously and consistently.
Technology
Over the years technology has advanced exponentially to help the distributed teams immensely in communication and coordination. There are many important tools such as Email, instant messaging, Wiki, blogs, RSS fields, Video conferencing etc. at the disposal of today’s distributed teams. Use of technology also can reduce the unnecessary time spent on meetings and synchronization by helping to bridge communication gaps.
In my experience, distributed teams can be successful only if they cooperatively manage the coordination required in the team context. Other than points discussed above, proactive communication, clear escalation, avoiding sudden conclusions and maintaining sense of humor and joy can also help make distributed teams work smoothly.
