The trend of having virtual teams collaborate on projects while working in different physical locations have been growing for the past few years. I remember working on a few such projects in the past 5 years. Distributed teams are always more challenging to work with as a project manager. From coping with different time-zones, to culture and language differences, as well as the ever-present technical tool challenges – like team members having bad internet connections with poor audio quality to calls dropping, background noises etcetera – are the typical scenarios you will have to deal with on a daily basis. Add to that how difficult it is to build healthy relationships with team members who haven’t met in person yet and therefore will take more time to build trust and mutual respect, and you have all the ingredients for a stressful project experience. Unfortunately, this is the situation many project teams find themselves in as part of the ‘global economy’ we live in.
Today, enterprises are expanding their reach by taking advantage of telecommuting, with workers plying their trade based out of different offices, countries and even their own homes. Thanks to the Internet, modern professionals are enabled to work from virtually anywhere.
Some advantages of working as part of virtual teams, is the exposure to experts from outsourced companies and team members having more opportunities to engage with professional peers who reside anywhere around the globe.
Still, the effective deployment of virtual project teams, is challenging for enterprise leaders. For instance, a Deloitte study found that 66-percent of virtual workgroups failed to meet clients’ expectations. Further studies revealed that many professionals believe that virtual communication is not as effective as face-to-face meetings. They also expressed feelings of confusion when using new teleconferencing technologies.
Despite these sentiments, one study found that successful virtual teams outperformed employees who completed projects while working out of traditional office settings. Other studies found that virtual teams improve productivity, with some consulting firms experiencing performance gains of up to 43-percent. Although research has shown that virtual project teams can produce improved outcomes compared to teams operating out of traditional offices, the experience can prove just as stressful if not more difficult than working in normal office settings.
In this type of work environment, there are obstacles to productivity. To begin with, some workers may never meet in person or even live in the same country. Furthermore, it may prove difficult for project leaders to coordinate team members who live in different time zones.
For this reason, project leaders of virtual teams should establish policies that deal with these kinds of issues up front. Another important aspect is mindfulness, which means that you as the leader take responsibility for your words and actions. The team members are also made mindful and are careful of their words and actions; they don’t let their negative emotions impact the others around them.
A well-planned project will ensure employee mental health and optimal productivity. Moreover, by teaching team members to understand each other’s cultural nuances, team leaders can create inclusive and cohesive work environments where staff members respect each other and, ultimately, are satisfied with their roles.
To find more resources for mindfulness at work and what employers can do to help,check out this employee mental health guide developed by Maryville University’s online degree program.
I like this quote from Barbara Corcoran, Founder of The Corcoran Group, New York’s largest real estate company. Barbara is an expert in the art of leading a team to success and in how to build a successful business. It’s a big statement admitting to failure as well as success.
A few valuable lessons can be learned from Greg McKeown on determining what is essential and eliminating everything else. He authored the book: ‘
John Akhwari from Tanzania represented his country in the Summer Olympic Games of 1968 as a marathon runner. During the race he suffered a fall that badly cut and dislocated his knee. Medical personnel bandaged his wounds and told him his knee required more treatment. However, Akhwari stood up and continued his race. An hour after the winner he crossed the finish line and when remaining reporters asked him why he continued running in his condition, he responded:
Recently I attended a Project Management Conference with the theme: “Harnessing the Power of Innovation”. As project managers we are in the position to create environments where people are creative and more innovative.
Nearly 3,000 attendees from 67 countries representing some 1,368 organisations.
Perhaps the most discussed sessions were the keynotes. Not surprisingly given the San Diego venue (the home of the USS Midway and Top Gun) there was a military theme to the first session, with the ‘Afterburner’ consultancy team, made up largely of ex-military aviators. This was an upbeat and inspiring discussion of project management using a military flying metaphor, and had some great linguistic take-aways.
“Good project managers don’t expect other people to adapt to them.” clearly caught the attention of a number of Twitter users.
The 2017 PMI Global Congress is in Chicago. Not quite such a glamorous venue as San Diego, and I suspect this may affect the numbers attending.