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TOP 10
TIPS FOR VIRTUAL TEAM EFFECTIVENESS »
Top 10 tips for virtual team effectiveness rated by the LoveToKnow editors. |
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Top 10 List how we choose |
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Set an Objective
One of the most effective things you can do to help a virtual
team run efficiently is to have an objective in mind. You will want
to set an overall objective for the project as well as meeting
objectives. Remember that the objective is simply the goal. What do
you want to accomplish as a group? Some questions you might want to
ask are things like what changes the group would like to see as a
result of the project or the meeting. This can help more easily
define the goals and get everyone on the same page. You can even use
techniques like
garbage can decision making. |
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Assign Everyone a Role
A virtual team will work much better if everyone has a role and
knows the exact responsibilities of that role. A good manager will
assign everyone a task and explain thoroughly how to complete that
task. Although the team leader makes the final decision on roles,
the rest of the team should agree. It should be fairly apparent what
roles each person should fulfill based on their own skills and
special abilities. You may also want to read the article on
delegating successfully. |
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Spread Out Workload Evenly
When you're delegating the work load, it is important to spread
things out evenly. How you delegate is almost as important as the
fact that you delegate in the first place. This article features
many questions you'll want to ask to help you delegate more
effectively and give the right tasks to the right people. Just be
sure you don't overload one person because they may have many
different skills and abilities that you need for a specific project.
You'll also find articles on
successful induction of new team members to your virtual team. |
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Make Everyone Feel Part of the Team
Many leaders start off by doing some team building activities to
draw group members together and start everyone off feeling as though
they are all working toward a common goal. Competition between team
members can be unpleasant at best. This site offers ideas for group
activities to build trust and help everyone get to know one another.
Learn more about
cross-functional teams as well. Cross-functional teams are made
up of employees in many different roles who all have the same
objective. For example, the team might have an engineer, a
salesperson and someone from PR all on the same team. |
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Make the Rules Clear
Setting rules for everyone to follow can help ease any
misunderstandings that might arise from the rules not being clearly
laid out ahead of time. In fact, setting up rules is so important
that there is a whole conference on business rules call the Business
Rules Forum. Learn what the
agenda is for this meeting and how you can register. It is
probably a good idea to allow the other members of your team to have
some input into the rules. They may even think of scenarios on their
own that you hadn't thought of, such as how to handle it when a team
member isn't able to meet their obligations. |
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Check Technology
Since your virtual team is likely from all corners of the globe
and you'll want to be able to meet easily and effectively,
technology will be very important. You want to be sure that everyone
on the team can utilize whatever technology you've chosen. You may
also want to brush up on other topics under
technology, such as Skype. Be sure to read the CEO's guide to
technology for even more ideas. Before your first online meeting,
everyone on the team should try out the meeting platform and any
bugs should be worked out. |
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Get to Know Each Other
While you don't want to spend too much time on social activities,
team members that know and care about one another on a personal
level can work together in more harmonious circumstances. There are
some quick and easy activities that you can build into every meeting
that can help with this aspect of your virtual team. Some of the
suggested activities include
Helium Stick, Toxic Waste, Mine Field, Zoom, Keypunch, Warp
Speed, Multi-Way Tug-of-War, Survival Scenarios and the Great Egg
Drop. |
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Communicate--A Lot!
Since you won't be seeing your co-workers on the project
face-to-face much if at all, you'll want to keep the lines of
communication open. Some tips include making phone calls to touch
base, and asking that instructions be repeated back to the leader
for clarity. Harvard Business School also offers articles on topics
such as
how upfront leaders should be, how to communicate within a
complex organization and how to use integrated reporting to better
equip all team members on a project and increase communication. |
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Follow an Agenda at Meetings
This site helps you plan out your meeting agenda clearly and
easily. Your virtual meetings will also run better if you have a set
agenda that you use at every meeting. You'll find many useful tips,
such as
how to prepare a meeting agenda and
how to eliminate the items on the agenda that don't apply to your
entire group. You'll also find an entire section on
productivity which covers items such as getting control of your
day to meet deadlines and what to do when you are in a meeting that
just isn't going anywhere or producing any results. |
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Thank Employees for Working Efficiently
It's important that people feel appreciated for their efforts to
make a project work. This article outlines different ways to
celebrate people and their achievements. Be sure to recognize
everyone's input to avoid hurt feelings. The University of Michigan
has a staff recognition program called
UMatter that can serve as a good model on how to show employees
appreciation for a job well done. |
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