1. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Susan Agerskov
How to turn the black hole of geographically
dispersed and virtual team communication into
positive energy

2. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Psychologically -> feel isolated and
unnoticed
motivation and loyalty diminish rapidly if
members feel they have been short-changed
▪ higher turnover of staff / loss of knowledge
▪ decreased levels of knowledge transfer
▪ data theft
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

3. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
Data Leakage Worldwide Survey of IT professionals worldwideData Leakage Worldwide Survey of IT professionals worldwide
Unauthorized physical and
network access
39 % -> more concerned about threat from
their own employees than outside hackers.
Unauthorized use: 70 % said unauthorized use resulted in ≥ 50
% of data loss incidents.
Remote worker security: 46 % of employees admitted to transferring
files between work and personal computers.
Misuse of passwords: 18 % of employees share passwords with
co-workers.
Rate is 25 % in China, India, and Italy.
Cisco, 2008, Data Leakage Worldwide Survey (2000 respondents in
10 countries selected due to differences in social and business cultures).

4. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Communication -> black hole is remote
relational communication
▪ creating goodwill, fellow-feeling, rapport and loyalty
among people with whom you have little or no face-to-
face interaction
▪ non-verbal clues and feedback missing -> meaning of
silence
▪ sheer amount of information available
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5. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Remote Communication
Difficult to manage virtually through any form of command and control.
Haywood (1998), p. 18.
Defining the black hole –
team leader has to influence rather than control communication
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6. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Trust -> employees from different locations,
cultures, and technical backgrounds are likely to
mistrust:
▪ how their information will be used,
▪ whether they will get credit for their contributions outside
team,
▪ degree to which other team members will make an equal
contribution1.
 Lack of Trust -> affects quality of information that
is exchanged:
▪ senders to withhold unfavorable but relevant information but
▪ pass on favorable but irrelevant information2
1 George, (1996), p. 40-45 / 2 Hayes, (2002), p. 117
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7. Susan Agerskov © 2011
 Symbols matter: ensure same decorations in all locations
 Face-to-face communication is important
 visit employees instead of everything in Copenhagen
 joint meetings at least once a year
 Over-communicate
 weekly individual sessions / weekly joint session
 ensure all team members receive critical information
simultaneously
 Personalization and small talk
 brief narratives, personal discourses in weekly updates
Creating positive energy
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

8. Susan Agerskov © 2011
MEETING
MANAGEMENT
No side conversations
during meetings
SET EXPECTATIONS
SOLICIT FEEDBACK
TIE KEY PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS (KPI) TO:
how well communicate and
collaborate, not on
competition
time / hours
performance
pay
benefits
qualifications
expectations
recognition
loyalty
mobility
sacrifice
tolerance
life-balance
status
respect
security
Creating positive energy
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

9. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Creating positive energy
Create positive energy today with:
mobile: (+45) 30 95 88 87
susan@2communicate.dk
www.2communicate.dk
Happy Thanksgiving
and thank you!
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.