Brief presentation on best practices in managing teams and four real situations when the teams did not work.

1. Presented by SoftAssist, 2016

2. This brief presentation is about teams – those within a company,
those that are composed of people inside and external to the
company and those that are mixed and global. Each team has
a unique composition but there are some shared commonalities
and actions that can make better performing teams.
References:
How to Manage Remote Direct Reports, Rebecca Knight, February 10, 2015, Harvard Business Review
Leading Teams, Tsedel Neeley, October 25, 2015, Global Teams That Work
10 Essential Tips to Managing Remote Employees, Jason Evanish, Lighthouse Blog
Getting Virtual Teams Right, Keith Ferrazzi, website viewed, May, 18, 2016, Leading Teams
5 Basic Needs of Virtual Workforces, Randy Reyess, March 17, 2015, Harvard Business Review

3. Teams are teams – the people are unique
Big picture things to remember:
Global teams have their own culture, sense of identity, means of
communications, styles, personalities, time zones, technology
latency, languages, holidays, protocols and much more.
Internal teams may share a culture and are more aware of specific
cultural norms that are part of the corporate environment but
there remain differences. Know the people and their personalities,
their intent and purpose for being on the team, their role
in corporate memory, their specific skills for having been
selected, etc.
Internal, global and mixed teams are each unique.

4. Real Situations
I was the project manager with our
team located in Lyon, France. It was at
a Wednesday meeting when I asked for
a project summary by Friday. Our French
team members jumped up and started
to scream.
When I used the word “summary”, I
was thinking (but not stated) that I
was looking for a 1-2 page bulleted list
of actions or tasks. The French colleagues
assumed that “summary” was a 10 page
document that had to be first discussed,
agreed upon and then written by the
French members. This was seen as an
impossible and unprofessional task to be
completed by Friday.
Just because two team members use the
same word does not mean each understands
it in the same manner. Take the time to
explain your terms.

5. Start at the beginning – the basics for global
teams
Here are some of the basics when
communicating with teams:
If the teams are across time zones, have meetings
that are convenient for all
Global teams must have a 2 hour window that
overlaps the worksites
Implement collaboration technology, e.g., Hive,
Carii, Slack, etc. and project management tools
like Project Manager, BaseCamp, MS Project, etc.
Be mindful of English as a second language – jokes and idioms do not translate well
Slow down your pace when speaking

6. Start at the beginning – communications
Here are some of the basics when
working with teams:
Start each meeting with social time. If no one
responds, reach out and ask “Sami, how does
your son feel, how do you celebrate this coming
holiday, etc.”
Be mindful of those who did not speak – try to
engage
Explain one corporate culture topic or non project specific issue, e.g., when we email
we use first names. No need to say sir or madam
Use video conferencing if possible (watch for slow bandwidth or latency in video).
If no video conferencing is available, try desktop tools like Skype, ooVoo, Google, etc.
Otherwise, have staff still images available and share at the start of a project
(get permission)

7. Real Situations
The written training requirement went out
to the team and the project owner. This
was simple software simulation training.
Each software field needed a blue box that
highlighted each of the fields being
discussed in the narration. Sounded simple
but the team was met with great
disappointment.
The color blue that was used was incorrect,
the length and height of the blue box did
not tightly surround the field and the
highlight did not last the proper amount
of time.
Use visuals that best define what is
expected. Limit the unexpected through
ongoing communications.

8. Start at the beginning – project basics
Here are some of the basics when
working with teams:
Set expectations, roles, responsibilities, protocols,
and accountabilities during the first meeting
State that the rules are the same for local and
remote team members
Meet consistently, no last minute cancellations
Stay in regular contact outside of the formal meeting. Create opportunities for
“spontaneous chats”
Nurture comfort, familiarity and trust. Be mindful of any cultural differences. Read,
Culture and Organizations, Geert Hofstede (or similar) as a start
Meet face to face when possible

9. Real Situations
The offshore project team was behind by
2 days and the reason was not clearly
communicated to the corporate team
leader. The other team members did not
speak up (cultural preference).
It turned out that one of the developers
had to take her mother to the hospital,
stay overnight and then return her home
in another providence. Understanding
the situation, the project plan was
adjusted, the project got back on track
and the entire team was more relaxed.
Follow up notes from the PM on the
mother’s condition helped to bond the
team even more.
Teams are composed of people living their
lives and performing normal functions
each day. Get to know the team and share
as much as is practical and comfortable.

10. Problems to Face
Here are a few problems that might
arise within teams:
“I thought you meant…” Define , clarify and verify
Back channels – people talking outside of the meeting
to foster their own agenda
Sabotage – misdirecting the agenda or goals, not
cc’ing every team member, starting hearsay,
intentionally not talking or withholding information
Controlling the actions – not supporting the team manager, talking more than others
or as needed, overruling or overwhelming a team member, intentional embarrassment
Missing deadlines, late submission, exhibiting poor behavior, acting bored or
non-compliant or generally un-cooperative

11. Remember
Praise the team, acknowledge their support and spread the word.

12. Real Situation
A major implementation project was not succeeding until the corporate team and
the virtual team met for dinner the first night, had coffee in the morning, conducted
their project meeting, reached some agreements and said their goodbyes.
Remember that teams are people first. Treat each other with respect.

13. Thank you
Give us a call if we can help you in your next training project or send us
your team training situation. We love the challenge and are happy to chat.
Dave Goodman
SoftAssist, Inc.
700 American Ave. Suite 205
King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
1.610.265.8484
dgood@softassist.com
SoftAssist designs, develops and implements classroom, online, mobile and gaming solutions.