9. COORDINATION Creating a system progress monitor Creating a responsibility map Creating small task teams Aligning work
10. CAPABILITY Using the skills of the individual team members to leverage the team’s capability Conducting an informal capability audit Project management
11. COMMUNICATION Creating a formal communication plan Varying the technological tools to communicate with each other Having one on one meetings
12. CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE Developing a virtual global workplace respectful of all members’ differences Curiosity about one’s team member
17. KEY TAKE AWAYS Observe the rule of 6 Cs Know how to fight the challenges of isolation, fragmentation and confusion Embrace difference and diversity Have curiosity , humor and respect While at that have a look at the book for a fun reading
Hinweis der Redaktion
Welcome to my presentation on “where in the world is my team?”
Basically, the book is about
But to be more specific, here are the three aspects of the book that I will be discussing in depth with you.
The author Terence Brake described himself as “the more muscular Jude Law” in the book (p.8) so this is my impression of “the man”, “the legend” Terence Brake Terence is a long time virtual worker with experience in the game industry. And now he is a consultant who helps others to set up effective virtual teams at TMA world. Follow the URL for more information on what he is up to!
Terence’s virtual work theory has 6 components, all of which need to be addressed for good virtual work to happen. Here are the 6 Cs, as he calls them, of virtual work theory. These 6 Cs are the building block you need for effective virtual work.
Here are the elements of cooperation. It helps to have a kick off face to face meeting as well as a transparent communication. Besides establishing respect and being enthusiastic about your role are other keys to cooperation.
The main point about covergence is that it is an act of coming together based on a common purpose. Of course this is hard to do in a virtual environment but addressing the other 5 Cs can make convergence easier.
The main challenge of coordination is geo-spacial and temperal. How do you coordinate a team in 8 different time zones? Part of the challenge is logistical such a susing the right technology platform so that everyone can be online and be productive at the same time. The other aspect is leadership, which is required to keep people in line with schedules.
A Virtual team is likely to have a lot of individual skills represented, partly because a team like this will include people with different working cultures in countries. If the definition of skill or capability is too narrow, then the team will lose out on what everyone can contribute. That’s what sunil talked about in the book. In fact lets hear what he has to say:
One of the important elements of communication is knowing hwat tool to use at what time. Brake’s recommendation is that many different kinds of comm. Tools be used. The danger of using just one format is that you can lose meaning. For example if everyone IM s all the time, voice nuances will be lost. The other recommendations are to keep communication to the point, respectfull, and aware of other people’s contributions.
Cultural intellignece is allied to the idea of capability, and using what everyoen has to offer in the best way. The challenge is here that each team leader is rooted in inly one culture and may not know how to best recognize and use the cultural competence of others. Having a spirit of curiosity about other’s cultural background can help because it will teach people about each other.
The three main challenges in the virtual work place are isolation., fragmentation and confusion. And here are the ways to solve those problems.
With transperancyther will be no more confusion
With cohesion there will be no more fragmentation
And with engagement there will be no more isolation.
As I conclude my presentation here I would like to leave you guys with notes of key take aways.Thanks for your patience and time. I hope you enjoyed the slides.
