Driven for Perfection
The future of doing work is… HERE! When almost half of the working populace have started to work remotely, virtual teams are born. It doesn’t really matter if it is a team of local remote workers working comfortably at home, or a group of independent contractors living thousand of miles from where you are. Virtual teams will definitely grow as more businesses decide to outsource their work. The challenges of managing a team real-time can be complex and to manage people virtually will take more than the right tools and skills. Do you have what it takes to run an effective virtual team?
The Secrets of Creating Highly-Successful and Effective Virtual Teams
Secret #1: The Art of Communication
Building trust is something very challenging when working with remote workers. Are you assigning work to someone whom you feel is trustworthy enough? It’s like someone applying for a credit, where you have to check their creditworthiness. That’s only the tip of the iceberg. Once you have gathered your team, you need to make sure that everybody communicates on the same level, specially when dealing with project specs. Schedule regular meetings through various web conferencing tools on the web.
Secret # 2: Fostering Relationships
Face-to-face interactions in your usual office setting helps build relationship. Just how will you do it with your virtual team? As mentioned, TRUST is quintessential. Your virtual team will be more productive when there is respect, collaboration, and a sense of commitment in working for a goal. Your job is to make sure everybody is motivated in achieving it.
Secret # 3: More than Your Usual Leadership
What’s the difference between a leader and an effective leader? Results. Leaders only tell their people to follow instructions, but an effective leader will take the time to listen to an idea a team member has. An effective leader knows that clearly defining responsibilities will mean having to trust on what the team can do best, regardless of cultural diversities.
Secret # 4: The Art of Mentoring
You have chosen the right people to do your project. There will always come a time when you will have to modify the project and coach your team members on the steps to take. Help your team be the best they can be in giving you a stellar result. Make them see the bigger picture for them to take ownership and stay loyal.
Secret # 5: Motivation
Do you love a pat on the back? Chances are, your virtual team members do love it as well. A simple, honest-to-goodness praise can do a lot of wonders. Motivation doesn’t really have to be all about money. Even a promise of a long-term work in an economic crunch can be truly motivating. Engage in small talks with your team members. You’ll be amazed with what you might learn.
Creating an effective virtual team means making sure your team members work well to meet deadlines. Don’t just assign tasks and cross your fingers that all will go smoothly as you have imagined. You need to take that initiative to make sure your virtual team will maximize their potentials. As Jean de La Fontaine says, ” By the work one knows the workmen. “ Get Your Project Off the Ground!
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