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MANAGING/LEADING VIRTUAL TEAMS:Communications in Virtual Organizations, Virtual Leadership

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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
VU
Lecture 36
MANAGING/LEADING VIRTUAL TEAMS
Managing/Leading Virtual Team
A Virtual Team is known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) ­ is a group of individuals who
work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of
communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose,
have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable. Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best
people regardless of location. A virtual team does not always mean Tele-workers. Tele-workers are
defined as individuals who work from home. Many virtual teams in today's organizations consist of
employees both working at home and small groups in the office but in different geographic locations or
during different shits/time.
Factors Driving Virtual Organizations
o  Organizational structure changing to meet the demands of the fast-paced, dynamic global economy
o  Many organizations are moving from a systems-based organizational model to a collaborative,
networked organizational model.
o  The virtuality of virtual organizations has been described as having two key features:
Creation of a common value chain between distinct entities and distributed
Information technology (IT) supported business processes (Seiber and Griese, 1997).
Communications in Virtual Organizations
Information technology is a primary mechanism for providing support and control to virtual forms.
Communication within virtual organizational forms is increasingly supported by information
technology.
Organizational Types
o  Permanent Virtual Organizations
o  Virtual Teams
o  Virtual Projects
o  Temporary Virtual Organizations
Types of Teams
o  Traditional - Face-to-Face
o  Virtual
Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are teams of people who primarily interact electronically and who may meet face-to-face
occasionally. Examples of virtual teams include a team of people working at different geographic sites
and a project team whose members telecommute. Members are physically separated (by time and/or
space) and that virtual team members primarily interact electronically.
Why a virtual team?
o  Team members may not be physically collocated.
o  It may not be practical to travel to meet face-to-face.
o  Team members may work different shifts.
o  Organization-wide project not in the same location.
o  Alliances with organizations.
Different kinds of Virtual Development
Multisite
o  Large teams in relatively few locations
o  Each location develops a subsystem
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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
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o  The leaders of each location meet often
Offshore
o  Designers at one location send specifications to production unit at another location
Outsourcing
Distributed
o  A team spread over relatively many locations, with relatively few people, per location
Virtual Teams
Technology Supporting Virtual Teams
Hardware
o Telephones, PCs, modems, Video Conference, communication links, hubs, network
(telephone system) and local area networks
Software
o  Electronic mail, meeting facilitation software, and group time management systems
Benefits of virtual teams
o People can work from anywhere at anytime.
o People can be recruited for their competencies, not just physical location.
o Many physical handicaps are not a problem.
o Expenses associated with travel, lodging, parking, and leasing or owning a building
may be reduced and sometimes eliminated.
o Apply most appropriate resources (from anywhere) to job
o Can schedule to follow-the-sun/around-the-clock
o Can build ongoing relationships/networks across business
o Cost reduction
Downside of virtual teams
o  Time zones
o  "You can't see me" attitude
o  No constant direction
o  Keeping that motivation and commitment
o  How do you celebrate a success?
Characterizations of virtual teams (Henery and Hartzler,1998)
o Members are mutually accountable for team results.
o Members are dispersed geographically (nationally or internationally).
o Members work apart more than in the same location.
o The team solves problems and makes decisions jointly.
A successful virtual team
o  A unified commitment by all team members
o  Defined and agreed roles and responsibilities
o  Clear concise deliverables
o  Strict meeting schedules
o  Effective lines of communication
o  Committed, enthusiastic leadership - ALWAYS!
Setting Up Virtual Teams
Establish communication norms ­ procedures to reconcile differences in
o
communication practices
Develop templates for using technology -- e.g., store documents on web pages,
o
expert directories
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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
VU
o  Set procedures, responsibilities
o  Establish leadership that provides procedural justice
o  Hold an initial face-to-face startup meeting
o  Have periodic face-to-face meetings, especially to resolve conflict and to maintain
team cohesiveness
o  Establish a clear code of conduct and protocols for behavior
o  Recognize and reward performance
o  Use visuals in communications
o  Recognize that most communications will be non-verbal ­ use caution in tone and
language
Success Factors in Virtual Teams
o High levels of trust among team members
o Effective use of technology
o Clear implementation of team concept
o Effective individual performance
Trust
Effective teamwork depends on trust
o
In a virtual environment, trust is more ability/task based than interpersonal relationship
o
based
o  Level of member performance over time results in building or denial of trust
Like in case of other team, trust is even more essential in the effectiveness of virtual team.
Building Trust Virtually: Establish trust through performance consistency
o  Rapid response to team members (return emails, task completion)
o  Set strong norms around communication
o  Team leader role in reinforcing interactions
Virtual Team Member Competencies:
o  Self-disciplined?
o  Strong communicator?
o  Good collaborator?
o  Organized?
·  Document your work well?
Implementation of Virtual Teams:
o  Must set out a clear business reason for the team
o  Team must understand its mission/purpose
o  Team members must develop a sense of interdependence
o  Must have accountability and rewards for team members
Challenges to Virtual Team Success:
o  Building trust within virtual teams
o  Maximizing process gains & minimizing process losses on virtual teams
o  Overcoming feelings of isolation & detachment associated with virtual teamwork
o  Balancing technical & interpersonal skills among virtual team members
o  Assessment & recognition of virtual team performance
Virtual Team Competencies
o The right technology
o Shared work space & processes
o Established ground rules
o Acceptance of cultural, style & preference differences
o Effective group dynamics
o Clear identity
o Teamwork skills
o Leadership
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o True trust
Virtual Leadership
Virtual leadership is about how to pull the people on a worldwide assignment together into one
cohesive partnership. Leadership is about making things happen and getting things done. It just takes
more work in a virtual environment.
Key in Leading a Virtual Team
o Build trust
o Reward and recognize
o Communication
o Motivation
o Commitment
Virtual Team Leadership Competencies
o  Make the invisible, visible
o  Make the intangible, tangible
o  Create & foster a climate of trust
o  Establish & constantly model standards of accountability
o  Communicate clearly, constantly & effectively within each receiver's realm
o  Delegate responsibilities
Virtual Leadership Key Traits
o  Everyone gets core information at the same time.
o  Everyone has equal input.
o  Everyone's ideas are weighed against the alignment tool, not out of preference.
o  Everyone's ideas are never judged or rejected at the onset.
o  Everyone has equal opportunity to shine.
o  Everyone is rewarded or publicly recognized for contributions to the project.
o  The leader socializes equally with people near and far.
o  Even appearances or suggestions of favoritism break trust.
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION, ORGANIZATION THE STAGE FOR LEADERSHIP:Challenges, Value creation
  2. FOCUSING ON PEOPLE: THE KEY TO SUCCESS:People in the Process, Developing and Sustaining A World-class Workforce
  3. LEADERSHIP:Characteristics of Successful Leader, Why Study Leadership?
  4. LEADERSHIP (CONTD.):Characteristics of Leaders Who Fail, Why Leaders Fail?
  5. MANAGERS VS LEADERS:Characteristics, Effective Leadership, Respect for Diversity
  6. FOLLOWER-SHIP:Importance of Followers, Follower-ship Style
  7. LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Strategies for Cultivating Exemplary Followers, Important Traits of Leaders
  8. LEADERSHIP PROCESS (CONTD.):Qualities of Leaders, Self-Confidence, Integrity
  9. LEADERSHIP THEORIES/ APPROACHES:Personal Characteristics of Leaders, Managerial Grid
  10. CONTINGENCY THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP:The Fiedler Model, Situational Leadership Theory, Path-Goal Theory
  11. TRANSACTIONAL, CHARISMATIC AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP:Visionary Leadership
  12. THE LEADER AS AN INDIVIDUAL:Personality, Situation, Heredity, Environment
  13. ATTITUDE-PERSONALITY:Job Satisfaction, Work Situation, Self - Monitoring
  14. BIG FIVE MODEL, MYERS BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR (MBTI):Sub-Categories Defined, Information Gathering
  15. SITUATIONAL FACTORS:Social and psychological climate, Culture of the organization
  16. BECOMING A LEADER! WHAT DOES IT MEAN & HOW DO YOU GET IT?:Mission Statement, Leading oneself
  17. BECOMING A LEADER:Elements of Leadership, CONCEPT OF POWER,
  18. UNDERSTANDING POWER:Sources of Power, Responses to the Use of Power, Managing Political Behavior
  19. LEADERSHIP POWER & INFLUENCE:Positional Power, Being an Effective Leader
  20. LEADERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT:Power sharing and Empowerment, Share Information
  21. MOTIVATION:Guidelines for Delegating, Human Resource Approach
  22. MOTIVATION AT WORK, MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP:What Factors Diminish Motivation in the Workplace
  23. LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION:Communication & the Four Management Functions
  24. REVIEW-1:Organizational Performance, That is the Role of Management?, Leaders Vs Managers
  25. GROUP & TEAM CONCEPT:Groups versus Teams, Deciding When to Use a Team
  26. TEAM DYNAMICS:Stages of Group Development, Problem-Solving Teams, Benefits of Teams
  27. BUILDING THE TEAM:Leadership success requires, Strategies for Team Building
  28. A TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION:Basic Steps, Span of Control, Categories of Decisions
  29. DECISION MAKING:Categories of Decisions, The Decision-Making Process
  30. TEAM DECISION MAKING:Team Problem Solving Techniques, Concept of QC
  31. EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION:Team/Group Communications
  32. CONFLICT IN TEAM:Sources of Conflict, Scarcity of Resources, Dysfunctional Outcomes
  33. TRAINING/LEARNING OF TEAM:Training Methods, Phases of Learning Cycles
  34. LEARNING ORGANIZATION:A Litmus Test, Work Relations
  35. REWARDING & RECOGNIZING TEAMWORK:Compensating Teams, Individual or Team Rewards?
  36. MANAGING/LEADING VIRTUAL TEAMS:Communications in Virtual Organizations, Virtual Leadership
  37. EFFECTIVE TEAM MEETINGS:Better Meetings, Meeting Roles, Meeting Room Facilities
  38. LEADING TEAM:Team Leadership Structures, Leadership Demands and Duties, Leadership Direction
  39. REVIEW-II:Types of Teams, Characteristics of High Performance Teams, Sources of Conflict
  40. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP:Strategic Management, Determining Strategic Direction, Developing Human Capital:
  41. LEADING CHANGE:Dynamics of Change, Change Models, Unfreeze
  42. CREATIVE LEADERSHIP:Awaken Your Senses, How Might These Definitions Be Integrated
  43. ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP:Character Traits Reflect Ethics, Manifests Honesty
  44. LOOKING AT THE FUTURE: WHAT COMES NEXT:Benefits of Teams, Ethical Leadership,
  45. TEAMWORK: LEARNING FROM NATURE:Social Behavior, Termites, Learning from Nature