If you\u2019re forming a new team, be clear from the beginning about the team\u2019s purpose. What tasks do you expect your team to complete? Explain why those tasks are important so that team members understand the big picture and meaning behind what they\u2019re working to accomplish.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve inherited a team or are struggling with your existing team, take time to understand the team\u2019s purpose and vision<\/a> \u2014 and be sure you and your team members are on the same page. To be effective in the face of different perspectives and experiences, it\u2019s important for your team to unite around a shared purpose and vision.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve all agreed on your team\u2019s purpose, ensure there\u2019s clear direction for how to complete the tasks required to accomplish your mission.<\/p>\n Geographically dispersed team members require tactical direction.<\/p>\n For example, what specific tasks or perspective do you expect each team member to contribute? Because team members may not understand why they\u2019ve been chosen, schedule a meeting to share why each member was named to the team, their unique background and valuable skills, and the role you expect them to play.<\/p>\n A team charter can help you stay on track, clarify roles, and meet your objectives. Read more about how to keep your team on track with a team charter<\/a>.<\/p>\n With everyone in agreement on roles and responsibilities, share a game plan for how your team should interact with each other.<\/p>\n Our experts have found that team members spread across multiple time zones often end up working long hours to accommodate each other\u2019s schedules. These unrealistic schedules lead to low productivity and burnout.<\/p>\n To help prevent this, ensure members can get the bulk of their work done during their normal working hours. Successful virtual team management should include providing tools for scheduling and guidelines on \u201cconnectivity\u201d to minimize early morning or late-night meetings. Global virtual teams especially need clarity on when they should (or shouldn\u2019t) be available, including on weekends and local holidays.<\/p>\n Additionally, in different facilities and in different cultures, routine processes often differ greatly, which can leave team members confused.<\/p>\n Team leaders should establish norms and provide training for best practices such as meeting formats, use of technologies and communication, and decision-making. Training and processes should include a clear indication of which tools will be used for what purposes. This will prevent the same information being sent via multiple mediums and keep work from falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019ve set the direction for your team and you\u2019ve coordinated alignment<\/a>, it\u2019s time to get the commitment. In other words, you want to ensure that each team member feels responsible for your group\u2019s outcomes.<\/p>\n That requires trust, and here\u2019s where things get challenging for you as a team leader.<\/p>\n Virtual teams often struggle to build and maintain trust. Not only do they lack the physical proximity that encourages feelings of cohesiveness, but often members are unsure how to address cultural differences.<\/p>\n To build team trust, there are things you can do in the short-term, such as:<\/p>\n The more often team members can meet \u201cface-to-face\u201d through real-time technologies, the higher their levels of success. That\u2019s because tools like videoconferencing allow for members to interpret non-verbal communication, like hand gestures, facial expressions, and body posture. As a result, communication feels more familiar and natural. Team members may need support to develop a strong virtual persona and effective virtual communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps most importantly, understand that trust will come with time, and focus on the long term rather than expecting overnight cohesion of the team.<\/p>\n Watch our webinar, Leading Remote Teams When the Stakes Are High<\/em><\/a>, which covers the mindset, skillset, and toolset needed for effective virtual team management.<\/p>\n Dispersed team members often have a love-hate relationship with virtual teamwork. They may love new tools for virtual collaboration<\/a>, but struggle with best practices for virtual communication<\/a>. Learning about different cultures may excite them, but misunderstandings that result from a language barrier cause frustration. Some may love the autonomy of working remotely but also feel out of the loop and isolated at times.<\/p>\n It may be tempting to assume common mindsets and values. But it\u2019s important for leaders who are managing remote employees to remember that their team members have unique experiences and perspectives, and leading a multicultural team<\/a> requires leadership skill.<\/p>\n As a leader, consider your own cultural assumptions and behaviors. Take care to ensure that your choices and actions reflect the considerations of not just your thinking, but of your group members\u2019 preferences, as well.<\/p>\n And when you schedule meetings and delegate responsibilities, be sure to factor in cultural considerations such as social status, language challenges or barriers, time differences, and distance. All these factors impact team members\u2019 ability to participate and contribute, and your effectiveness at leading from a distance depends upon you being able to take those differences into account.<\/p>\n From a distance, it can be hard for participants to contribute to a virtual meeting. Make things easier by taking these steps:<\/p>\n Above all, keep communication lines open to ensure everyone is aligned and working together to achieve the shared goal.<\/p>\n We can all admit that while many virtual team meetings feel essential and productive, some feel like a waste of time. If you\u2019re managing virtual teams, it\u2019s your responsibility to ensure the meetings you\u2019re scheduling are effective. Consider these 3 characteristics that distinguish the most useful meetings from the rest:<\/p>\n Most things don\u2019t require meetings \u2014 an email will suffice. Pretending to need people\u2019s input doesn\u2019t require a meeting; just announce the decision that\u2019s already been made.<\/p>\n But some things \u2014 like problems we don\u2019t have solutions to yet or conflicts that haven\u2019t been fully explored \u2014 require human interaction and collaborative thinking. If we need to take time to let creative solutions emerge, a meeting may be needed.<\/p>\n How many meetings have you been a part of where others are more invested in their phones or other work than the meeting itself? Or where some attendees only perk up to really listen when the boss speaks?<\/p>\n Active participation isn\u2019t accomplished by nagging; it\u2019s accomplished via a meeting agenda that focuses the conversation on decisions that make a difference.<\/p>\n Meeting agendas should not only name the items you\u2019ll be discussing, but also clearly state what result is required from each discussion point. Do we need to identify deliverables today? Make final decisions? Adjust traffic management or information sharing? Before signing on for the virtual meeting, attendees should agree on what we\u2019ll be accomplishing and the kinds of conversations we\u2019ll use to get results.<\/p>\n Agendas like this should be shared in advance so decisions can be made in a timely way. People shouldn\u2019t hear about something for the first time at a meeting.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re ready to develop your leaders in best practices for managing remote employees, partner with us to craft a customized learning journey for your team using our research-based modules. Available\u00a0leadership topics<\/a>\u00a0include Authenticity, Collaboration & Teamwork, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Listening to Understand, Psychological Safety,\u00a0Virtual & Remote Team Leadership<\/a>, and more.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leading from a distance can be challenging, especially when teams are scattered geographically. Read our tips for managing remote employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":49628,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49627","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-leadership-skills-competencies","categories-virtual-teams","region-global","article-type-leading-effectively-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Infographic:](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/5-strategies-for-managing-remote-employees-center-for-creative-leadership.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1. Define the team.<\/h3>\n
2. Clarify roles & expectations.<\/h3>\n
3. Establish procedures.<\/h3>\n
4. Invest in trust.<\/h3>\n
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Access Our Webinar!<\/h3>\n
5. Recognize the impact of differences.<\/h3>\n
Managing Virtual Teams: Best Practices for Leading Meetings<\/h2>\n
![\"Infographic:](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/7-tips-for-managing-virtual-teams-center-for-creative-leadership.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Tips For Leading More Effective Virtual Meetings<\/h2>\n
1. Everyone participating feels the agenda couldn\u2019t be addressed without the meeting.<\/h3>\n
2. Attendees are fully present.<\/h3>\n
3. Productive discussion is driven through a detailed meeting agenda.<\/h3>\n
Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n