Editor's note: This article appeared in the January 13, 2011, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
Remote collaboration is often necessary for research projects of all kinds. As the virtual revolution gains ground in the research industry and satellite locations pop up around the globe, it's becoming harder for geographically-dispersed teams to perform at the same level those in the same office. Virtual teams regularly fall victim to four pitfalls: lack of clear goals, direction or priorities; lack of clear roles among team members; lack of cooperation and trust; and lack of engagement.
To find out what makes virtual teams work, OnPoint Consulting conducted a study of 48 virtual teams to understand the success factors of top performing virtual teams. Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide for Working and Leading from a Distance, a book from Darleen DeRosa and Rick Lepsinger of OnPoint Consulting, details six ways to increase a team's chance of success.
Lesson No. 1: Focus on people issues
Successful teaming depends largely on the effective interaction of team members. Virtual teams need to compensate for the inherent lack of human contact by supporting team spirit, trust and productivity.
"You may notice that team members work independently and do not reach out to other team members to collaborate," says Lepsinger. "You may also notice that an us-versus-them mentality has developed between locations or sub-groups. The truth is, when everyone is engaged and communicating, it is much easier to succeed as a virtual team. When team members build relationships with one another, it prevents people issues from taking over and impacting team efficiency."
Lesson 1 in action
- Develop a team Web page where virtual team members can share information and get to know one another.
- Create ways for team members to interact and communicate informally. Use real-time communication tools like instant messaging or social media sites to create a virtual water cooler of sorts that allows people on virtual teams to communicate more spontaneously.
- Build a collective online resource bank to share information and experiences.
- Find ways to spotlight team members.
- Send electronic newsletters or updates to the team.
- Create ways to virtually celebrate successes as a team.
- Partner team members at different locations on projects and rotate these periodically.
Lesson No. 2: No trust, no team
Task-based trust is one of the factors that differentiates top-performing teams. In virtual teams trust seems to develop more readily at the task level than at the interpersonal level. There are four warning signs that trust is in low supply in virtual teams: 1) team members do not refer to themselves as we; 2) they do not appear to know one another very well; 3) they are openly negative; and 4) they do not regard others as credible.
Lesson 2 in action
- Make sure teams meet face-to-face at least once early on in the team's formation. Spend some part of the meeting focused on building relationships and learning about team members' capabilities.
- Be sure team members feel empowered to make and act on decisions. Because virtual leaders do not have face time with team members to check in, leaders are more likely to micromanage team members without realizing it.
- Help people manage conflicts, not avoid them. Conflict is likely to be ignored or may escalate quickly in a virtual setting. Therefore, leaders need to more proactively manage conflict.
- The team leader should model and reinforce these positive behaviors.
Lesson No. 3: 'Soft' skills are essential
The presence of "soft" skills makes a difference in virtual team performance. Virtual teams that have been through team-building and interpersonal skill development activities perform better than those that have not.
Lesson 3 in action
- Use criteria and/or assessments when selecting individuals for virtual teams.
- Use team-building sessions - ideally conducted at an initial or subsequent face-to-face team meeting - to help team members strengthen working relationships and create momentum that can enhance effectiveness.
- Assess development needs for team members and team leaders and conduct skill-building focused on these areas.
- Reassess needs over time.
Lesson No. 4: Watch out for performance peaks
While virtual teams who have been working together for more than three years tend to be more successful than teams working together for less time, many virtual teams face a performance peak around the one-year mark. After that, performance tends to level off or even decline.
Lesson 4 in action
- Clearly define team roles and accountabilities to minimize frustration and misunderstandings that can damage morale and derail productivity.
- Review and refine team processes regularly.
- Periodically examine the level of team performance. Collect feedback from various stakeholders to assess the team's performance.
- Based on the outcomes, identify barriers to high performance, as well as steps that can be taken to overcome these barriers.
Lesson No. 5: Create a high-touch environment
Electronic technology has made virtual teaming possible, but it is not a perfect substitute for human interaction. One of the greatest performance barriers is the inability to replicate a high-touch environment in a virtual setting. That's why, in addition to figuring out ways to make virtual interaction more human, it's critical that companies arrange for their virtual team members to meet in person at least once a year.
"Yes, they require time and expense, but virtual teams that invest in one or two such meetings per year perform better overall than those that do not," says Lepsinger. "You'll know you haven't achieved a high-touch environment with your virtual team if they communicate poorly, aren't fully engaged and don't pay attention during virtual meetings."
Lesson 5 in action
- Leverage synchronous tools (e.g., instant messaging) to increase spontaneous communication.
- Use tools such as electronic bulletin boards to create a sense of shared space.
- Carefully choose communication technologies that are most appropriate to the specific task. For instance, e-mail is good for simple information sharing, while conference calls are better suited for interactive sharing of ideas or plans.
- Make wider use of videoconferencing.
Lesson No. 6: Virtual team leadership matters
Leadership is the factor most important to the success of virtual teams. OnPoint Consulting's research showed that leadership does, in fact, have a statistically significant correlation with higher performance on virtual teams. To overcome the limitations of distance and to be fully effective, team leaders in a virtual environment must be especially sensitive to interpersonal communication and cultural factors.
There are four key warning signs that a team leader is not up to snuff: 1) the team is not meeting its performance objectives, and deliverables are delayed or of poor quality; 2) relationships between the team members and the leader aren't strong; 3) the leader is not clear about the team's direction or purpose; and 4) the team leader pays more attention to team members who are at his/her location or whom he/she gets along with.
Lesson 6 in action
- Set clear goals and direction and revisit these as priorities shift.
- Engage team members in the development of team strategy.
- Provide time for team-building through periodic face-to-face meetings.
- Provide timely feedback to team members. Be responsive and accessible.
- Emphasize common interests and values and reinforce cooperation and trust.
- Create a system to easily integrate new team members.
- Teach the importance of conflict resolution.
- Celebrate team achievements and successes.