Tara Powers - Virtual Teams For Dummies

Virtual Teams For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946893

ISBN 978-1-119-45380-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-453789-6 (ebk); 978-1-119-45378-9 (ebk)

Remote work options are driving workplace transformation, and whats known about the office, teamwork, and management will never be the same. In fact, over the next few years, some sources estimate that more than a billion people will work virtually.

New technologies are released everyday to keep people connected across cities, countries, and oceans. Collaborative software, videoconferencing, and online project management are designed to help remote teams of people work effectively together. But not just technology is fueling this trend rising operational costs, growing commercial real estate expenses, and increasing globalization are other contributors, as well as the promise of higher productivity. Plus, as most hiring managers would probably tell you, the competition for finding and keeping skilled employees is fierce, so extending the geographic reach of your labor force is a huge benefit.

I wrote Virtual Teams For Dummies to help you discover everything you need to know about virtual teams and how to make them work. This book represents findings from my own research on virtual teams, my consulting work with virtual teams, and my experiences leading a virtual team for close to ten years. As a result, this book is chockfull with extensive tips, tools, frameworks, lessons learned, models, and checklists to help make your venture into the virtual team world successful.

Companies around the globe are launching headfirst into establishing virtual teams with barely a backward glance at the unique challenges for executives, leaders, and team members. Virtual Teams For Dummies provides you best practices, helps you overcome the unique challenges, and allows you to experience all the positive impacts that virtual teams have to offer.

New books and information about working on and leading virtual teams are readily available, mostly because virtual teams are quickly becoming one of the most common ways people work together on short-term projects or as intact teams for national or global companies. What makes this book unique is that I look at the world of virtual teams from a holistic perspective; I walk you through the steps of considering virtual teams as a business strategy, understanding why theyre good for the planet and people, starting your career as a remote worker, making technology decisions that align with your team values, setting up and leading your global virtual team, and more.

This handy guide answers many questions and concerns that are unique to virtual teams such as:

• How do you interview candidates properly when you arent face-to-face?
• How do you instill a sense of team when working globally?
• How do you build cross-cultural IQ and appreciation?
• How do you ensure team members feel like part of the company and fit into the corporate culture?
• How do you implement training across oceans, cultures, and languages?
• How do you prepare managers to supervise and lead a team theyve never met face-to-face?
• How do you position yourself and your skills to get hired for a remote opportunity?

When reading this book, keep an open mind for the subtle, yet unique challenges that virtual teams create. Of course, some common practices build trust and cohesion on teams regardless if they work in the same office or on a virtual team, but some of those common practices need more focus, priority, and time when working virtually. A few of the top virtual team nuances that I cover in this book include:

• Communication: Although communication and engagement are common challenges for any team, differences in time zones and lack of face-to-face interactions contribute to the unique challenges of working virtually.
• Face-to-face meetings: Virtual teams who get together in person regularly are able to realize peak effectiveness. However, for teams who are unable to do so because of budgetary or geographic restrictions, technology offers strategies for bringing teams together face-to-face.
• Accountability: Creating accountability, even for a virtual team, is critical for team success. A variety of feedback tools can help team members with continuous feedback on responsiveness, communication, workload, participation level, and engagement.