Presented by SoftAssist, 2016

This brief presentation is about teams – those within a company, those that are composed of people inside and external to thecompany and those that are mixed and global. Each team hasa unique composition but there are some shared commonalitiesand actions that can make better performing teams.

References:

How to Manage Remote Direct Reports, Rebecca Knight, February 10, 2015, Harvard Business Review

Leading Teams, Tsedel Neeley, October 25, 2015, Global Teams That Work

10 Essential Tips to Managing Remote Employees, Jason Evanish, Lighthouse Blog

Getting Virtual Teams Right, Keith Ferrazzi, website viewed, May, 18, 2016, Leading Teams

5 Basic Needs of Virtual Workforces, Randy Reyess, March 17, 2015, Harvard Business Review

Teams are teams – the people are unique

Big picture things to remember:

Global teams have their own culture, sense of identity, means ofcommunications, styles, personalities, time zones, technologylatency, languages, holidays, protocols and much more.

Internal teams may share a culture and are more aware of specificcultural norms that are part of the corporate environment butthere remain differences. Know the people and their personalities,their intent and purpose for being on the team, their rolein corporate memory, their specific skills for having beenselected, etc.

Internal, global and mixed teams are each unique.

Real Situations

I was the project manager with ourteam located in Lyon, France. It was ata Wednesday meeting when I asked fora project summary by Friday. Our French team members jumped up and startedto scream.

When I used the word “summary”, Iwas thinking (but not stated) that Iwas looking for a 1-2 page bulleted listof actions or tasks. The French colleaguesassumed that “summary” was a 10 pagedocument that had to be first discussed,agreed upon and then written by theFrench members. This was seen as animpossible and unprofessional task to becompleted by Friday.

Just because two team members use thesame word does not mean each understandsit in the same manner. Take the time toexplain your terms.

Start at the beginning – the basics for global teams

Here are some of the basics whencommunicating with teams:

If the teams are across time zones, have meetingsthat are convenient for all

Global teams must have a 2 hour window thatoverlaps the worksites

Implement collaboration technology, e.g., Hive,Carii, Slack, etc. and project management toolslike Project Manager, BaseCamp, MS Project, etc.

Be mindful of English as a second language – jokes and idioms do not translate well

Slow down your pace when speaking

Start at the beginning – communications

Here are some of the basics whenworking with teams:

Start each meeting with social time. If no oneresponds, reach out and ask “Sami, how does your son feel, how do you celebrate this comingholiday, etc.”

Be mindful of those who did not speak – try toengage

Explain one corporate culture topic or non project specific issue, e.g., when we emailwe use first names. No need to say sir or madam

Use video conferencing if possible (watch for slow bandwidth or latency in video).If no video conferencing is available, try desktop tools like Skype, ooVoo, Google, etc. Otherwise, have staff still images available and share at the start of a project(get permission)

Real Situations

The written training requirement went outto the team and the project owner. Thiswas simple software simulation training. Each software field needed a blue box thathighlighted each of the fields beingdiscussed in the narration. Sounded simple but the team was met with greatdisappointment.

The color blue that was used was incorrect,the length and height of the blue box didnot tightly surround the field and thehighlight did not last the proper amountof time.Use visuals that best define what is

expected. Limit the unexpected throughongoing communications.

Start at the beginning – project basics

Here are some of the basics whenworking with teams:

Set expectations, roles, responsibilities, protocols,and accountabilities during the first meeting

State that the rules are the same for local andremote team members

Meet consistently, no last minute cancellations

Stay in regular contact outside of the formal meeting. Create opportunities for“spontaneous chats”

Nurture comfort, familiarity and trust. Be mindful of any cultural differences. Read,Culture and Organizations, Geert Hofstede (or similar) as a start

Meet face to face when possible

Real Situations

The offshore project team was behind by 2 days and the reason was not clearlycommunicated to the corporate teamleader. The other team members did notspeak up (cultural preference).

It turned out that one of the developershad to take her mother to the hospital,stay overnight and then return her homein another providence. Understandingthe situation, the project plan wasadjusted, the project got back on trackand the entire team was more relaxed.

Follow up notes from the PM on themother’s condition helped to bond the team even more.

Teams are composed of people living theirlives and performing normal functionseach day. Get to know the team and shareas much as is practical and comfortable.

Problems to Face

Here are a few problems that mightarise within teams:

“I thought you meant…” Define , clarify and verify

Back channels – people talking outside of the meetingto foster their own agenda

Sabotage – misdirecting the agenda or goals, not cc’ing every team member, starting hearsay, intentionally not talking or withholding information

Controlling the actions – not supporting the team manager, talking more than othersor as needed, overruling or overwhelming a team member, intentional embarrassment

Missing deadlines, late submission, exhibiting poor behavior, acting bored or non-compliant or generally un-cooperative

Remember

Praise the team, acknowledge their support and spread the word.

Real Situation

A major implementation project was not succeeding until the corporate team andthe virtual team met for dinner the first night, had coffee in the morning, conductedtheir project meeting, reached some agreements and said their goodbyes.

Remember that teams are people first. Treat each other with respect.

Thank you

Give us a call if we can help you in your next training project or send usyour team training situation. We love the challenge and are happy to chat.

Dave GoodmanSoftAssist, Inc.700 American Ave. Suite 205King of Prussia, Pa. 194061.610.265.8484dgood@softassist.com

SoftAssist designs, develops and implements classroom, online, mobile and gaming solutions.