Learn The Basics About The Virtual Project Team Work Environments
Virtual Project Teams are popular in today’s workplace …
“Walk into any office today, and you know things are not as they were a decade ago. If you engage employees in conversation many will say they collaborate on some projects with co-workers who are not located in their building, their city, or even in the same country. Ask if they have met these same teammates, and some may claim to have viewed pictures posted on an intranet, while others may tell you they travelled to a corporate offsite.
Although virtual working groups already exist in some offices, the reality is that by 2008 41 million employees worldwide will spend at least one day a week working ‘virtually’, according to the Gartner Group, (as quoted by Mike Dempster in Business Edge News, 2005).
What is a virtual team, or VT for short? Commonly we refer to VTs as work arrangements in which a group of people share responsibilities for goals that must be accomplished in the total, or near total, absence of face-to-face contact. Enabled by technology, the VT is a natural solution for solving business issues in our fast-paced global environment. Increasingly, leaders are charged with quickly putting together teams where individual members bring appropriate skills and abilities to accomplish the project’s goals, regardless where the talent is physically located. In such situations, email has usurped voicemail, while conference calls have replaced conference rooms as the meeting venue of choice.”
This excerpt was taken from an article I wrote back in 2007 about virtual teams: www.aim-strategies.com/AIM_Article-GVT.pdf At that time I provided a roadmap for setting up, following through and refreshing the virtual team, since virtual project teams had already exploded as a work arrangement of choice. It was simple and straightforward approach to how to work effectively in these situations. The article was an instant success.
Following that article I proceeded to work on numerous global leadership and virtual team assignments. These experiences made me realize that virtual project teams were here to stay, and that many managers sought help in ensuring their teams worked successfully. Through my consulting engagements I gradually came to understand what makes some virtual working groups successful, and what prevented others from achieving their potential. I decided to take the insights I learned and share them with those who sought the kind of resource I knew I could provide. The result was my book about this amazing topic – A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams – and I have many, many ideas to share with you as this blog develops…
Please provide your input, suggestions and thoughts as this journey unfolds.
