VIRTUAL TEAMS PROJECT MANAGEMENT LEADS TO HIGH PERFORMANCE
Results, results, results. Delivering on what is promised is what managing offshore teams is all about. And managing an effective virtual teams project management process successfully is an art as well as a science. When your team (or project) members are out of sight, how do you know if they are actually on the right path to get those results?
Really, the difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’ virtual teams project management is in the delivery. Ask yourself, “What can I do to make sure my virtual team meets our milestones and completes the project?”
If you are responsible for delivering projects you’ll surely do your share of talking – but that’s not the whole story. You’ll have to get involved in the listening, questioning and coordinating. And this means cultivating three behaviors:
1. Aligning: Make sure everyone shares an understanding about expectations, and is committed to the same goals. Given the challenges (a culturally diverse team that spans several time zones across dispersed locations), it is even more important to keep team members aligned. Without alignment, teams experience periods of instability, ambiguity and tension which can lead to a lack of productivity, and eventually a breakdown of the team itself. Hint: keep things specific, clarify when something is due and keep communicating!
2. Tracking: Successful teams differ in their workflow, but they all engage in these four steps: establish standards, create measurable metrics, produce requirements documentation and hold regular status check-in meetings. It consists of the back and forth reporting, updating and status checking that are vital to the process of producing Deliverables that meet quality standards within a timely fashion.
3. Establishing Frequencies: Once deliverables are aligned, and tracking / reporting mechanisms are set up, you’re ready for this final step. How often do you need to connect with our team, and how are you going to do so? This is the lifeline that allows you and your team to stay connected and equipped to deliver. One of your key responsibilities as a virtual manager is to implement the team mechanisms necessary to establish frequency in the virtual world.
Lots of coordination goes into top-notch delivery, and if you stay focused on these three behaviors, your team will have a great shot at hitting every milestone. Coordinating deliverables is like conducting an orchestra. Virtual managers, like orchestra leaders, take a long, deep view of their resources and apply that knowing touch to get the desired result using virtual teams project management.
