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How to Run a Great 'Bad Virtual Meeting' - TMA World
How to Run a Great 'Bad Virtual Meeting'
Running meetings with remote employees in virtual teams can be a real nuisance because they disrupt the smooth flow of more important work (and fun), taking place face to face in the office. Here are my top tips and hints to help you run really bad virtual meetings:
- Audio – Always use the speaker phone, particularly in a noisy office so that attendees will sense that you are important, as they hear you working in a busy and vibrant environment.
- Punctuality - Turn up absolutely on time. Not a minute before or after. Although you might need to load slides into your virtual meeting room for a couple of minutes whilst everyone waits around; it helps people relax. Relationships are important so you can use this time bond with your colleagues by talking about last nights’ football score. Around the world everyone loves football!
- Agenda – The great thing about virtual meetings is that participants can’t actually see how unprepared you are. The main thing is to sound confident, as you remember the three most important things you think people should be discussing. If you do this, they’ll think you really do have an agenda!
- Multi-tasking – Generally people find listening to other people’s opinions for long periods of time a little tedious; particularly when you can’t even see them! Multi-tasking is a new generation leadership skill so practice it (social learning on the job is the new big thing!) by updating your Facebook page, as soon as you sense what someone is saying. When they finish, just say ‘that’s a really good point you’ve made’ and they’ll feel acknowledged.
- Surprise Questions – If you are ever caught by a surprise question that you either don’t know the answer to, or you did not realise was actually addressed to YOU, (because you were on FB) just say that you ‘agree with what the last person said’. Even if you disagree later, you can blame it on a lack of context. Alternatively just make a noise like ’’**£s &*$££sss!...and say ‘Sorry we’ve got a really bad line here, hang up, Google the answer and dial back in. That demonstrates commitment.
- Screenshare – I generally recommend you avoid using screen share. It’s complicated. No one else knows how to use it either and you don’t want people peeking at unplanned private chat messages about the boss. Screenshares really disrupt the flow of a meeting.
- Feedback - Remember that when everyone remains quiet as you make your final resonant concluding statements, silence is normally a sign of approval, respect and agreement for what you have said, so you don’t need to waste the peoples time by asking for feedback. Apparently people from some cultures are always silent and won’t say anything anyway, I’ve never had any complaints from them.
I hope this helps you and remember that great mantra; ‘think global ...but act local! If you have any other bad advice or habits please email me at spritchard@tmaworld.com and we’ll set up a virtual meeting :)
How to Run a Great 'Bad Virtual Meeting' - TMA World
Virtual Teams: From Merely Working Together to Truly Collaborating with One Another. ::
Virtual Teams: From Merely Working Together to Truly Collaborating with One Another.
Category : Cases, Comments and Current Trends
‘It’s like monopoly on a global scale, with people, factories, offices, and ideas, crisscrossing the world to get the job done in time and on budget’.In my opinion, this metaphor that a recent CNN article mentioned serves as a fitting description for today’s globally dispersed business environment, and as a great introduction for a blog post on global virtual teams.
As global businesses adjust to these ‘monopoly’ settings, managing global virtual teams quickly becomes the norm. Although they are very attractive cost wise, and may also help to save time , managing global virtual teams effectively is still a challenge. There is limited face-to-face interaction, work occurs across different time zones, and collaboration involves different cultural and language backgrounds – all of which make virtual teamwork and virtual leadership quite a difficult task. This is probably one reason for why entering ‘virtual team’ into any Internet search engine results in a sheer endless number of publications with ‘to do’ and ‘top tips’ lists in their headings. And although the majority of recommendations for managing traditional teams would also serve well for virtual teams (e.g. specify roles, create a common meaningful goal, value all team members), the differences should be evident.
Lacking face-to-face interaction makes virtual teams much more vulnerable to ‘merely working together’ instead of truly collaborating with one another. What happens naturally in groups who see each other daily should be deliberately fostered in remote virtual groups. In this context, a relevant HBR blog article suggests that global team leaders must deliberately create ‘moments’. Drawing from her own practical experience the author Tsedal Neeley argues that there are four types of these ‘moments’, that may help increase cohesion and performance of globally-dispersed teams.
Social interaction as a key to community feelings in virtual teams
First of all, Neeley proposes to structure ‘unstructured’ time. In other words.
- Deliberately creating opportunities for employees’ social non-work interaction, which happens so rarely in virtual teams.
As an alternative to chats during virtual meetings, social media can be used as another ‘group-feel’ remedy common in our times. Several companies implement virtual communication platforms – blogs, wikis, social networks – which can be used by employees for both personal and work-related communication, thus creating feelings of participating in a community. Indeed, it can be argued that social media can help create a culture, a glue that holds an organization together, not only in traditional, but also in virtual work environments.
Diversity of virtual team members should serve as a benefit
Arguably, virtual meetings can be less productive because the lack of certain characteristics of face-to-face conversations (e.g. non-verbal communication) may create a less engaging environment, in which participants are less likely to fully contribute to the process. In a way, it is easier to express a different opinion during a ‘heated’ discussion with all the participants in the same meeting room, and also easier to hold back an opinion when involved only distantly. Moreover, the cultural differences in global virtual teams may also add up to the ‘humility’ of personal opinions. Therefore, the HBR blog article suggests creating moments of disagreement.
- Moments of disagreement should be deliberately created and emphasized, encouraging team members to express themselves openly and value the diversity of opinions.
- Create moments of ‘good differences’
Mutual understanding – a requirement in virtual teams
- Finally, global team leaders should create ‘awareness’ moments.
Further reading:
Carron, A.V. (1982). Cohesiveness in sport groups: Interpretations and considerations. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 123-138.
Carron, A.V. (1982). Cohesiveness in sport groups: Interpretations and considerations. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 123-138.
:: IESE :: Expatriatus » Blog Archive » Virtual Teams: From Merely Working Together to Truly Collaborating with One Another. ::
6 Communication Tips for Distributed Agile Teams - Voices on Project Management
6 Communication Tips for Distributed Agile Teams
Distributed agile teams have to overcome distance and time to achieve what Alistair Cockburn describes as "osmotic communication" -- tacit knowledge and spontaneous discussion. Speakers at an October 2012 summit on distributed agile teams offered six tips for improving high-bandwidth communication:
1. Make a Time Zone Table. You may know this already, but this tool is a must for finding times for meetings required by your agile process, including daily Scrum meetings, estimating, planning, demos and retrospectives. To create one, use a spreadsheet to list rows of times for potential meetings and corresponding time zones for all members. For example:
Mind the International Date Line and daylight savings time. Then apply your matrix to a range of dates, before or after daylight savings time changes. For example, a December call between New York and India would be at 7:00 a.m. EST/5:30 p.m. India time -- but in June, it is 4:30 p.m. India time. Online date and time tools are useful when putting together this matrix.Be aware of each location's typical work hours, and make a separate table or calendar of holidays.
2. Break language barriers. Even when remote team members speak the same language, don't assume smooth communications. For example, some people have heavier accents than others. Language barriers can particularly impact the efficiency of agile teams, which include daily standup meetings. One solution is to assign a spokesperson with better language skills in the team's common language (English, for example). Also, be mindful of cultural metaphors and idioms that may not make sense in other countries.
3. Increase visibility. Because agile teams use task boards to show stories and associated work, communications can become complicated for distributed teams. To show the many visual elements used in agile -- from notecards on a wall to task boards -- teams need to think beyond web cameras. Try using online tools, which can range from free task boards to full-service applications with analytics and portfolio management. Or opt for spatial collaboration environments such as Terf©. Terf shows cards for each task on the wall in the context of other charts and team members. Online virtual rooms deliver contextual information and a sense of co-presence, where distributed agile teams experience the collaboration they are accustomed to in a face-to-face environment.
4. Improve sound. Agile teams rely on high-bandwidth communication. And clear audio is essential in the frequent meetings necessary in the agile process. So if you are using voiceover IP, avoid wireless for a more stable connection. Little things go a long way in improving sound quality, too. Use a USB headset or ear buds to avoid feedback and echoes from built-in speakers. Consider investing in a better microphone. Some have digital signal processing to reduce noise, some are excellent for large rooms and some have different patterns to accept or reject sound. Finally, provide text chat for backup communication and questions during a long discussion.
5. Go on the record. Recording audio from conference calls and screens from slide presentations keep team members informed if they cannot attend in real time. This is especially helpful for informing offshore team members in crucial content meetings, such as agile planning. Just beware that without the interactivity, it is harder for people to remain engaged. So with recordings, try to keep it short.
6. Organize by component, not role. Some teams may be tempted to assign people in one location one role. Yet team members on agile teams are encouraged to share roles. So what's the solution? Cross-functional teams by location, working on a subset of your project. This improves communication between locals, reducing overhead.
What communication challenges and solutions have you experienced for your distributed teams?
Go beyond communication tips -- find out how to apply measures and metrics of agile techniques into your projects. PMI members can dig deeper into the topic, with expert tips on the many facets of agile.
6 Communication Tips for Distributed Agile Teams - Voices on Project Management
Virtual Team Leaders: Are You the Life of the Party? | Virtual Team Builder – Blog
It shouldn’t be difficult for you to imagine the last party you attended as we come out of the holiday season. Maybe you have a few standout memories of that special occasion: the food might have been delicious, the decorations, beautiful, and you might have found yourself immersed in the most interesting conversation ever with another guest. However, I’m willing to bet that those details would have meant very little without an outstanding host to tie everything together. We all know a great party host creates a safe and interesting environment for their guests and makes everyone’s comfort level their top priority. Actually, when it comes down to it, an effective virtual leader possesses the very same qualities and demonstrates the same behaviours.
When we really think about it, every great party host has a number of personal characteristics that enable them to be the centre of the party, providing everyone with energy, inspiration, and the ability to simply be themselves. He or she is interested in building a relationship with every guest; similarly, an effective virtual team leader builds relationships with the team members. A good party host will ask their guests questions; this is an indicator of politeness and also puts people at ease and makes them feel valued. Your host may ask “How was the drive over?” or “Have you seen any interesting movies lately?” Naturally, a virtual leader is also interested in putting their team members at ease and making them feel valued. In a virtual team situation, this involves keeping the lines of communication open; asking team members questions about the progress of their tasks or whether they need assistance. Open communication also means virtual leaders should reply to questions and issues that are raised by their team members in a timely and clear manner.
An effective party host also has an unmistakable presence at their party; often, this involves achieving a balance between being overly involved with their guests and under involved. An overbearing party host would likely make guests feel uncomfortable and unable to easily mingle with old and new friends. An overbearing virtual manager can also affect their team negatively. For example, a team member might get the sense they are being micromanaged by an overly involved leader or feel as though their leader lacks faith in their skills and ability to perform. These feelings can quickly deplete a team member of motivation.
Leaving the overbearing party host behind, can you imagine if your host was not seen or heard from the entire night? What if they offered each guest a brief hello before disappearing into the shadows and only making an occasional appearance at their own event? No doubt, that would be an awkward gathering. Similarly, a virtual leader should not have an online presence that is so weak that it can barely be felt. Every leader should regularly check in on their team members in order to keep everyone connected and focused on the task at hand and goals of the team as a whole. Keeping people connected is especially important in a virtual environment where remaining engaged is often difficult for the virtual worker who does not have the benefit of working face to face with their co workers and building close, trusting relationships the traditional way. If a virtual team member does not receive a follow up to their questions, they may wonder about the importance of their tasks and possibly put it on the backburner.
According to a research study developed to evaluate virtual team effectiveness, highly rated virtual leaders were described as personable, open and able to create a fun environment. Remind you of a good party host? A virtual manager can establish a fun and open environment for their team members by creating an online space, such as a chat room, where team members can hang out and casually converse. A virtual leader can also declare regular “break times”, “lunch times”, or “game times” where team members are encouraged to be social with one another in the online space. Virtual pizza parties are another good way to inject a sense of fun into a virtual environment. What good party host doesn’t have food for their guests? A virtual leader can arrange for each team member to receive a pizza from their local pizza place at the exact same time; then, the team meets via teleconference and enjoys their pizza together.
In the end, a virtual leader really is the life of the party. Their position as leader gives them a great deal of influence and the ability to inspire, assist, and get great results from motivated team members. As a good party host takes an interest in establishing a relationship with every guest they’ve invited to their party, an effective team leader constantly has the lines of communication open to their team members and makes the effort to establish a fun, exciting environment that allows everyone to thrive.
We would love to hear your thoughts! For more information about how to build an engaged virtual team, email us at info@virtualteambuilders.com.
Virtual Team Leaders: Are You the Life of the Party? | Virtual Team Builder – Blog
When we really think about it, every great party host has a number of personal characteristics that enable them to be the centre of the party, providing everyone with energy, inspiration, and the ability to simply be themselves. He or she is interested in building a relationship with every guest; similarly, an effective virtual team leader builds relationships with the team members. A good party host will ask their guests questions; this is an indicator of politeness and also puts people at ease and makes them feel valued. Your host may ask “How was the drive over?” or “Have you seen any interesting movies lately?” Naturally, a virtual leader is also interested in putting their team members at ease and making them feel valued. In a virtual team situation, this involves keeping the lines of communication open; asking team members questions about the progress of their tasks or whether they need assistance. Open communication also means virtual leaders should reply to questions and issues that are raised by their team members in a timely and clear manner.
An effective party host also has an unmistakable presence at their party; often, this involves achieving a balance between being overly involved with their guests and under involved. An overbearing party host would likely make guests feel uncomfortable and unable to easily mingle with old and new friends. An overbearing virtual manager can also affect their team negatively. For example, a team member might get the sense they are being micromanaged by an overly involved leader or feel as though their leader lacks faith in their skills and ability to perform. These feelings can quickly deplete a team member of motivation.
Leaving the overbearing party host behind, can you imagine if your host was not seen or heard from the entire night? What if they offered each guest a brief hello before disappearing into the shadows and only making an occasional appearance at their own event? No doubt, that would be an awkward gathering. Similarly, a virtual leader should not have an online presence that is so weak that it can barely be felt. Every leader should regularly check in on their team members in order to keep everyone connected and focused on the task at hand and goals of the team as a whole. Keeping people connected is especially important in a virtual environment where remaining engaged is often difficult for the virtual worker who does not have the benefit of working face to face with their co workers and building close, trusting relationships the traditional way. If a virtual team member does not receive a follow up to their questions, they may wonder about the importance of their tasks and possibly put it on the backburner.
According to a research study developed to evaluate virtual team effectiveness, highly rated virtual leaders were described as personable, open and able to create a fun environment. Remind you of a good party host? A virtual manager can establish a fun and open environment for their team members by creating an online space, such as a chat room, where team members can hang out and casually converse. A virtual leader can also declare regular “break times”, “lunch times”, or “game times” where team members are encouraged to be social with one another in the online space. Virtual pizza parties are another good way to inject a sense of fun into a virtual environment. What good party host doesn’t have food for their guests? A virtual leader can arrange for each team member to receive a pizza from their local pizza place at the exact same time; then, the team meets via teleconference and enjoys their pizza together.
In the end, a virtual leader really is the life of the party. Their position as leader gives them a great deal of influence and the ability to inspire, assist, and get great results from motivated team members. As a good party host takes an interest in establishing a relationship with every guest they’ve invited to their party, an effective team leader constantly has the lines of communication open to their team members and makes the effort to establish a fun, exciting environment that allows everyone to thrive.
We would love to hear your thoughts! For more information about how to build an engaged virtual team, email us at info@virtualteambuilders.com.
Virtual Team Leaders: Are You the Life of the Party? | Virtual Team Builder – Blog
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