How can you develop your virtual team skills online?

1 Identify your goals

Before you start looking for online courses, webinars, podcasts, or books on virtual team skills, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a virtual team member? What are the specific skills or competencies that you need to work on? How do you measure your progress and performance? You can use online tools such as self-assessments, feedback surveys, or skill maps to help you identify your goals and gaps.

2 Choose your resources

Once you have your goals in mind, you can search for online resources that match your needs and preferences. From free to paid, self-paced to instructor-led, and general to specialized, there are many options available. You can also look for resources that are relevant to your industry, role, or project. For example, Coursera offers courses and certificates on various topics related to virtual teams; Virtual Team Builders provides webinars, workshops, coaching, and consulting; Remote Work Podcast features interviews and insights from remote workers and leaders; and The Remote Work Handbook covers the essential skills and best practices for working remotely. All of these resources can help you develop virtual team skills.

3 Apply your learning

Learning online is not enough; you must apply what you learn to your real-world situations and challenges. This will help reinforce your knowledge, test your skills, and get feedback from others. To apply your learning, you can take action by implementing tips, strategies, or tools you learned online in your daily work. For example, if you learned how to use a new collaboration software, try it out with your team and see how it improves productivity and communication. You can also share what you have learned with your team or network – for example, if you learned a new technique for resolving conflicts, share it with colleagues and ask for their opinions or experiences. Finally, seek feedback from your manager, peers, or clients on how you are performing or improving your virtual team skills. Ask for feedback on how you facilitated a discussion, engaged participants, and achieved objectives when leading a virtual meeting.

4 Engage with others

Learning online does not mean learning alone. Engaging with other learners, experts, or mentors can support your development and growth. You can join online groups, forums, or networks related to your interests, goals, or challenges. For example, if you want to learn more about virtual team culture, join a community of remote workers who share their stories, tips, and resources. Additionally, you can attend online events such as webinars, workshops, or conferences relevant to your learning objectives. Or find a mentor or coach who can guide you, advise you, or challenge you in your learning journey. For example, if you want to learn more about virtual team leadership, find a mentor or coach who has experience and expertise in leading virtual teams.

5 Reflect on your experience

Learning online is a continuous process that requires reflection and evaluation. To reflect on your experience, assess your progress, and identify your next steps, you can keep a learning journal, take a quiz or test, and create a portfolio. Keeping a record of learning activities, outcomes, and insights is important. A quiz or test can measure knowledge, skills, or competencies. A portfolio can showcase achievements, projects, or results. For example, you can write down what you learned online and how you applied it in the journal. You can take a quiz to assess virtual team communication skills in the test. And you can create a portfolio to demonstrate how you contributed to a virtual team project in the portfolio.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?