Facilitating a team in a global environment can be challenging, but also rewarding. You have to deal with different time zones, cultures, languages, and expectations. How can you ensure that your team is productive, engaged, and aligned? Here are some best practices for facilitating a team in a global environment.
The first step is to select the tools that will enable your team to communicate, collaborate, and share information effectively. You need to consider the accessibility, reliability, and security of the tools, as well as the preferences and needs of your team members. Some common tools for global teams are video conferencing, chat, project management, and cloud storage platforms. You should also establish clear guidelines and norms for using the tools, such as when to use video, how to handle feedback, and what to document.
Spend some time team building to get to know one another and foster trust. Develop a set of well thought out expectations for yourself and your team. Ensure to encourage a culture of accountability.
There are a few tools one can use such as Miro and Mural which are great tools for online facilitation and participation. However, it's important to use a tool which won't be a barrier or a friction to the facilitation but one most people will be comfortable with. It's the outcomes that matter more!
In addition to Miro and Mural, Confluence and JIRA are also great tools for online facilitation especially when working on a project with teammates in various locations.
The next step is to create a shared vision for your team, which defines the purpose, goals, and values of your work. A shared vision helps your team to align their actions, overcome challenges, and celebrate successes. You can create a shared vision by involving your team members in co-creating and revising it regularly. You can also use visual aids, such as charts, diagrams, or images, to communicate your vision clearly and creatively.
Here are some questions you can use to guide the discussion with the team: Where are you going? – define where you want to go. This could be something competitive like we want to have the highest sales rate. Or something more internally focused like becoming experts in our field. It must be something that is important for all of you. How will you get there? – What are the steps you should take, what resources and support you will need. How will you overcome the obstacles? – discuss what obstacles you expect to face and what will be your approach on overcoming them. What will be the rewards? – what would be the rewards. These do not need to be financial per se. New skills or better reputation or less workload are also valuable rewards.
The third step is to foster trust and rapport among your team members, which is essential for collaboration, innovation, and performance. Trust and rapport are built on mutual respect, understanding, and support. You can foster trust and rapport by creating opportunities for your team members to interact, learn, and have fun together. You can also use icebreakers, check-ins, feedback sessions, and recognition to enhance your team's relationships.
The fourth step is to adapt to the diversity of your team, which is a source of strength, but also of potential conflict. Diversity refers to the differences in culture, language, background, personality, and perspectives of your team members. You can adapt to diversity by being aware of your own biases and assumptions, and by being curious and respectful of others. You can also use inclusive language, avoid stereotypes, and seek feedback to improve your cross-cultural communication skills.
The fifth step is to manage the expectations of your team, which is crucial for delivering quality results and meeting deadlines. Expectations refer to the roles, responsibilities, and standards of your team members, as well as the stakeholders and clients involved in your work. You can manage expectations by clarifying and communicating them clearly and frequently, and by monitoring and adjusting them as needed. You can also use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) criteria to set realistic and clear goals for your team.
The sixth step is to evaluate and improve your team's performance and processes, which is vital for learning and growth. Evaluation and improvement refer to the activities of measuring, analyzing, and enhancing your team's outcomes and methods. You can evaluate and improve by collecting and reviewing data, such as feedback, surveys, metrics, or observations, and by identifying and implementing actions for improvement. You can also use frameworks and methods, such as retrospectives, after-action reviews, or SWOT analysis, to guide your evaluation and improvement process.