The Reality of Virtual Teams

Virtual working is not just about moving the office online. This is why, and how you can improve the ways you work virtually. The shift to virtual working has been a disaster for some.

If not managed effectively working virtually can challenge communication and stretch relationships. There are stories now circulating of unmotivated, disengaged and isolated teams.

For many this approach is just is not sustainable over the long term. Yet it is also possible for teams to thrive in these contexts. It is actually possible to create high performing virtual teams that become more effective and productive than office-based teams. 

Would you take the gamble of 50% failure?

Research shows that over 50% of virtual teams fail to reach their objectives. These teams can so easily drift apart and lose loyalty to their organisation. This is often due to the dynamics of the team feeling ignored in the new digital platforms.

Many organisations have reacted to the new working conditions by simply sending people to work from home without thinking about the new requirements. Bosses often expect team members to function in exactly the same way as they did at the office. Virtual teams need to learn to adapt to this new medium more deliberately and strategically if they want to improve the experience.

The CEO of WordPress Matt Mullenweg has run a ‘distributed teams’ model for years. He refers to the approach most organization are resorting to as ‘recreating the office online’, which he identifies is only level 2 of 5 levels of virtual team development.

The dangers of simply 'recreating the office online'

Mullenweg's ‘recreating the office online’ approach refers to situations where employees have access to videoconferencing software (eg. Zoom), instant messaging software (eg. Slack) and email - but instead of redesigning the work to take advantage of the new medium, teams ultimately end up recreating their office experiences as online versions.

When organisations simply 'recreate the office online' many of the bad habits that permeate the modern office can just be repeated and amplified. The ability to actively engage in the thought processes involved in everyday decision makings and actions can also be suppressed.

Think of how many ten-person video calls are often now suggested when two people meetings would have sufficed. How we can end up having up to 60+ interruptions a day — now also via messaging and phone calls and through the more sporadic checking of and responding to email constantly throughout the day.

Wired to desktop dings or targeting strategic responses?

All this now demands an increasing hyper-responsiveness from all employees, “leaving them wired to desktop dings like Pavlov’s dog” (Steve Glaveski).

Virtual teams will need to learn to adapt to this new medium more deliberately and strategically if they want to be effective. This will require:

Addressing the unique challenges through redesigning working processes through creative and critical thinking strategies.

Targeted communication strategies based on a clear understanding of the unique dynamics of remote virtual teams. 

Taking such a clear strategic approach will help with adapting to the rapidly moving goalposts and not only stay on track for success, but redefine the journey and the way we make the journey. 

Andrew Grant 

Executive Director Tirian

Gaia Grant (PhD)

Executive Director Tirian, Adjunct Faculty University of Sydney Business School

FACILITATED ONLINE EXPERIENCE

See how our 'Reality of Virtual Teams' session works - in our new promotional video https://youtu.be/xB6jxtZcwGE ?

What Tirian can offer online for remote virtual teams

We are still big believers in the importance of learning through interaction, facilitated dialogue and experiential learning in person. But there are now few opportunities for face-to-face interaction. In this new landscape we are taking advantage of scalable digital options and designing new ways to stay creative and work effectively while staying put. Here are just two examples of the new solutions we have on offer:

COMMUNICATE: The Reality of Virtual Teams

This session is designed to help teams work remotely and adapt to their new reality - working from home. We have adapted one of our most popular programs “ON THIN ICE” to even more realistically simulate remote virtual teams and the challenges they face. 

This online interactive session recreates the issues of virtual teams in a safe space, and then provides for a facilitator to walk the team through the issues that emerge. The session includes a targeted discussion focused on designing more effective team strategies. It provides experiential learning online games, and covers key areas from issues as simple as improving on conference calls through to mapping sociographs for more effective communication, leading to practical solutions such as creating a customised code of conduct and ensuring everyone is involved in the process.

The 'Reality of Virtual Teams' session includes 2 interactive gamified simulations to recreate the dynamics of a virtual team and then use this experience to facilitate action planning outcomes. 

WHO: For leaders & remote / virtual teams | TIME: 1, 2 or 3 X 2 hours | SIZE: rec group size 4-20 | FEE: several versions are available please contact Tirian or our partners | METHOD: interactive Zoom session with gamified simulations. 

 MORE https://www.tirian.com/programs-services/dimension-2/reality-virtual-teams/ 

See how our 'Reality of Virtual Teams' session works - in our new promotional video https://youtu.be/xB6jxtZcwGE