intelligence

18 AssociationsNowMay2008

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MANAGEMENT

Leading the virtual teamModern-day leaders are faced with the challenge of leading teams of employees

spread throughout the globe. Virtual leadership skills are now a necessity, particu-

larly since face-to-face meetings are not always a viable option. Michael Kossler,

senior enterprise associate for the Center for Creative Leadership, recognizes

and comments on crucial skills for the virtual leader:

Learn to be comfortable with distance and time zones. Manyleaderstrytotreatremote

employeesthesamewayaslocalemployees.Leadersofvirtualteamsneedtobecom-

fortablewithnotbeingableto“control”employeeswhoarenotinthesamegeographic

locationortimezoneastheyare.Leadersneedtobecomfortablewiththeconceptthat

employeesareworkingevenifmanagementisnotabletoobservethemdirectly.

“An effective virtual leader rotates

the time frames when conference

calls for team meetings are going

to be held so that the same people

are not always inconvenienced.”

Practice the art of delegation. Delegating

taskstoremoteemployeeshelpsthem

feelconnectedtotherestofthework

group.Delegatingalsoallowsaleaderto

knowwhatemployeesareworkingon.To

increaseeffectivenessofdelegatedwork,

leadersshouldmakesurethattheyare

communicatingcleartimeframesand

goals.

“When it comes to delegation,

the general guideline is that

the more everyone knows

about who is working on what,

the more people feel connected

and better positioned to sup-

port each other and the team

as a whole.”

“Things such as decreases in input, offering ideas and suggestions,

and comments, either in virtual team meetings, or just simply

through email, a decrease in asking questions, seeking clarification,

less contact from the individual, either by email or phone, indicates

that a person has gone to the ‘virtual screensaver.’”

“Do you want compliance or commit-

ment? If all you want is compliance,

and not necessarily support, then you

can make the decision easily. But if

commitment is important and you

really need people to be in alignment

with you, then you have got to engage

them in the decision-making process.”

Be prepared to adapt your leadership style to

different cultures. Itisincreasinglylikelythat

youwillhaveanemployeethatiseitherfrom

anothercultureorlivesinanothercountry.

Culturaladaptabilityrestsonyourabilitytodeal

withthestressthatresultswhenyouencounter

somethingthatisdifferentorfeelsstrange.

“When it comes to leading across cultures, the burden falls

upon the leader to be sensitive to differences in the concept of

leadership, to understand what type of guidance and direction

is expected, and then to begin adapting to some of that. That

doesn’t mean compromising values, but it’s more incumbent

upon the leader to make adjustments than the follower.”

—Contributed by Michelle Allen, editorial assistant for AssociationsNow. Email: mallen@asaecenter.org

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Stay in touch with your remote employees. Toavoidthe“out-of-sight”syndrome,

scheduleregulartimestotalkbyphoneandemailshortupdateswithcorporate

officenewstokeeptheemployeesconnectedwiththelargergroup.

Make sure you have a full

perspective before mak-

ing a decision. Perspective

startswithrecognizingthe

limitsofyourownpoint

ofviewandthensoliciting

theinputofothers.Practice

listeninganddonot

responduntilyouremploy-

eesarefinishedtalking.

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