What if?

Leveling Up for More Wildly Successful Virtual Teams

A game in 3-ish levels with Ewen LeBorgne and Nancy White

Virtual teams are like giant online games…

Level 1: What the heck is going on?Level 2: What can we understand and do right now?Level 3: What does it take to deepen the practice?

1 Mad Tea – LEVEL ONE 2 TRIZ (With a MIN SPECS hint) – LEVEL TWO

3 Heard, Seen, Respected LEVEL THREE

4 Reflect and intentions for practice

:: A G E N D A

a) Play and discover togetherb) One 90-minute block

featuring a variety of microstructures

c) Reflection, practice, design and (a tiny bit of ) theory bursts are included

WE ARE RECORDING THIS!We are taking lots of FUN risks! PLAY!

Mad Tea helps clarify where we are starting our conversation on distributed

teams

Mad Tea EtiquetteOnline: Use Chat To All/F2F inward/outward facing circles

1) Stay curious, dig deep, have fun 2) Don’t over think answers

3) Finish each of the open sentences with a short phrase!We invoke spelling amnesty online – i.e. typos don’t count!

What first inspired me in a virtual team is…

Something that really attracts me to virtual teams is…

One thing still needed to overcome to have successful virtual teams…

Virtual team leaders just don’t seem to get…

What I hope can happen for my virtual teams is…

Something I think I will start doing to turn up the heat for my virtual team is…

An exciting way to support trust in teams is…

An innovative virtual team practice or idea I am keen to try is…

A question that is emerging for me about virtual teams is…

I like Mad Tea because…

1. Set up teams of 6 (online teams, offline teams)First alone, then in your small group, compile a list on

your note board of to-do’s in answer to:

What could YOU do to ensure your distributed team will fail, always? Every time. For every member and every goal.• 5 minutes. Go wild!

2. 3.

TRIZ Steps and ScheduleStop counterproductive activities and behaviors to make space for innovation

Devious and practical ideas

encouraged

2. Together, let’s go down our lists and ask:

Is there anything we are doing that resembles in any shape or form to-do’s on our list?

• Be unforgiving

TRIZ Steps and ScheduleStop counterproductive activities and behaviors to make space for innovation

1. First alone, then in your small group, compile a list of to-do’s in answer to:

What could YOU do to ensure your distributed team will fail, always? Go wild!

2. First alone, then in your group, go down your list and ask:

Is there anything we are doing that resembles in any shape or form to-do’s on our list?

3. We’ll send you back to your breakout group for 10 minutes. First alone, then in your group, compile the list of what needs to be stopped.

• Take one item at a time & ask: How am I and how are we going to stop it? What is your first move to STOP this behavior?

• Be as concrete as you can • Bonus questions:

• What triggers this behavior?• What competing commitments and assumptions may

be holding you back?

TRIZ Steps and ScheduleStop counterproductive activities and behaviors to make space for innovation

1. First alone, then in your small group, compile a list of to-do’s in answer to:

How can I/we reliably create…•Go wild!

Minimum Specifications for Virtual Teams

Min SpecsSpecify only the absolute “Must do’s” and “Must not do’s” for achieving a purpose

List of requirements to have

A Successful Virtual Team Meeting

Can you violate this requirement and still achieve your purpose? If “yes,” cross it off your list.

1. Announce a time and location Min Spec

2. Recruit an expert speaker NOT a Min Spec

3. Prepare a detailed agenda NOT a Min Spec

4. Project PowerPoint slides NOT a Min Spec

5. Articulate a compelling purpose Min Spec

http://www.liberatingstructures.com/14-min-specs/

Heard, Seen, Respected

What about trust?

Heard, Seen, Respected

1. In pairs for F2F group (online we’ll determine based on number of people) tell your partner a story about a time when you were NOT heard, seen or respected.

2. As listener, don’t try to fix anything. Only ask questions if needed (e.g. “what else” or “what happened next.”)

3. Switch roles with your partner and repeat steps 1 & 2.4. In groups of four, use What (what just happened –

observable facts), So What (why does this matter), Now What (what should I/we do next) to reflect on the experience.

2 can do blended pairs, 2 sets of four

What Next?

Your Experience? http://bit.ly/1ds1sXa

Resources

• Engagement possibilities http://www.liberatingstructures.com