Essential Skills for a High Performing Virtual Team
Two days
Leading a virtual team presents some of the greatest challenges in people management. The workshop develops skills in leadership and team-building (to overcome the feelings of isolation of remote team members and actively engage them), interpersonal skills (for managing performance “at a distance”), and the ability to leverage technology by developing effective team protocols.
This workshop is designed to provide you with practical tips, tools and strategies for maximizing the cohesiveness and productivity of your virtual team.
Program Topics
A leadership model for the virtual team
- Adapting the situational leadership model
- Choosing the right leadership style
Leveraging virtual technologies
- Choosing the best technology for the situation or task
- Developing team protocols and operating guidelines to leverage technology
How do we grow a winning team?
- Inspiring the team with the leader’s vision and enthusiasm
- Agreeing a team charter and building a team identity
- Building trust at a distance
- Creating cyber cafes and virtual water coolers to increase person-to-person understanding
- Encouraging helping behaviours versus destructive behaviours within the virtual team
- Giving positive and constructive feedback on performance at a distance
- Coaching at a distance
- Dealing with difficult behaviour at a distance
- Recognizing the need for a face-to-face meeting at key stages of a group task or project
How to run an effective virtual meeting
- Selecting the most effective technology for the objectives of the virtual meeting
- Developing the discussion leader’s skills: planning and preparation, keeping the virtual meeting on time and on track, maximizing participation, controlling digressions, using
- summaries, ensuring agreed protocols are used, gaining consensus and managing conflict
- Identifying the participants’ roles and responsibilities
- Identifying some essential meeting protocols
- Making group notes
Learning objectives
- Adapt your management style to both the task and the needs of each team member
- Leverage technology by developing effective team protocols
- Develop the interpersonal skills for leading and inspiring your virtual team both one-on-one and in a group
- Give effective feedback on performance at a distance
- Deal with difficult behaviour at a distance
- Identify the need for and maximize the benefit of, strategic face-to-face meetings
Who Should Attend?
Anyone who leads or participates in a virtual team. Key members of a virtual team, who are not in a management position, will be given the skills to give upwards feedback to influence the development of effective team processes.