The country is taking precautions against COVID-19. Many US companies are switching to virtual teams to protect employees and to continue operations. While I dislike the impacts of COVID-19, I celebrate any increase of virtual teams.
Virtual teams are not without their challenges. Leading virtual teams and working on virtual teams is part art and part science. In this post I break down things to keep in mind as you transition from co-located teams to virtual teams. This is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to share your tips and tricks of virtual team succeess.
Managers need to change their management style
You do not need to see your employees to know they are working. I recognize that is contrary to popular curricula taught in business schools in the 1980s, but it’s true. Just because you can see your employees in the office is still no guarantee they are working, so stop assuming that out of sight means they aren’t working. These are your employees, and their behavior is a reflection on you as a leader (not as a manager). Let’s assume you’re a good leader and you have good employees. The following steps will help you maintain productivity and keep employee engagement high.
Set goals for the team. Clearly define the goals you want the team to achieve, but don’t forget to tell the team what those goals are. Humans really shine when they know what they have to accomplish. Set clear goals then step back and allow your team to achieve those goals. Let the team know you’re available if they get stuck, but don’t tell them how to achieve those goals. Telling your team how to achieve the goals is called you doing their work for them. Besides, they may design better ways of working then you ever could. So let the team figure out how to achieve the goals you set.
Time-box the goals. Ever heard of Parkinson’s Law? Parkinson’s Law states, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” If a task normally takes a week to complete it, but you give 6 months to complete the task, it will likely take 6 months before the task is completed. Be reasonable about your goals. Your goals can be challenging, but they shouldn’t require herculean effort to achieve in a short amount of time. To idea is to motivate employees, not to make them hate you.
When you’re thinking about the team’s goals be sure to think about outcomes rather than output. For example, perhaps you want the team to finish testing a new product design. Tell the team that the goal is to finish testing the design. Don’t worry about how the team goes about doing that testing.
Don’t worry about setting individual goals for every person of the team. That’s a lot of busy work for you and it’s just you micromanaging the team. Trust the team to do good work and empower the team to get results. Doing so makes your job easier and makes your team happier.
Set a daily huddle for the team. A huddle gathers everybody on the team together for a short meeting. The huddle shouldn’t last more than 15 minutes. Make sure the meeting is held at the same time every day. Having the meeting at the same time reduces ambiguity on the team and simplifies the process. Nobody has to think about when the huddle occurs because it’s at the same time every day. Here’s the real challenge for you. The huddle is not for your benefit.
A team huddle, often called a daily stand up, is for the team’s benefit. This is a, opportunity for team members to get together and talk to each other about their work. Team members talk about what they’re working on and if they’re running into problems and need help.
Virtual teams can huddle using tools like Slack, Zoom, Skype, etc. The tool you use should allow voice communication at minimum. If the tool uses video, then encourage team members to turn on their cameras. Trust me, virtual meetings are better when people can see each other.
A huddle can be invaluable for a virtual team. During the huddle team members can interact with each other, they can spend a couple of minutes saying hi to each other. Your team members need that connection so they don’t feel isolated from the group. Feelings of isolation are real for virtual team members, and the huddle keeps those feelings at bay.
As a manager, your role during the huddle is to facilitate the meeting. It doesn’t matter if you understand what the team talks about. Your job is to ensure the team talks. You want to listen for things that are blocking team members from completing tasks. Blockers are cues to you to see if you need to get involved and clear the way so your employees can get work done.
There are several ways to run a team huddle. I’ll post a separate article about how to run effective huddles. You can find that article here.
Use a tool to visualize work. Kanban is an effective methodology for visualizing work. I highly recommend using Kanban. If you use Kanban, then you need a Kanban tool that the virtual team can use. Tools such as Slack, Airtable, Trello, Miro, and others offer plenty of ways to visualize work and build Kanban boards. Find a tool that works for your team and use it.
Create explicit agreements. An explicit agreement is a rule that everyone agrees to follow. Explicit agreements can be about anything you and the team wants them to be about. Explicit agreements reduce ambiguity in how the team works, and creates a framework for team members to hold each other accountable. I recommend creating explicit agreements with your team not for your team. Here are a few examples of explicit agreements:
We communicate using phone or instant messenger first. We avoid communicating via email unless absolutely necessary.
All decisions about tasks must be documented in our work tool (i.e. Slack, Trello, etc.). This way all decisions are transparent for all team members.
We will be online and available via instant messenger and phone from 9 am to 3 pm.
Team members have up to 24 hours to respond to any email that warrants a response (hint: if something is urgent, don’t send an email).
We use video conferencing for all meetings.
Cheer the team’s accomplishments. It doesn’t matter how small the accomplishments are; let the team know that you’re rooting for them and they’re doing good work. Cheering any win, no matter how small, is about empowering team members to keep at it, and motivating them to achieve.
Team members need to stay connected
If you’re a member of a team, then there are things you can do to become a more effective virtual team member. It’s easy to get, and feel, lost in cyber space. Be mindful of your role on the virtual team. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Be transparent. Stop worrying about guarding your work and share what you’re working on. Your team members want to hear about the things your tackling. When you share things about your work with your teammates, you build and strengthen relationships. Don’t keep things close to your chest. Nobody wants to do your job anyway, you’re safe.
Instant message your teammates even if its not about work. One of the nice things about going to the office is the relationships we build on our teams. It’s nice to ping folks and ask them about their day or just say hi. Virtual workers can and do feel isolated. Taking a moment to reach out to your teammates and say hello helps to reduce those feelings of isolation and builds camaraderie.
Be committed. When you take on work, commit to that work and see it through. Your teammates will look upon you favorably and they’ll be thankful you’re on the team.
It’s okay to over-communicate. Virtual workers can, and do, take time during the day to run errands, tend to pets and children, or deal with home repairs, etc. Let your team know if you’re not going to be available. The most common frustration people have with virtual workers is the inability to get a hold of someone when necessary. If your teammates know you’re out of pocket for an hour or two, they won’t get frustrated. Carry through on your commitments and they will rarely, if ever, be frustrated with you. If you always accomplish your work, it won’t matter if it took you 35 hours rather than 40. You’ll just be the person who always follows through.
Use your virtual work tools. If you use an electronic tool to manage/track work (it’s 2020, you should be), then be vigilant about keeping things up to date. The team should always go to the electronic tool to see how work is progressing. If things are updated, then people will get frustrated. Take a few moments each day to update the tool. Schedule (and block) the time on your calendar so you get it done. Your teammates, and your manager, will love you for it.