Management and Leadership

Managing Virtual Teams

• Traditional Classroom: 2-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: Four 3-hour sessions

Being able to effectively lead a virtual team has quickly escalated into the category of must-have skill sets in the global marketplace. With unprecedented numbers of people now engaged in remote work, leaders and managers need to embrace a deeper understanding of virtual team “success.” A solid grasp of the logistics and technology involved in virtual teaming is only the first step; there is a host of second-level skills required to establish and sustain high levels of productivity, engagement, morale, and team health.

In this highly interactive course participants will engage in a variety of hands-on activities to explore best practices in building trust and motivating virtual teams; facilitation and collaboration; dealing with challenging behaviors; and maintaining productivity and performance.

Target Audience

Individuals who will benefit from this course include leaders and managers who have remote teams, project and program managers, sales and other distance managers, and remote team members.

Learning Objectives

• Develop best practices of facilitating in virtual environments.
• Determine and apply leadership best practices for virtual workers.
• Build rapport, gain trust, and manage group dynamics.
• Create interdependent teams versus independent teams.
• Effectively leverage technology in the virtual environment.
• Develop project plans to effectively manage communications, scope, schedule, and risk on virtual teams.
• Utilize conflict for growth versus destruction.
• Increase morale through recognition and celebration.

Key Takeaways

• Apply critical success factors and competencies for facilitating virtual team meetings.
• Determine how preparation can prevent key risks of virtual teams.
• Utilize conflict resolution techniques to successfully optimize and manage conflict.
• Secure commitment and buy-in from virtual team members.

Course Outline

Module 0: Foundational Concepts

• Welcome and Introductions
• Course Content and Approach
• Critical Behaviors for Managing Virtual Teams
• Facilitation Best Practices

Module 1: Forming a Virtual Team

• Virtual Leadership Styles
• Tuckman Jensen Model of Team Building
• Creating the Launchpad
  • Technology
  • Kickoff
  • Ground Rules
  • Goals
  • Role Definition (RACI)
  • Team building
  • Building Trust

Module 2: Planning (Yours, Mine, and Ours)

• Planning Mindset
• Project Plans for Virtual Teams
  • Communication Management Plan
    • Teleconferencing Best Practices
    • Cross-Cultural Communications
  • Scope Management Plan
    • Avoiding Scope Creep
  • Schedule Management Plan
  • Risk Management Plan
    • Risk Identification and Response

Module 3: Monitoring Progress of Virtual Teams

• Monitoring Progress
  • Change Management
  • Conflict Management
• Weak Links
  • Poor Performers
  • Difficult Conversations
  • Resistance to Change
• Review Characteristics of Successful Virtual Teams

Module 4: Celebrating Success Virtually

• Theories on Human Motivation
• Rewards and Recognition for Virtual Teams
• Virtual Team Celebration Tips

Module 5: Course Summary and Individual Commitment

• Teach-Back Exercise
• Review
• Action Planning

MDP1002 Course Code