OB & PM Virtual project teams: How to make them work

One of the most recent legacies of the explosion of Internet technology is that of the virtual project team: a workplace team that does not work together in real space or even real time, but is connected through online technology. Virtual project teams offer many advantages: they allow effective employees to be connected with one another, even though the workers may not work in the same office or even the same country. However, operating in the context of such a team poses some undeniable challenges for team leadership.

Project interfaces

Both synchronous and asynchronous project interfaces are open to members of virtual project teams. One of the primary methods in which virtual project teams connect with one another is through email. Email is, in general, an asynchronous method of communication, one of the vital differences between a traditional project team and a virtual project team. In other words, someone in Dubai can post a comment about the project at 2pm while someone on the same project in Australia can read and comment upon that same issue the day after at 8am in his time zone. There is a lack of immediate back-and-forth dialogue via email; also, the ease of pointing and clicking without having to emotionally connect with the person on the other side can...

Before embarking upon a virtual project, it can be a good idea to send out a general guideline to all members discussing good email etiquette (much in the same way guidelines are set for a collocated project team), the first rule of which is to 'think before you send.'
However, despite this problem, email can be an extremely valuable method of communication. It allows for more detail than conventional face-to-face dialogue. Also, because members of the team do not have to worry about being intimidated by the presence of others, they may be more willing to be open and honest in their correspondence. Provided that some informal contact is allowed, such as jokes and occasional private chatter, the friendliness and comradeship of a collated project team can be replicated via email.

Email is usually not adequate for all aspects of a project team, particularly those with a visual component. Synchronous methods of communication such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing can be used instead. This enables all members of the team to be talking together and their attention can be directed to the same document or image verbally via telephone or visually on a computer screen. Because of the cumbersome nature of setting up the technology…