Supporting virtual teams to do some of their best work is a major focus of our work at Potentials Realized. Having been a virtual leader myself for many years I know how complex and challenging, as well as rewarding and autonomous the role of virtual team leader can be.
Last summer (Summer 2016) I did a series of different posts on virtual facilitation and in Spring 2016 we did the A – Z of Virtual Team Leadership. If you are a virtual team leader, or considering how to support your virtual team leader more, I hope that you will consider taking a look at these posts.
In a virtual team connection and building relationships is not always on the top of our list AND we do know that virtual teams need the same ingredients to do their best work – clear and shared vision, clear roles, accountability, clear performance measures, and commitment. Virtual Team members need to feel a sense of connection with their other team mates and a sense of connection. So what are some quick ways we can do this? Well, you can take a look at Teams365 Team Development Activities -26 different team development activities I shared during November 2016 through January 2017.
I wanted to zoom into three quick activities today which you might also find useful:
1 What’s on my desk – Understanding what our team member’s context and reality is can be very useful in building trust and connection. It also helps us to understand where we may have synergies and overlap, as well as competing pressures.
What’s on my desk sparks the conversation around what each person has on their desk. Visually it can be snapshot of each person’s desk shared as part of the team meeting (think about collecting these before the call and then putting them into a blank slide). Depending on your time available this might be a quick 30 second share from each team member or it might be a longer presentation around “what’s on your desk – projects, priorities, etc,
2. What’s outside my window is a similar activity which can be scaled according to your time available. The picture provides a snapshot bigger than the virtual screen permits and can facilitate some useful sharing about different office contexts, location priorities, customs, time of day when people are connecting. It provides another way for people to connect across the team.
3. What’s in my lunchbag – A final quick connector is having people share what they have in their lunch bag (which might also be breakfast or dinner for some team members!). Likewise, have people share what their meal of the day is.
These three short activities are one quick way to “widen the lens” on the context of each virtual team member. How might you incorporate this to your work?
Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer
Last summer (Summer 2016) I did a series of different posts on virtual facilitation and in Spring 2016 we did the A – Z of Virtual Team Leadership. If you are a virtual team leader, or considering how to support your virtual team leader more, I hope that you will consider taking a look at these posts.
In a virtual team connection and building relationships is not always on the top of our list AND we do know that virtual teams need the same ingredients to do their best work – clear and shared vision, clear roles, accountability, clear performance measures, and commitment. Virtual Team members need to feel a sense of connection with their other team mates and a sense of connection. So what are some quick ways we can do this? Well, you can take a look at Teams365 Team Development Activities -26 different team development activities I shared during November 2016 through January 2017.
I wanted to zoom into three quick activities today which you might also find useful:
1 What’s on my desk – Understanding what our team member’s context and reality is can be very useful in building trust and connection. It also helps us to understand where we may have synergies and overlap, as well as competing pressures.
What’s on my desk sparks the conversation around what each person has on their desk. Visually it can be snapshot of each person’s desk shared as part of the team meeting (think about collecting these before the call and then putting them into a blank slide). Depending on your time available this might be a quick 30 second share from each team member or it might be a longer presentation around “what’s on your desk – projects, priorities, etc,
2. What’s outside my window is a similar activity which can be scaled according to your time available. The picture provides a snapshot bigger than the virtual screen permits and can facilitate some useful sharing about different office contexts, location priorities, customs, time of day when people are connecting. It provides another way for people to connect across the team.
3. What’s in my lunchbag – A final quick connector is having people share what they have in their lunch bag (which might also be breakfast or dinner for some team members!). Likewise, have people share what their meal of the day is.
These three short activities are one quick way to “widen the lens” on the context of each virtual team member. How might you incorporate this to your work?
Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized - Leadership and Team Development, Coaching, Retreats
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Email us to find out how we can support you and your team in getting your best results through coaching, training or a retreat program
(416)996-TEAM (8326)
Potentials Realized - Leadership and Team Development, Coaching, Retreats
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Email us to find out how we can support you and your team in getting your best results through coaching, training or a retreat program
(416)996-TEAM (8326)
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