Virtual Teams

Category: Relationship Management, Communication, Group Dynamics

Number of Hours: 2 Hours

Date: January 18, 2021

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The purpose of this workshop was to understand how to go around challenges that arise when working in virtual teams. These challenges require leaders of all types to adapt and adjust to the new work environment. This workshop discussed different types of remote teams, strategies around successfully leading virtual teams, and importance of goal setting for remote work environment. Some common remote challenges that may arise revolve around communication, trust, relationships, and coaching. Each is crucial for a product team. The challenges may be alleviated by following the remote leadership model, which includes leadership and management, tools and technology, and skills and impact. Without the appropriate technology, a team won't be efficient even after coming back from a remote environment.

After reviewing this workshop, the most important aspect of remote teams for me was trust. Without trust, teams become less productive. To gain trust out of teams, it is important to be vulnerable with asking for help and talking about how you are outside of work. In virtual teams, a leader cannot avoid being vulnerable; they have to lean into it and share concerns about issues happening in life with their team. Furthermore, some leaders think that people don't want to be bothered, but it's on the contrary. Virtual teams want to have a leader who interacts with them, sets up time to “hang out”, and invest time in them. I'm going to be a newcomer into a hybrid company now where sometimes I will be in the facility but some of my meetings will be online. I can try to set up meetings where my colleagues and I work side by side, having a simulated conference room work session. This will allow the team and me to get to know each other without a specific agenda while getting work down as well.

Over the summer, I was grateful that my internship was not canceled but rather moved to an online platform. This was the first time where I had to become proficient in online communication and learn to trust the people I worked with without meeting them in person. However, I did not feel as if my work was hindered as everyone started to work in a remote environment at the same time. Furthermore, before starting my career at P&G, I have had the chance to speak with my future manager. While on the call, I was notified that I will be working on-site in St. Louis while reporting to my manager in Cincinnati. At that point, I realized that I will be part of a hybrid team. It became more important for me to learn how to be even better at communicating, especially through conflicts, to come together for the best possible answer. I realized I need to be vulnerable with people who I meet remotely, try to keep up with other remote departments, and hold each other accountable with gracious and careful feedback to be a productive part of a team.