Leading Virtual and Remote Teams

Lead cohesive long-distance teams that can actually outperform face to face teams
Workplaces around the world are enjoying the power and opportunities of being linked virtually though technology. However, many virtual teams do not succeed because they fail to recognize that virtual collaboration has to be managed in specific ways.The leader of a virtual or remote team must successfully apply special insights and techniques to guide performance and work relationships with employees who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away.

This powerful three-day seminar is designed to help you build truly synergistic and effective long-distance teams. You will return to work with the tools and methods you need to manage and lead virtual and remote teams with success and complete confidence.

Also Available as:

• Live Online
• Onsite

How You Will Benefit

• Identify the unique competencies of virtual leaders and team members
• Recognize team needs based on distance and dependency of team members
• Select and use effective tools, techniques and technology designed specifically for virtual teams
• Manage performance from a distance more effectively
• Utilize best practices for building and maintaining trust and connection in virtual and remote teams
• Develop virtual team meeting facilitation skills and learn to use influence skills in a virtual environment

What You Will Cover

• Identify the concerns you face as a virtual team leader and what your team members need from you
• Articulate how time and culture affect remote team interactions
• Apply a proven and successful virtual team model
• Identify strategic ways to build trust within virtual and remote teams
• Choose the best technology for the work you are doing
• Define virtual team members’ roles and responsibilities to maintain team focus on goals, objectives and tasks
• Discover and apply proven techniques for effective and engaging conference calls
• Facilitate techniques for creative problem solving and brainstorming
• Effectively develop and use rules of engagement in order to facilitate team longevity, productivity and goals
• Utilize your insights as a team leader to coach and motivate your team to achieve effective performance
• Develop a plan to implement personal leadership skills and build successful team performance

Extended Seminar Outline

Print this page Extended Seminar Outline Seminar #2280

Defining the Unique Requirements of Virtual Team Leaders and Members

• Types of virtual teams
• Knowing the unique needs of virtual workers
• Diagnosing team needs based on the Virtual Team Model—Distance/Dependency Matrix
• What it takes to lead a virtual and remote team
• Team member competencies

Building and Maintaining Trust and Cohesiveness in Virtual Teams

• Identifying the business cost of low trust in virtual and remote teams
• Defining the components of trust
• The leader’s role in creating and sustaining trust
• Assessing trust needs for different types of virtual and remote teams

Tools and Techniques for Communicating Across Cultures and Distance

• Techniques for frequent, authentic and transparent communications
• Principles for choosing technology to support virtual work
• Identifying fundamental cultural differences in communicating
• Best practices for handling conflict in different cultures

Managing the Performance of Virtual Teams

• Identifying the what and why of virtual performance management
• Recognizing root causes of performance management problems
• Best practices for performance management in virtual teams
• Matching performance management needs of team members with tools and techniques for managing performance virtually

Coaching Effectively in a Virtual Environment

• Comparing virtual coaching with face-to-face coaching
• Practicing key skills of listening and questioning
• Practicing virtual coaching and analyzing effectiveness using the GROW Model of Coaching
• Effectively using tools and techniques to coach virtually

Tools and Techniques for Facilitating Virtual Meetings and Influencing Others

• Pre-meeting, meeting and post-meeting tips and best practices
• Demonstrating effective meeting facilitation skills
• Nine influence strategies and how to apply them in a virtual environment

Putting it All Together: Case Studies, Problem Solving and Best Practices

• Identifying major opportunities for increasing effectiveness of your team
• Presenting a case and gaining insight into a challenge you are having and what to do about it

Who Should Attend

Managers, senior managers, directors and project leaders of global and/or geographically dispersed teams.

Special Feature

AMA Blended Learning combines instructor-led training with online pre- and post-seminar assessments, tune-up courses and other resources to maximize your training goals. Through a blend of proven instructor-led seminars and powerful online technology, AMA Blended Learning provides a compelling and more comprehensive experience for the learner—producing a greater return-on-investment for the employer and the seminar participant.