Page 248 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

developing your Virtual team � 227

meeting just with his manager, for additional coordination. He also
meets with two very key people at ten o’clock the night before the
management team meetings, so they are prepared for key conversa-
tions; while Brian is sleeping, these folks can be working on anything
that emerges from that meeting. That’s the minimum, as he is also
often in contact with them online through instant messaging.
He calls it having multiple channels of conversation. He might
have an extended, public team meeting, followed by a private, mana-
gerial conversation. When all else fails, he says, “the third conversa-
tion that we employ is to grab them by the shoulders and say, ‘You
need to get them to understand this.’ I would call that a family con-
versation.” So he is very flexible and communicates often to keep the
team on track. “If I need to absolutely ensure that a message needs
to be communicated,” says Brian, “I will seed all these channels in-
tentionally, purposefully, because I know they’re effective. Or I’ll use
them to varying degrees.” He is a veteran, successful manager who
uses every possible communication tool he can, and in a savvy way.

relationships
Another strategy Brian has learned from experience is to spend ex-
tended colocated work time together with lead people. Because HP
has long-term projects, the relationships between people and their
understanding of the project require long-term development. One
of Brian’s most important people is a technical lead who works in
Bangalore. This person worked over two years on site in Boise, and
now he’s worked seven to ten months intensively with the team; Brian
thinks he’s high-potential management material. “You form a way of
being able to communicate effectively to know what the other person
needs to be most effective. It really is about effective communication,
not necessarily quantity or frequency.”
It’s common, he told us, when working with contractors, for peo-
ple to rotate assignments quickly within a year or two. For HP, long-
term relationships are critical, because it takes 15 to 18 months just to
develop the knowledge and competencies needed to understand and