Page 257 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

236 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

A big part of team development, which virtual teams can
sometimes do much better than colocated teams, is learning together.
By using virtual offices, knowledge management tools, and virtual
problem-solving tools, such as whiteboards, that colocated teams may
underuse, virtual teams can communicate better; align themselves
more quickly; be more transparent; and track, build upon, and save
knowledge more effectively than people on the same floor are likely to
do. By developing shared knowledge, virtual teams begin to develop
an identity of their own, because they now have something they’ve
created together, along with the experience of having created it.
The transforming process also includes what Tuckman calls
“storming.” This is when, as the new team is being developed, con-
flicts arise for whatever reason—power struggles, miscommunication,
personality differences, or incompatible job assignments. These can
wreak havoc with any team. Virtual teams can be more vulnerable
to this storming, because people aren’t always immediately available
to resolve the problem early on, and people can misinterpret com-
munications coming through a medium such as e-mail, voice, or even
video communications that is less rich than others. Sometimes, even
with the best of intentions, team members have a difficult time be-
cause they are working with people from entirely different cultures,
backgrounds, or experiences. If you have established very clear expec-
tations up front, many of these problems can be dealt with readily. If
people have already established a level of trust, and know people not
just as tools to get the job done but as real people, then understanding
becomes easier and more intentional.
The nature of virtual teams, which are generally set up to share in-
formation transparently, with explicit behavioral results for individual
members (making it impossible to hide or goof off while everyone else
is pulling the cart), can actually mitigate this storming phase.
The notion that virtual teams can be more effective than colo-
cated teams goes for problem solving as well. Shauna Wilson, author
of InterneTeaming.com: Tools to Create High Performance Remote Teams,
told us that a face-to-face environment is actually worse for problem
solving than a virtual team environment.