Virtual Teams: The Four Rights

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Virtual teams are becoming the new normal in business life. Are we setting them up for success?

By Maggie McMullen and Erik Burns

According to a 2016 Virtual Teams Survey Report,1 “corporate teams are now almost entirely virtual, and 41% never meet in person….In this year’s survey 48% of respondents revealed that more than half of their teams include members from other nations. In 2014, that figure was only 41%, and in 2012 it was only 33%.”

Michael S. Schell, CEO of RW3 CultureWizard, also states that “most people are unprepared for them. Organizations large and small continue to make the erroneous assumption that virtual teamwork comes easy because of cutting edge communication technology. Only 22% of virtual team members receive any training to prepare them to be effective on an intercultural team. Surprisingly, this is an increase of only 1% over the 2014 survey results.”2

Have you been part of or led a virtual team that was ill-prepared for the challenges faced in being an effective team?

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Professional Development
September 2018