Leading from a Distance

  Communications Management   Talent Management   Teams   ProjectsAtWork  

The most effective virtual team leaders are able to balance execution-oriented practices with interpersonal skills and cultural factors. Communication is king, according to a study of 48 virtual teams that identified five best practices for virtual team leadership.

Leading any project team is hard work. Scatter the team members across different geographic areas, where face-to-face contact is infrequent, priorities are constantly shifting, and there's little time to address their individual needs, and you can begin to understand why leading a virtual team is one of the most difficult jobs in business today. It takes a special breed of leader to get the job done right.

In order to understand which behaviors are directly connected to effective virtual team leadership, OnPoint Consulting conducted a global study of 48 virtual teams. The study did not seek to compare virtual team leaders to co-located team leaders, but instead wanted to understand what differentiates the most best virtual team leaders from the worst. As part of the study, 150 virtual team leaders identified the top challenges they face when leading from a distance.  

The challenges identified include: infrequent face-to-face contact, lack of resources, difficulties in building a collaborative atmosphere virtually, lack of time to focus on leading the team, shifting team and organizational …

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