Virtual Team Success

DARLEEN DEROSA, PH.D., is a managing partner at OnPoint Consulting. She brings ten years of management consulting experience, with expertise in the areas of talent/succession management, executive assessment, virtual teams, and organizational assessment. Darleen has authored numerous articles on virtual teams. RICHARD LEPSINGER is president of OnPoint Consulting and has a twenty-year track record of success as a human resource consultant and executive. He is the coauthor of four books on leadership including Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results, Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices, The Art and Science of 360 Feedback, and The Art and Science of Competency Models, all from Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

• List of Tables, Case Studies, Figures, and Exhibits xiAcknowledgments xvForeword xviiIntroduction xixSection One: Building High-Performing Virtual Teams 1Chapter One: Why Virtual Teams Fail 3Key Challenges 6Four Pitfalls to Virtual Team Performance 8Conclusion 12Chapter Two: Profiles of Virtual Team Success—What Good Looks Like 15Team Composition 15Communication and Training 19Leadership 24Conclusion 25Chapter Three: Virtual Team Launch Kit 27Test Your Virtual Team Launch IQ 27Setting Virtual Teams Up for Success 30Is Your Organization Prepared to Support Virtual Team Work? 49Conclusion 50Chapter Four: What Differentiates Great Virtual Teams—How to RAMP Up Your Team’s Performance 51What Differentiates Top Virtual Teams? 51The Shingle Seal Standstill: How Would You Handle It? 57RAMP Up Virtual Team Performance 60Conclusion 78Section Two: Leading Virtual Teams 81Chapter Five: How to Lead Virtual Teams—Tips, Techniques, and Best Practices for HighPerformance 83Challenges Virtual Team Leaders Face 83Raygen Company Slump: How Would You Handle It? 88Virtual Team Leadership Self-Assessment 91What Makes an Effective Virtual Team Leader? 92Obstacles at a Glance: A Quick Reference Guide 107Conclusion 110Chapter Six: What Factors Really Accelerate Virtual Team Performance—The Four TopPerformance Boosters 113Taking Virtual Team Performance to the Next Level 113Conclusion 129Chapter Seven: How to Facilitate High-Impact Virtual Meetings—Techniques That ReallyWork 131The Facilitator’s Role 132V-Meeting Checklist 134Building a V-Meeting Agenda 134Keeping Virtual Meetings on Track 136Dealing with Other Common Challenges 140Conclusion 142Conclusion: Six Lessons for Successful Virtual Teams 147Lesson 1: Focus on People Issues 147Lesson 2: No Trust, No Team 148Lesson 3: ‘‘Soft” Skills Are Essential 149Lesson 4:Watch Out For Performance Peaks 150Lesson 5: Create a ‘‘High-Touch” Environment 151Lesson 6: Virtual Team Leadership Matters 152Closing Thoughts 153Appendix: On Point’s Global Virtual Team Study 157Notes 173About the Authors 177Index 181