A Few Notes From Cheryl
Upcoming New Program: Sneak preview! We’re excited to announce that we’ll soon be rolling out a new program designed to make your daily work life easier and more stress-free! Best of all, it will be fun, easy and f-r-e-e…stay tuned for details coming soon.
Upcoming Workshops: Many of you have recently asked about upcoming workshops, so be sure to check out the details below or at our Speaking page, especially for those of you who will be close to any of the following areas in the next few months: Las Vegas, Sacramento and Newport Beach. See details below.
Feature Article: Many of our clients and e-zine readers have had a lot of questions on a similar topic lately. So, this month’s article was written with the goal of helping many people who are having similar experiences and needs, based on their queries! As always, feel free to share this article with your team members, colleagues and friends whom you think would benefit.
Warmest regards,
Cheryl
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Feature Article:
Where’s My Team? 8 Steps to Creating Effective Virtual / Remote Teams
It is important to note that virtual teams are still teams, so general team development principles still apply – they are just implemented a little differently than teams where all members are at the same location. Use the tips below, as well as general team development principles from our other articles at Newsletters, to create a high-performing, sustainable virtual team for YOUR organization!
While there are many, the primary differences between working with virtual teams and co-located teams are:
1. Communication
2. Technology
3. Expectation setting
4. Trust development
5. Shared mission, vision and values
6. Greater opportunities for appreciating diversity
7. Visibility/rewards and recognition
8. How team development principles as well as team interventions are applied
Let’s take a look at each of these individually:
1. Communication
Creating solid, reliable methods of communication is critical to a virtual team’s success. Help your team create a set of team agreements for how your virtual team will communicate and interact with each other, especially in the following areas:
- Phone
- E-mail and/or instant messaging
- In person (e.g. is it possible to bring your virtual team together for annual, semi-annual or quarterly face-to-face meetings?)
- During video or phone meetings (e.g. full focus on the meeting/no multi-tasking, etc.)
- How the team will hold each other accountable to team agreements
2. Technology
- Explore different technologies to help your team be more effective in your meetings and your communications: web meetings, videoconferencing, shared online/virtual workspaces, etc. Choose the solutions that work best for your team’s level of technological savvy, and remember that simpler is often the best choice.
- Create and utilize specific team agreements about how each team member will stay focused in team meetings and not multi-task (e.g. no checking e-mail, etc.)
- Create specific ways to keep every team member engaged in the meeting (e.g. each team member is responsible for a portion of the agenda, etc.)
3. Expectation Setting
How do team members, who don’t see each other often, know what to expect from each other? It is important to:
- Clarify expectations of all team members
- Determine what the right balance is for independence vs. control
- Create and utilize team agreements that include accountability so that team members know they can count on each other
4. Trust
With virtual or remote team members, building and maintaining trust among team members is extremely critical, since face-to-face interaction may not be often possible. Trust can be trusting that your colleague will do what he/she committed to, or it might be trusting that he/she will be honest and work with integrity. Remember:
- Building trust in a relationship takes place over time (not overnight) – this is KEY!
- Building trust is based on building relationships, so it’s critical to create regular opportunities for interaction to occur as frequently as possible, as these will significantly help develop trust (plus respect and camaraderie, critical success factors of a team!)
- Creating team agreements with your virtual team regarding how they will create and maintain relationships with each other will help build trust
- Create virtual “water cooler” opportunities for team members to get to know each other on a personal basis, as if they were running into each other by the office water cooler
5. Shared Mission, Vision and Values
With all teams, members must have a sense of contributing to the team’s overall direction, so it’s particularly important that virtual teams:
- Create a shared set of mission, vision and values so that the team stays in alignment while working from different locations
- Frequently reconnect to team’s shared mission, vision and values in order to help keep the team moving in the same direction from different locations
6. Diversity
- Appreciate and integrate into team discussions all of the diversity your virtual team has to offer (diverse opinions, diverse cultures, etc.)
- Create fun activities so that team members can share experiences or stories related to the diversity of their virtual office (e.g. each member can share something about their particular working style, office environment, culture, time zone, geography, etc.)
7. Visibility / Rewards and Recognition
The activities of a virtual team may not be as readily apparent to other departments or within the organization as a team who is co-located in the same office, so be sure to:
- Discuss with your team how to maintain your team’s visibility within the organization
- Integrate ways to reward and recognize your virtual team members, as the benefits of rewards and recognition programs for virtual team members are likely to be even more important to them than to co-located team members
8. How team development principles as well as team interventions are applied
When team members are in different locations, it requires a little more planning and proactivity to develop your team, but it certainly can be done! Be creative – use the principles above and have fun helping your virtual/remote team becoming more effective!
Next Steps
I invite you to start using the ideas above with your team and see what a difference that makes. If you or your team get stuck or would like assistance implementing these techniques, we are here to help. Enjoy!
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Upcoming Workshops
Building and Leading Effective Teams for More Effective Health Care Financial Management
Monday, June 23, 2008
8:00 to 11:30 am AND 1:00 - 4:30 pm (two different times - same half-day, pre-conference workshop)
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
Complete d etails at Speaking Schedule
After this session, you will be able to:
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Measure your team’s current level of effectiveness: productivity and relationships.
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Communicate more effectively with all team members.
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Recognize and leverage the strengths of your team.
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Identify strategies to improve leadership skills to most effectively lead your team.
- Create an easy-to-implement action plan to enhance your team’s ability to achieve bottom-line results.
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Beyond the Managed Care Contract: Working as a Team to Maximize Productivity and Hit the Bottom Line
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
10:00 to 11:30 am (Conference breakout session)
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
Complete d etails at Speaking Schedule
After this session, you will be able to:
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Identify the appropriate team members from your organization who contribute to the managed care bottom line.
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Understand effective techniques for improving communication between managed care team members.
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Implement approaches to gain team member buy-in and engagement.
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Define effective strategies for implementing measures of accountability.
- Begin creating an easy-to-implement action plan to improve your managed care team’s desired results.
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Who Moved My Stress? 9 Steps to Help Your Project Team Transform Stress & Pressure Into Peace and Productivity!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
5:30 to 8:15 pm (one-hour presentation - dinner program)
Project Management Institute - Sacramento Valley Chapter (open to members AND non-PMI members)
Marriott Sacramento Rancho Cordova: - 11211 Point East Drive - Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
By attending this interactive presentation, you'll learn practical tools and tips to help your project team de-stress and enhance their productivity
Complete details at Speaking Schedule
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Who Moved My Stress? 9 Steps to Help Your Project Team Transform Stress & Pressure Into Peace and Productivity!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
8:00 to 12:00 pm (half-day workshop)
Project Management Institute - Sacramento Valley Chapter (open to members AND non-PMI members)
Marriott Sacramento Rancho Cordova: - 11211 Point East Drive - Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
By attending this interactive, half-day workshop, you'll learn the 9 steps, practical tools and tips to help your project team de-stress and become more productive!
Complete details at Speaking Schedule
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Create Your Desired Work-Life Balance
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
12:00 to 1:00 pm
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 California Fall Conference
Hyatt Regency, Newport Beach, CA
Become a better leader at work and in your personal life by designing a strategy for each area in your life that you want to bring into balance, including balancing the demands of your work!
Complete details at Speaking Schedule
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Team Building Events and Off-Site Meetings:
Could your team use some help to be more cohesive?
Is it time to enhance your team's relationships and productivity?
Some teams know that something isn't working, but they don't know exactly
what that is or how to improve it. Some organizations hold team building seminars
and employee retreats because they know it's time to enhance their teams' productivity
and relationships. Do either of those statements describe you/your team? If
so, and if you haven't already contacted us to discuss your needs, feel free
to give us a call to see if we can help you.
We offer a variety of programs to enhance the performance of your teams as
well as improve the ways in which your teams interact,
so we invite you to visit our Training and Seminar page. This is a great way to show appreciation for your team and enhance their productivity,
thereby improving the bottom line for your organization!
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About Goals InSight, Inc.
Goals InSight,
Inc. helps organizations achieve their desired results in the following ways
- click on any of the links for details:
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