Facilitate Proceedings » Managing virtual teams

Why BP and Virtual Teams Need Clear Operating Principles

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:46:09 +0000

We may never know what sequence of events set off the greatest environmental catastrophe of our time. What we do know is that there seemed to be a difference of opinion among decision-makers when it came to making a crucial trade-off between safety and profit. Add to that, it seemed unclear as to who, precisely, had the authority to make the decision to stop the drilling when a concerned staffer alerted management of the impending danger.

Having agreed-upon operating principles up front might have helped the drilling team avert this unnecessary disaster, just as they can help any kind of team make well-informed decisions quickly.

Public Webinars – Leading Virtual Teams

Julia Young — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:29:43 +0000

Our colleague, Nancy Settle-Murphy at Guided Insights is offering a rare set of public sessions this month for her two most popular virtual classroom offerings: Leading Virtual Teams on June 29 and Planning and Running Exceptional Virtual Meetings on June 30. Designed with busy people in mind, each of these virtual sessions delivers a wealth of vital information, skills and tools within a compressed period of time. In fact, participants receive about five hours’ worth of content by participating in a two-hour virtual session. Registration is strictly limited to 15 people for each session. Please click on the links above for more information or to register, or contact us directly for more information.

Inside All of Us is a Great Virtual Collaborator

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:35:44 +0000

In any given team, there are bound to be differences—in cultures, personalities, communication styles, work habits, expertise, seniority, and many other aspects. Rather than view differences as a challenge the team must address, think instead about how we can leverage differences, and at the same time nurture each team member to thrive in a virtual work setting.

Paying Attention to the Virtual Meeting Place

Julia Young — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:12:29 +0000

As virtual meeting facilitators we don’t control the meeting space in same way as we do for face-to-face meetings but there is value in paying attention to the physical surroundings – props, physical space and prompts – of our participants in order to optimize participation, attention and stimulation.

Anatomy of a Great Virtual Collaborator

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:05:54 +0000

Most people I know love working remotely. They say they get more done, prize their freedom and flexibility and have better work/life balance. But there are others who really miss being with people and feel isolated and lonely much of the time. People often ask me what qualities are the most important predictors of a successful virtual collaborator. Here are seven that come to mind.

Social butterflies tend to thrive.
May seem ironic, but sociable people crave contact with others and are motivated to maintain connections, either virtually – through phone, email or social networking tools—or face-to-face, when they can. Introverts who find it painful to stop and chat with an officemate may find it harder to cultivate social connections in a virtual world. For someone who’s introverted, social bonds are almost impossible to create and keep up when working from afar.

8 Attributes of Successful Virtual Workers

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:01:20 +0000

Many of my clients, like so many other organizations, are looking for ways to help them establish and cultivate a productive remote workforce. In some cases, they realize that greater workplace flexibility will allow them to attract and retain certain kinds of employees. In other cases, companies simply to have to slash costs, forcing employees out of company offices.

When starting up telecommuting programs, some of my clients start with a pilot program where a group of new telecommuters will pave the way for others to come. The first step: Making sure the people who are selected are likely to succeed in a virtual workplace. My clients ask me: Is there some sort of test or tool that we can put people through to make sure they’re the right candidates?