◦ Existing environment dictates high reliance on effectiveness of leadership of Tech Team and support team scattered over vast geographical boundaries thus consisting of Virtual Project Team and will have to be Remotely Managed. ◦ Virtual Leadership thus generated requires typical fundamentals of Leading People , managing resources in traditional office environment and in magnified in virtual scenario which heightens difficulties in communication ,working target High qualities and time job

1. Soft Skill Part-5(Leading
Virtual Team)
An Initiative of
Shivnandani Industries Pvt Ltd
&
Jagdamb Janaki Nawal Janaki Society
By
Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd),
M Tech,CE(I),FIE(I),FIETE,FISLE,FInstOD,AMCSI

2. Introduction
 Existing environment dictates high reliance on
effectiveness of leadership
◦ Tech Team Scattered over vast geographical
boundaries
◦ Support team Virtual Project Team/Remote
Management
 Virtual Leadership thus generated requires
◦ Typical fundamentals of Leading People
◦ Managing resources in traditional office environment
◦ Magnified in virtual scenario
 Heightens
 Difficulties in
 communication
 working target
 High qualities
 Time job

3. Introduction..
 Hence
◦ Quickly Diagnose and take action
to Keep
◦ Confidently Project Team
◦ Completely Relationship
Productivity
On
track
outcomes

4. 5 core categories of effective
leadership skills in virtual project
team

5. Communicating effectively using
tech that fits the situation
 Key to virtual project team
 Requires attention
 Listening
 Presenting own idea &thought clearly
 Focus on conveying positive &
constructive intent
 Choosing right technology to quickly&
sensitively express clear message
 Respectfully ensure understanding &
expectation to action

6. Communicating effectively using
tech that fits the situation…
 Careful diagnosis of any given situation
to discern
◦ Task or work objective
◦ Emotional content
 Deliberate attention
◦ Need of project team
◦ Desire for action or remedy
 Timely
 Sensitive manner
Effective ground rule is to meet need of
project team and leader

7. Observable Leadership actions
for communicating effectively
 Modeling org values in members ground rule for
all comn
 Choosing best fit method of comn to meet mutual
need and situation
 best fit comn technology based on need of
situation
 Helping members to apply technology with
confidence
 Formulating objective and delivery plan for comn
 Linking messages to member’s shared
◦ Purpose
◦ Goals To results
◦ Performance contribution

8. Observable Leadership actions
for communicating effectively..
 Encouraging all members in
conversation to participate fully
 Engage in proactive listening
 Verify team members understanding
message and expectations for action
 Guiding comn to achieve positive and
constructive outcome
 Coaching and feedback that conveys
respect and support

9. Factors for communication
 Communication method
◦ Face to face communication
 To establish &build trust
 For delivery of sensitive news
 Help sensitivity to diversity of all types
 Important for
 social contracting
 Bonding
 Benefits of human contact on performance
 Antidote to
 Anxiety
 Loss of group cohesion
 Underperformance
 Alienation from other members
 Restlessness

10. Factors for communication…
 Distrust
 Dissatisfaction
 Paranoia
 Indecision
 confusion
 Worry
 Disconnection
 Mental fatigue
 Ambiguity
 Burnout
 social isolation
If properly positioned and managed
Face to Face comn can build
community and connection to
business

11. Building Community
 Sense of community includes
◦ Demonstration of sensitivity to differences
◦ Establishing and adhering to ground rules
◦ Team etiquette of agreement of working rules
 Trust
◦ Mutual at the beginning of work relationship
◦ Fragile & requires clarity of intent
◦ Action over time to complete commitment consolidates
trust
◦ Important for virtual team as people of diverse skill
signature/different tech skill work
◦ People of diverse mode are chosen to
 Stimulate creativity tension
 Produce heightened creativity &innovation
Hence Face to Face meeting to orient constructive
intent building on community and trust

12. Building Community..
 Trust…
◦ Essential for social contracting in case of knowledge
workers
◦ Increases when knowledge is willingly shared
◦ Constructive , positive and respectful interaction among
members
 Perception of fairness
◦ Perception of unfairness affects
 desire to contribute
 Effort
 Support to
 team
 Goal
 Perceived
 Bias
 Cultural insensitiveness
 Unethical and unbalance treatment
Skeptically withhold /reserve full effort and creativity

13. Building Community…
 Affiliation
◦ Human need for
 Belonging
 Identifying with respected group
 Pursuing worthy objectives or noble purpose
 Cultivating some level of bonding
Important for overcoming social
isolation ,alienation, and
disconnection

14. Building Community..
 Rules of etiquettes for community
building
◦ Keeping commitments
◦ Providing feedback
◦ Giving everyone equal voice
◦ Sharing important information
◦ Acknowledging preferences for type and
frequency of comn
◦ Other unique points for harmonise
working

15. Observable action for community
building
 Modeling behaviours expected of all members
 Maintaining self confidence and self esteem of others
 Demonstrating respect for all members and their
opinion
 Encourage all members to participate fully
 Focusing on situation ,issues or behaviour not on
person
 Confronting issues with others directly
 Taking initiative to make things better
 Keeping confidences
 Making constructive relationship
 Keeping commitments
 Admitting mistakes

16. Establishing a purpose
 Purpose(Attracted great attention)
◦ Clear Common vision Goals &
expectations for performance
◦ Inspiring
◦ Shared
◦ Needs deliberate attention for effective leading from distance
◦ Initiative to ensure all members are involved for creating purpose and group vision
◦ Freedom and opportunity to voice opinion
 Nut shell full involvement for creating purpose and group vision
◦ Foundation for team commitment
◦ Coupled with clear expectations for contribution & measurable performance
 Effective driving force
 Self discipline
 motivation
◦ Combined with Building community can reduce need for
 Continuous monitoring For Team goals
 Control mechanism
 Secret for shifting from control to self management
 Self coach for
 Org vision
 Proj team’s vision
 Sense of purpose
 Specific goals 7expectations
Essential for Virtual Proj Team undertaking highly creative or innovative approach

17. Observable Leadership action Establishing a
purpose
 Sharing info on org mission vision & strategic goal
 Clarifying rationale for intent of strategic goal
 Clear expectations for contribution & measurable result
 Involvement of members in decision affecting their work
 Seeking ideas and opinions from members
 Ensuring needs of customer in planning work
 Use org core values to guide members’ planning
,decision &action
 Promoting creativity & innovation in new goal&
opportunity planning
 Helping members to have positive approach to Org
need
 Challenging assumptions that inhibit progress
 Flexibility in adapting to changes in goals &
expectations

18. Leading by example
 Need to make “Out of sight “contribution as visible as possible
 Members need to know
◦ How their role and responsibility contribute to group /org goal ?
◦ How needs of customers are met by their contribution?
◦ How to self direct and self discipline their work on clear priorities?
◦ How to deliver visible measurable outputs in key process or self track
their contribution and measurable progress towards specific goals?
◦ Project teams
 Critical path for specific goals attention on each member contribution or
process at each step of the way
 Interdependencies among members
 Information /output delivery when and what condition
Managing intersections of mutual accountability or hands off
 Goal directed self discipline for
◦ essential task contribution with
 Visibility
 Measurable
 Manger’s role shifted to members with
◦ Personal responsibility
◦ Ownership of result
◦ Leading to
 More energy
 Creativity
 Innovation
 Probably greater result

19. Leading by example
 Each opportunity of communication Face to face
or frequent electronic focus on visible
measurable contribution which produce result
with high impact
 Leadership
◦ inspires to meet and exceed expectations
◦ Understand capabilities required and ensure
equipping each members with necessary skill and
knowledge
◦ Ensure equipment and tools to achieve result
◦ Must ask right questions
◦ Stay alert to coach members early
◦ Provide constructive feedback
◦ Reinforce contribution

20. Observable Leadership actionfor
Leading by Example
 Linking work contribution to Org goal
 Ensure members know how their contribution affect
members
 Help members understand their role
 Emphasise variable goal setting and identification of
visible contribution
 Tracking contributions and measurable progress on
goal
 Ensure members complete appropriate planning to
achieve result
 Inspire members to reach or exceed expectations
 Goal directed self discipline in completing daily work
 Use performance contribution and result to guide comn
and agenda
 Opportunity to recognise member’s contribution

21. Coordinating and collaborating
across boundaries
 Extending same level of
◦ Mutual trust to other individuals or groups
with in org
◦ Respect customers
◦ Teamwork suppliers
◦ Collaboration
◦ Focus on contribution
 Means smooth co-ordination of key processes /project
across geographical boundaries
 Info/assistance outside team’s capability to be provided
 Project team must remove
◦ Protective “Firewalls”
◦ Diagnose and handle differences
◦ Challenge assumptions
◦ Diffuse potential for conflict

22. Effective observable actions for
co-ordination & collaborations
 Seeking ways to build teamwork and collaboration
across groups &functions
 Establish mutual involvement in situation that cross Org
boundaries
 Link need for collaboration with need of org &customer
 Help members plan, co-ordinate, & implement projects
across boundaries
 Help members diagnose and solve problem
 Help track progress of project /process across
boundaries
 Asking for support and return for favour
 Challenge un necessary barriers
 Help to move from conflict to collaboration
 Help locate opportunity for improvement in
project/process

23. Conclusion
 Effective leaders adjust
communication and technology to
secure clear image of far off places
 Diagnose quickly and skillfully based
on snapshots mail/messages to
determine course of action to
achieveresult