The document discusses best practices for leading remote teams. It identifies 5 key practices: 1) Help team members get to know each other and stay connected; 2) Bring your common purpose to life; 3) Build and abide by operating agreements; 4) Meet online and share a common visual workspace; 5) Reveal your thinking and ask for others' perspectives. Following these practices can help remote teams stay aligned, build rapport and trust, work across cultures and time zones, and improve communication and engagement.

1. © ZOOM Collaborate
A virtual team is a group of
two or more people…
What is a Virtual Team?
…who work in concert but in
different locations to achieve
a shared goal.
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2. © ZOOM Collaborate 2
The Benefits of
Virtual Teams
 Access a wider pool of talent.
 Physical presence in global
markets.
 Diversity of thinking.
 Boost productivity.
 Save time and money.

3. © ZOOM Collaborate 3
Virtual Teams Often Fail
More than 3/4 of global teams fail.*
from: Building an Effective Global Business Team, MIT Sloan Management Review
≠
Why?
Take a Guess: Your estimate for the percentage of global teams that fail
* defined as: not meeting their goals.

4. © ZOOM Collaborate 4
Virtual teams face unique challenges

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A Staying Aligned
Sometimes or often, team members…
 Aren’t clear about team goals and
priorities.
 Are on so many teams that they
can’t devote enough time to each.
 Display “win-lose” attitudes and
behaviors.
 Lose track of who’s responsible for
what or default to managing their
own “to do” lists.

6. © ZOOM Collaborate 6
Without face-to-face contact,
sometimes or often, team members
don’t…
 Know much about each other –
home or work life.
 Feel comfortable saying what’s on
our minds.
 Ask for or give direct feedback.
 Form positive, collegial bonds.
B Building Rapport and Trust

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Sometimes or often, we:
 Depend on e-mail for communication,
even though our messages can be
misunderstood.
 Don’t share relevant information or
involve each other other in decisions
that affect us.
 Have unproductive and tiresome
meetings.
 Simply check out.
C Communication and Engagement

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Sometimes or often, we…
 Can’t schedule meetings in a timely
fashion.
 Don’t understand what others are
saying.
 Have difficulty making ourselves
understood.
 Worry that we may say the wrong thing.
D Different Cultures and Time Zones

9. © ZOOM Collaborate 9
What’s the Answer?
How can I help my
virtual employees work
better as a team?

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Best Practices for Leading Remote Teams
1
2
3
5
4
VIRTUAL
VELCRO

11. © ZOOM Collaborate
Help Team
Members Get to
know each other
and stay
connected.
11
Best Practice #1
STAYING
ALIGNED
BUILDING RAPPORT
& TRUST
WORKING ACROSS
CULTURES &
TIME ZONES
COMMUNICATION
&
ENGAGEMENT
1 2
3
5
4

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At work. At home.
On the path of life.
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Get to know each other and stay connected.
1

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Professional Background and Experiences
1
Where team members are located and who they’re networked with
Virtual team members’ professional
background and experience
Other roles that teammates have played
and people they’ve worked with

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Personal Background and Experiences
1

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1Get to know each other and stay connected.
For emotional well-being, our hearts need a dose of
authentic human connection each day.

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Best Practice #2
STAYING
ALIGNED
BUILDING RAPPORT
& TRUST
WORKING ACROSS
CULTURES &
TIME ZONES
COMMUNICATION
&
ENGAGEMENT
2
3
5
4
Bring your
common
purpose to life.
Help Team
Members Get to
know each other
and stay
connected.

17. © ZOOM Collaborate
In the rush of daily activity, and
the great distances between us,
we sometimes forget that…
Purpose is the reason for your
existence as a team; what you’re
here to do; your mission.
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Common Purpose
we’re inextricably tied together.
2

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It’s the
right thing
to do
It makes
sense
It’s
meaningful
to me
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Bring your team’s common purpose to life.
2

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Best Practice #3
STAYING
ALIGNED
BUILDING RAPPORT
& TRUST
WORKING ACROSS
CULTURES &
TIME ZONES
COMMUNICATION
&
ENGAGEMENT
35
4
Build and
abide by
operating
agreements.
Bring your
common
purpose to life.
Help Team
Members Get to
know each other
and stay
connected.

20. © ZOOM Collaborate 20
Operating Agreements
A set of agreed-upon behaviors…
based on mutual expectations…
that define how to work together.
Types of Agreements
• Meeting protocols
• How to make decisions
• Roles and responsibilities
• How to communicate and share
Information
• Individual, team & cultural
courtesies
3

21. © ZOOM Collaborate 21
Best Practice #4
STAYING
ALIGNED
BUILDING RAPPORT
& TRUST
WORKING ACROSS
CULTURES &
TIME ZONES
COMMUNICATION
&
ENGAGEMENT
45
Build and
abide by
operating
agreements.
Meet online
and share a
common visual
workspace.
Bring your
common
purpose to life.
Help Team
Members Get to
know each other
and stay
connected.

22. © ZOOM Collaborate 22
Common Visual Workspace
4
Use GTM to meet, connect and
collaborate.
What to Share:
• PowerPoint Presentations, with
interactive capability
• Applications, with interactive capability
(e.g.,: Word Docs)
• Video
• Annotations on a Whiteboard
• Podio
The place where online meeting
attendees focus their attention
together.
It’s not just for presentations!

23. © ZOOM Collaborate 23
Best Practice #5
STAYING
ALIGNED
BUILDING RAPPORT
& TRUST
WORKING ACROSS
CULTURES &
TIME ZONES
COMMUNICATION
&
ENGAGEMENT
5
Build and
abide by
operating
agreements.
Meet online
and share a
common visual
workspace.
Reveal your
thinking and ask
for others’
perspectives.
Bring your
common
purpose to life.
Help Team
Members Get to
know each other
and stay
connected.

24. © ZOOM Collaborate 24
Virtual Velcro: Reveal Your Thinking
People can feel:
 Misunderstood
 Confused
 Lost
 Disconnected
 In conflict
When we use electronic technology –
asynchronous or real-time –
communication can go awry.
 In face-to-face environments,
behavior cues and informal
interactions help us understand how
others operate.
 When working remotely, being
explicit and revealing your thinking
helps replace those cues and
connections.
VIRTUAL
5