The document discusses how to turn the "black hole" of communication issues in geographically dispersed and virtual teams into positive energy. It defines the black hole as feelings of isolation, lack of trust between culturally different team members, and the absence of non-verbal cues that can lead information to be withheld or misinterpreted. To create positive energy, the document recommends over-communicating through weekly individual and group sessions, ensuring all team members receive critical information simultaneously, personalizing communication with small talk and narratives, and tying performance metrics to collaboration rather than competition. Face-to-face meetings and jointly celebrating cultural events can also help boost communication and trust.

1. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Susan Agerskov
How to turn the black hole of geographically
dispersed and virtual team communication into
positive energy

2. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Psychologically -> feel isolated and
unnoticed
motivation and loyalty diminish rapidly if
members feel they have been short-changed
▪ higher turnover of staff / loss of knowledge
▪ decreased levels of knowledge transfer
▪ data theft
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

3. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
Data Leakage Worldwide Survey of IT professionals worldwideData Leakage Worldwide Survey of IT professionals worldwide
Unauthorized physical and
network access
39 % -> more concerned about threat from
their own employees than outside hackers.
Unauthorized use: 70 % said unauthorized use resulted in ≥ 50
% of data loss incidents.
Remote worker security: 46 % of employees admitted to transferring
files between work and personal computers.
Misuse of passwords: 18 % of employees share passwords with
co-workers.
Rate is 25 % in China, India, and Italy.
Cisco, 2008, Data Leakage Worldwide Survey (2000 respondents in
10 countries selected due to differences in social and business cultures).

4. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Communication -> black hole is remote
relational communication
▪ creating goodwill, fellow-feeling, rapport and loyalty
among people with whom you have little or no face-to-
face interaction
▪ non-verbal clues and feedback missing -> meaning of
silence
▪ sheer amount of information available
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

5. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Remote Communication
Difficult to manage virtually through any form of command and control.
Haywood (1998), p. 18.
Defining the black hole –
team leader has to influence rather than control communication
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

6. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Defining the black hole
 Trust -> employees from different locations,
cultures, and technical backgrounds are likely to
mistrust:
▪ how their information will be used,
▪ whether they will get credit for their contributions outside
team,
▪ degree to which other team members will make an equal
contribution1.
 Lack of Trust -> affects quality of information that
is exchanged:
▪ senders to withhold unfavorable but relevant information but
▪ pass on favorable but irrelevant information2
1 George, (1996), p. 40-45 / 2 Hayes, (2002), p. 117
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

7. Susan Agerskov © 2011
 Symbols matter: ensure same decorations in all locations
 Face-to-face communication is important
 visit employees instead of everything in Copenhagen
 joint meetings at least once a year
 Over-communicate
 weekly individual sessions / weekly joint session
 ensure all team members receive critical information
simultaneously
 Personalization and small talk
 brief narratives, personal discourses in weekly updates
Creating positive energy
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

8. Susan Agerskov © 2011
MEETING
MANAGEMENT
No side conversations
during meetings
SET EXPECTATIONS
SOLICIT FEEDBACK
TIE KEY PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS (KPI) TO:
how well communicate and
collaborate, not on
competition
time / hours
performance
pay
benefits
qualifications
expectations
recognition
loyalty
mobility
sacrifice
tolerance
life-balance
status
respect
security
Creating positive energy
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.

9. Susan Agerskov © 2011
Creating positive energy
Create positive energy today with:
mobile: (+45) 30 95 88 87
susan@2communicate.dk
www.2communicate.dk
Happy Thanksgiving
and thank you!
Not to be sold or published. Sole risk with user. Author accepts no liability.