Episode 8. 4 Challenges of Leading a Virtual Team (& How You Can Overcome Them!)
Being Part of A Virtual Team Is The New Norm [1:01]
So many of us work virtually so often, it kind of seems like business as usual. I’ll be honest here, as a millennial who’s jumped at the opportunity for remote work throughout my career… I used to fall into the same mentality. That is until I took my past work experiences and put them to the test against the data.
If you’ve been around you know that I love to decode the latest research in I/O psychology and figure out what really serves you as a business owner. It was so fun to put my nerd hat on and dive back into the theory, research, and data on what it truly means to lead a virtual team…
And can I be honest? The results may not surprise you! I know that’s totally not what I’m supposed to say.
As a leader, you’re probably no stranger to the 4 challenges of leading a virtual team. If you have an existing team right now… you’re living this. I don’t doubt that I’ll be speaking to the heart of your current struggles. And if you don’t have a team yet, that’s great! You can enter into this space empowered because you’ll have a sneak peek into some potential challenges.
So no, I don’t think the challenges themselves are going to knock your socks off. BUT, in this episode for current and future leaders, I hope to shed light not only on the challenges themselves but on real strategies that can help you overcome them with grace and intentionality!
Challenge #1: Geographic Dispersion. (I.e. virtual teams are not in the same location!) [4:01]
There are two major consequences of not working in the same location:
Because virtual businesses open up our talent pool so wide… you can literally hire anywhere! You have access to this magical network of talented people across the globe. The thing is, research has shown that as diversity increases (and I’m talking cultural, socio-political and religious)... productivity decreases.
PSA that fact is misleading… Now, I had to bring this up, because if you accept this reality with your eyes open… it is truly a blessing in disguise. Even though productivity may take a hit… creativity skyrockets! It all boils down to the concept that it’s easier to get along with people “like you,” but you’re more creative when you’re challenged by people who aren’t!
Recommendation: actively plan for diversity! Even if you don’t/can’t hire people across the country or from different countries… I am a HUGE advocate of the diversity of thought, belief, and background. It truly makes for a stronger and more impactful team.
The second consequence of location is that the likelihood that you’re going to connect with your team, in person, goes down dramatically! Many of us have experienced this. Virtual teams live in Slack and rely heavily on Zoom calls. And that can truly work… up until a point.
The location challenge that I’m talking about is really focused on how difficult it can be to connect with your team in person. Let’s keep it real here, connecting with your team, in person, requires a financial investment, time, scheduling, planning— ALL OF THE ABOVE. So, it’s something that we tend to put off.
It really depends on how strongly you care about deep connections with your team. I won’t lie… I do have a strong perspective on this… leaders that are building businesses that make a true impact… businesses that last… businesses that leave a legacy… they prioritize deep connections with their team.
Recommendation: be intentional about the time that you plan to connect with your team in person. I am a huge advocate for connecting in person at least 1/year. I talk a ton about the benefits of team retreats and how they’re ideal for building connection —you can hear all about the benefits and how they can impact your business in episode 6!
Challenge #2: Temporal Dispersion. (I.e. Different locations can mean different time zones.) [10:36]
Think about it… even the same country has different time zones, my friend! Time zone differences impact the flow of communication between team members and potentially their customers. Leaders have the challenge of managing different time zones in a way that ensures work gets done.
Depending on the extremity of this… your solution may look a little different. 1-hour difference? This probably isn’t impacting your business much. But 6 hours difference? Yeah, that’s a pretty big deal! It can be tricky! And it’s actually one of the key things I talk through with leaders who are hiring outside of their country.
Most often, I see (and I recommend!) that team members who live in time zones that are drastically different from the rest of the team AND the client/customer base, have roles that are more proactive rather than reactive. For example, if you have a copywriter on staff that provides all of your launch copy well in advance—a proactive role— the management of the time differences will impact meeting times and communication within your team. They will not impact your clients. In this type of situation, I recommend figuring out meeting times that work for both parties upfront. These meetings should be pre-scheduled. Then, for ongoing communication, it’ll be email! If you can go in with that expectation you’ll be good!
Challenge #3: Technological Dependence. (I.e. when the internet fails, we basically have to call it a day.) [15:13]
If tech fails, the team fails. In a purely virtual organization, team communication and collaboration are heavily dependent on some form of technology. We all know what it feels like to be locked out of Slack, have our emails hacked, or god-forbid, get snowed in with a power outage and no way to get to our local coffee shop to get ish done. Whooo, I may be spiraling.
The key to not letting technology rule you is to test everything!
Now, aside from massive internet failures and whatnot… you also want to avoid hating your systems or having team members who don’t know how to use them! Try out your systems, and don’t be afraid to switch things up if it’s not working for you. If Slack doesn’t feel good, try a different platform—seriously, one Google search and you’ve got a list of 28 alternatives. Also, take advantage of the tech tutorials! If you have a new team member who has never used Slack, don’t just throw them in the deep end but build a couple of tutorials into their onboarding process!
Challenge #4: Communication—the least jargon-y word I’ve used so far! [18:20]
Do you know what good, intentional communication builds? Trust! And teams who trust you WIN.
Okay, that may be an oversimplification… but it’s still true. The tried and true method of improving your relationship with your team is by communicating! Don’t let our obsession with texting and social media fool you… we still do better with face-to-face communication, my friend.
Traditional teams have a major advantage over virtual teams, because they can meet for lunch, email about a project, and have a brainstorming meeting in the office all in one day. In a virtual team, the ability for face-to-face interaction is limited.
I always recommend weekly video-calls over phone-calls for this reason. I already know what you’re going to say… but I’m wearing my PJs!!! Look, plan for 1 day a week where you know you at least need to pull on a hoodie with no stains and get it done! We are humans and we bond more when we see each other! Plus, it’s fun!!!
Now I know, that every interaction and every meeting won’t require video-calls. But I want to put it on your heart to sit down for a bit and think it through. How could it impact your team to have a weekly check-in… even for 30 minutes? How would it feel to see each other's faces and start your week that way?! My guess is pretty damn good.
Wrapping Up
That’s it! Those are the four challenges of leading a virtual team. Let me know in the comment what you decide to do.
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