Working With International Project Teams Presented by: Ernest Ejianreh

Understanding the Need for International Project Teams Market share growth – the proportion of revenue coming from overseas market is expected to jump by an average of 30-50% in the next 3-5 years. This is as a result of our today’s globalized economy. Labor cost – Ford recently announced the movement of its Focus brand manufacturing plant to China. The company plans to save $1b by going this route. Non-availability of required skill set – It’s sometimes more cost effective to work with a subject matter expert remotely. Creative solutions through greater variety of perspectives and ideas.

Rise in the success rate of Managing Global Virtual Teams Year Study Outcome 2001 Performance of 70 different virtual work groups by Prof. Vijay and Prof. Gupta 82% fell short of goals 2005 Performance of IT projects outsourced to virtual workgroups by Deloitte 66% fell short of goals 2009 Performance of 80 global software teams by BCG and WHU-otto Beisheim School of Management Global teams outperforms those that shared same office sapce

International Cultural Diversity Cultural diversity is defined as the ethnic, gender, racial and socioeconomic variety in situations, institutions and groups Managing Culture is as important as managing any technical factor in achieving project objectives Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the capability to relate and work effectively with culturally diverse project teams

Overcoming Difficulties in Managing International Project Teams Mindset – Develop a global mindset to see global opportunities Assumptions - Do not assume things about a particular group or individual, instead take the time to get to know others Cultural differences - Increase the team’s collective knowledge of the range of cultural differences in the group Language – Establish conversational rules from the beginning

Managing Across International Time Zones Share the burden of 24/7 across the team Use as many collaboration tools as you need to and constantly search for better ones Prioritize asynchronous (everyone-at-their- own-pace) communication, including email, Hackpad and others. Meet in smaller groups Pay particular attention to team members outside the room Invest in travels to build team cohesion, especially at various touch points during the project lifecycle

Unique Communication Tips Learn the language of the majority of the project team member when applicable Acknowledge differences in accents and encourage team members to be mindful of them Be an active listener Remind team members to use straight forward language and speak clearly. Avoid use of slangs, idioms and words with multiple meanings Be sensitive to non-verbal communication Understand your team members’ high or low context background and adjust accordingly

Non-Verbal Communication Be versed in a culture’s nonverbal expressions, such as touching, bowing, personal gestures and the display of emotions Keep in mind that there exist no nonverbal expression that have the same meaning all over the world, not even a smile Limit hand gestures and maintain a moderate body posture Do not interpret absence of disagreement as agreement

Meetings with International Project Teams Requires more formality, structure and preparation The meeting organizer should get the agenda right well in advance and send to all participants to aid their preparations The person chairing the meeting should encourage comments from all participants Be comfortable with delays caused by technical hitches

Bringing an International Team Together The Right Team Team composition should be your starting point. You won’t get anywhere without hiring (or developing) people suited to international virtual teamwork Perform behavioral interviews and personality tests to screen candidates for the following qualities; - Cultural Intelligence (CQ) – awareness and sensitivity to other cultures - Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - Good communication skills - Ability to work independently - Resilience to deal comfortably with technical hitches

The Right Size Most effective virtual teams are small ones—fewer than 10 people. According to OnPoint Consulting’s research, of all the virtual teams the firm studied, the worst performers have 13 or more members Research shows that team members reduce effort when they feel less responsible for output As groups grow, inclusive communication becomes more challenging Richard Hackman, a Harvard’s Professor, noted that it takes only 10 conversations for every person on a team of 5 to touch base with everyone else, but rises to 78 for a team of 13 Optimize team’s performance, don’t assemble too many players

QUESTIONs

Conclusion Project Managers of tomorrow will need to unite team members of various backgrounds and cultures. Once people understand and improve their CQ, they will be able to work within and lead international project teams.