2.  2003 Majchrzak and Malhotra  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Far-flung Teams: Virtual Teams Version 10.0 Pitfalls and Best Practices  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Dr. Arvind Malhotra Kenan-Flagler Business School The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Arvind_Malhotra@kenan-flagler.unc.edu and Dr. Ann Majchrzak Marshall School of Business The University of Southern California

3.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Agenda  What are Far-Flung Teams?  What challenges do such teams face?  Best practices of Far-Flung Teams Strategic Intent Technology Support Leadership Processes

4.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Example: Automotive Engine Manufacturer AIM: Design New Engine at New Location for a New Customer Customer Location Customer Main Office Co. Design Engineering Group Co. Team Members U.S. Germany Brazil U.K. Mexico

5.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Example: Telecom Infrastructure Provider AIM: Global Demand and Supply Planning Ireland Germany NJ MA OH OK

6.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Example: Electronics Manufacturer AIM: Improving New Design Processes Tokyo Bangalore Italy Berlin Cambridge Boston Montreal Beaverton

7.  2003 Majchrzak and Malhotra  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra SAME LOCATION REGIONALLY DISTRIBUTED GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED SAME FUNCTION SAME COMPANY VALUE CHAIN MEMBERSHIP GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE TEAMS VIRTUAL TEAMS FAR-FLUNG TEAMS FACE to FACE PURELY VIRTUAL Far-Flung Teams: Virtual Teams Version 10.0

8.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Challenges of Far-Flung Team Far Flung Virtual Teams are extreme:  “Communications challenged” (conducting their core work mostly virtually through electronic medium)  “Culturally challenged” (different countries, functions, companies)  “Task challenged” (uncertainty in content of outcomes, process, or coordination because of team size, # languages, # time zones)

9.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #1: Far Flung advantage Intellectual capital, not cost Take Away: Benefits are in knowledge- sharing, not cost-savings

10.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra E-Mail is Be All End All Rest is Just Fancy Shmancy BP #2: Successful Teams Ban the Use of email for Team Communications

11.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra What are the technology needs of FFT? Things Could Be a Whole Lot Better with Video-Conferencing

12.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #3: Multiple Tool Use w/o Video being Dominant

13.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra What are the communication needs of FFT? BP #4: The joint use of Real-time Synchronous + Persisting Asynchronous communication needed to stay connected BP #4: The joint use of Real-time Synchronous + Persisting Asynchronous communication needed to stay connected We only need regular conference calls to stay connected

14.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra A Virtual “ Team Workspace ” Instant Messaging Discussion Threads Living Documents Annotation Templates Web Conferencing Audio Conferencing Living Room Synchronous Asynchronous

15.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Web Conferencing Web Conferencing N-way realtime application sharing Living Room Templates Action items, Agendas, Minutes Annotation Trust-building Own comments Audio Conferencing Audio Conferencing Verbal clarification Living Docs Knowledge shared in draft form; visibility into each other’s work Discussion Threads Discussion Threads Brainstorming Focusing efforts Using the “ Team Workspace ”

16.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Will FFTs be as Creative as F2F? F2F meetings are required for brainstorming BP #5: Electronic brainstorming gives more time for reflection and quality ideas BP #5: Electronic brainstorming gives more time for reflection and quality ideas

17.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra  Teams that used it swore by it  Why they loved it Immediacy: expertise at hand Team visibility Water cooler Backchannel communications during meetings  Unresolved issues: security, loss of discussion content, no standards BP #6: Instant Messaging Used Correctly Can Be a Great Tool

18.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Example: Telecom Equipment Mfr. AIM: “Eating Your Own Dogfood” Best Practice: Webcams, I.M. “wildfire” Texas Brazil U.K. Beijing Hong Kong

19.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #7: Run virtual meetings like events with a managed lifecycle Activities PreStartDuringEndBetween --Review discussion items to focus on disagree- ment --Assign agenda items --Rotate team facilitation --Visible timelines & progress tracking Recreate feeling of inclusive ness Member check-in through voting, IM, posting, application- sharing, & verbal discussion Clear allocation of action items, meeting minutes posted rapidly Visibly ensure follow-up with discussion threads, progress tracking, & postings

20.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra ENTHUSIASM LEVEL TEAM LIFECYCLE BP #8: Frequency and Nature of Virtual Meetings Depends On …

21.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra How to lead Far-Flung Teams? Virtual means hands-off leadership

22.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #9: Far-Flung Team Leadership Communication-Intensive Leaders Members Frequent 1-on-1 Check-ins 1-on-1 mentor discussions Establish team communication norms Closely monitor & intervene

23.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #10: Trust is built through… Clearly Specified (& Visible) Timelines and Tasks Individual Accountability

24.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #11: Trust is built through… Establishing Communication Protocols Early (and being flexible)

25.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #12: Motivate Through Inclusion  Structure “inclusion activities” during virtual meetings (e.g., balloting)  Ensure everyone talks  Encourage voluntarism & creativity as motivators for inclusion  Recognize contributions  Share: hobbies, rewards, life concerns

26.  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra BP #13: Create Interdependent Sub-teams

27.  2003 Majchrzak and Malhotra  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra PEOPLE PROCESS TECH. STRUCTURE Framework for Managing Far-Flung Team Challenges STRATEGY Corporate policies that support virtual teams Structuring and leveraging sub-teams Executive stewardship of virtual teams Picking the people for the team Leadership for virtual teams Establishing norms to work together Creating common procedures Planning & conducting virtual meetings Using technology for persistent collaboration Technology & group processes Demonstration of software use Chartering virtual teams Challenges of virtual teams

28.  2003 Majchrzak and Malhotra  2004 Majchrzak and Malhotra Conclusion Far Flung Teams require a special culture in which knowledge management & knowledge sharing are paramount