[Reader Question] You're leading a virtual cross-functional team. What methods can boost your collaboration?
For any team to function well, there are three things that really matter:
a) Mutual trust / respect among team members
b) Shared vision towards pursuit of a common goal
c) Regular interactions formally and informally
If any of these pillars is shaky, the team will not function well no matter how many other methods you deploy to boost collaboration. My focus, as a leader, therefore would be to focus on mechanisms that provide a constant infusion of energy on these three dimensions. Here are some things that have worked for me:
1) Offsites: An offsite is a great way to get the team in one place, away from the formal company setup and strengthen all the three pillars. The structure of the offsite should allow team members to work together within small groups ( preferably folks who are not co-located ), build something tangible towards the overall vision and have sufficient time for informal conversations over lunch, coffee etc.
2) Common Slack Channel: While different functions will have their own Slack channels, make sure that there is a common slack channel for the entire team. This is a great way to build camaraderie on a daily basis with informal banter / jokes and also critical for major announcements where you’d like everyone on the team to be in sync.
3) BHAG Goals: Employees operate at their best when they have “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” that they would be proud to accomplish, and are given the space to do it their own way. This is even more important for a virtual team, as a BHAG goal will maintain operational intensity, while giving the team space to figure out how to operate allows them to form their own mini-mechanisms to work with each other and accomplish the goal.
I have a lot of other ideas that could possibly work - if you are keen to know, invite me for a coffee chat and I’d be happy to share :).
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