LEADING AND MANAGING ACROSS VIRTUAL TEAM

ONLINE FEE: ₦50,000

SYNOPSIS: Most large organisations are now spread across numerous locations and with matrix management structures increasingly prevalent, it is inevitable that the structure of teams is changing significantly. Many managers are now responsible for virtual teams distributed across geography and even across organisations. And these are sometimes short-term project teams with members belonging to a number of different teams at the same time.

Managing a virtual team is considered to be one of the toughest tasks in today’s organisations and many of these teams are seem to fail. In addition to the usual challenges of managing a diverse group of individuals, the manager of a virtual team is faced with further challenges including different time zones, shifting team membership, managing at a distance, lack of time and the use of communication technology. Virtual team managers require support to acquire the specific knowledge and skills they need to enhance their traditional leadership competencies.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Participants will learn how to:

• Build and maintain virtual teams to create success
• Facilitate teams using effective communication technologies
• Manage the risks and benefits of distance and cultural diversity
• Increase awareness of their own management style and areas for greater emphasis when managing a virtual team.
• Manage practical and behavioural challenges of managing virtual teams.
• Enhance communication skills to positively interact with virtual team members.
• Use practical strategies for a variety of technologies more effectively
• Establish ground rules for working in the virtual world
• Identify and mitigate potential challenges for remote employees
• Maintain meaningful communication with employees without becoming a virtual micro-manager

COURSE CONTENT

Introduction and Overview

Creating a Model for Effective Management in the Virtual World

Overcoming the challenges of working in virtual teams

Analysing the impact of distance on collaborative working

Establishing the foundation for effective collaboration

Building and Maintaining a Virtual Team – Proactively developing a team with a common goal

Managing dynamics

Technology, Communication and the Virtual Workplace – Enhancing the benefits of virtual collaboration

Leveraging key virtual technologies

• E-mail
• Intranets/Extranets
• IM
• Blogs
• Wikis
• Social Networking
• Conferencing and collaboration tools
• Tips for using e-mail efficiently
• Evaluating virtual tools to maximize communication

When things go wrong at a distance

Creating an Action Plan to Lead Virtual Work – Taking a proactive approach to daily leadership

TARGET AUDIENCE

• People taking on the responsibility of virtual management for the first time
• Established leaders and managers who would like to develop a more effective approach to the challenges of delivering results across organizational, geographical and time boundaries
• Individuals who are part of a virtual team