Managing the Virtual Team

The key to successful project managing lies in the ability to transform a group of individual talents into a team of professionals, a team that as whole is more productive and innovative that its parts. In order to achieve this, groups cultivate their own relationships, division of labor, modes of communications, and methods of task delegation. Bruce Tuckman’s famous 1965 “forming, storming, norming, and performing” model emphasized the development of exactly this kind of group dynamic and the successes it could yield ( While the principles of Tuckman still apply, project management has changed through the development of telecommunication and the electronic dissemination of information. Project teams are no longer necessarily together in a single room, hashing out ideas on chalkboards or communicating face to face. Technology has now made possible “virtual teams,” groups made of individuals whose interaction and communication are primarily electronic. While there is a great potential for virtual teams, project managers should understand that these virtual teams must be managed somewhat differently from what Tuckman originally had in mind.

The fact is virtual teams can add tremendous productivity to projects. Talented professionals no longer must be local (or relocated). Now, project managers can enlist talent from all over the world; teams can be made up of the best individuals without the restrictions of location. In addition, virtual team members have a flexibility that can be a major incentive for many professionals; many can work from home and work primarily flexible hours. Still, there are challenges the project manager who oversees these teams will face. Although telecommunication allows for most kinds of business communication, the ability to simply walk into an office and address your team as a group is difficult to simulate electronically. Also, the personal relationships that become part of the team process can be de-personalized to a degree that could actually stunt the development of the teams themselves. The “new” project manager must have the ability to coordinate and facilitate a working environment—an electronic environment—that produces the kinds of creative interaction that traditional “bull-pen” teams have always had.

As I assess my own abilities to manage this new breed of professional team, I find I do have the key traits needed to be successful. Understanding the technology that is being used by a team is essential; I understand what technologies can best produce the kinds of creative relationships necessary for successful projects. Communication cannot simply be written; visual interaction, I believe, is essential—through Skype or some other video conferencing tool. Also, although the efficiency of having a team that does not have to be physically together is arguably the greatest benefit of virtual teams, I would have teams periodically meet face to face. Although this might have a slight front end cost, the benefit of building more personal relationship between team members will pay for itself on the other end. I understand the benefits and enormous potential of virtual teams, but, most important, I understand their potential limitations and the importance of not forgetting the fundamentals of Tuckman’s early management model.

References

“Bruce Tuckman's 1965 Forming Storming Norming Performing team-development model” (n.d.). Businessballs. Retrieved from .