Establishing an Effective and Motivated Virtual Team

Virtual teams have become the new norm for a variety of industries due to the challenges of COVID-19. As an employer, how can you work with other employees to establish virtual teams and maintain motivation when working at a distance? In this article, we will define virtual teams, discuss what an effective and motivated virtual team looks like, and give you strategies to help your virtual teams thrive. 

What are virtual teams?

Ferrazzi (2014) of the Harvard Business Review defined virtual teams as work teams "made up of people in different physical locations" (p.1). Virtual teams often use virtual platforms, such as Zoom or WebEx to hold meetings. Virtual teams may also use online platforms such as Asana or Box to keep track of project progress online. Virtual teams often involve people working from home.

Establishing an Effective and Motivated Virtual Team

Past research suggests that a motivated team is led by a both transactional and transformational leadership approach (Moore, 2007). Transactional leadership is encouraging your followers to meet the minimal list of tasks, but transformational leadership involves encouraging your followers to go above and beyond their capabilities (Bass, 1999). As your transfer your work to an online medium, it is important to make sure you are getting the tasks at hand completed in a timely manner. Yet it is just as important to keep your team inspired in times like these.

Ferrazzi (2014) indicated key leadership actions that help foster motivation for  virtual team members, among them are: build trust, encourage open dialogue through feedback and improved team communication, provide work-related guidelines, and improve technological competencies among team members.

Baughman (2019) also wrote that you should ensure your team has the necessary technological competence. The author noted that relationship building, responsiveness, and delegating are essential when establishing a virtual team as well. In our current situation, the virtual team leader may also need to provide resources to help team members manage stress. It may seem overwhelming to adjust your current approach to leadership for your virtual work team, so we have adapted tips from the literature to help you better manage and motivate your teams.

Tips to Manage and Motivate Your Virtual Team

We adapted these tips from Moore (2007), Bass (1999), Ferrazzi (2014), and Baughman's (2019) work to help you manage and motivate your workers.

• Provide the team with clear tasks. Set a timeline and clearly instruct members on daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.
• Be responsive. Make time in your schedule each day to answer emails and questions. Now, more than ever, your team members need extra guidance.
• Delegate. You may have many new tasks and work on your plate. When you are able, distribute responsibilities among team members to give yourself a break.
• Make time for rapport-building. Allow 10 minutes at the beginning of meetings for each team member to share life updates.
• Build trust. Still allow group members to have autonomy. Consider doing an icebreaker every couple of weeks to get to know each other better.
• Encourage creativity. Encourage new approaches to your work. Allow time for team members to share ideas for new ways to approach projects during your meetings.
• Praise the extra mile. If team members go above and beyond by encouraging others or developing innovative solutions, praise them during group meetings.

References

Bass, B. M. (1999). Two decades of research and development in transformational leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8, 9–32. doi:10.1080/ 135943299398410

Baughman, B. M.(2019). Promising practices for leading virtual teams. Journal of Extension, 57(5).

Ferrazzi, K. (2014). Getting virtual teams right. Harvard business review.

Moore, T. G., Jr. (2007). Virtual team member motivation in new product development: An investigation into the influence of leadership behaviors (Order No. 3274080). Available from ABI/INFORM Collection; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304721548).