…that it is my first week of class facilitating a cohort of students in Mountain State University’s Bachelor of Organizational Leadership program and I am already seeing leaders emerge.
One of my students is going to near-heroic efforts to ensure that all the members of his team participate in completing this week’s group project. In one of many notes he sent to his group, he included this wise statement: It appears that communication is the key to success in this program.
Effective team building begins with successful communication. Leaders who want to get things done learn to clearly communicate with others about the goals, purposes, and expectations of the team. They carefully craft their messages and choose modes of communication that will be easily received and understood by team members.
But what do you do when your team is scattered across the state, throughout the city, or around the world?
Leaders of virtual teams need extra perseverance in communicating.The cohort I am facilitating is divided into three teams; each team must complete a weekly assignment. Although many of my cohort members live in the same metropolitan area, and all of them live in the same state, their communication is complicated by varying work schedules and differing study habits.
The student I mentioned above has used every method imaginable to contact his team. He has sent emails to both personal and school email address; he has sent text messages; he has posted on our course’s discussion boards; he has even personally called his classmates to solicit their involvement in the project. His efforts are focused on one goal: that each team member contribute to the successful completion of team assignment.
Whether the team you work with is in the office, in your community, or in the classroom, virtual or face to face, getting things done starts with effective communication.
Join the conversation!
What barriers have you faced in communicating with virtual teams?
What do you do to communicate effectively with teams?
This was originally posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk and is re-posted with permission.
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.
The biggest barrier I encounter with virtual teams is that everyone seems to have a different preferred method for communication. This is probably why your student has to try everything contact everyone on his team