Top 8 tips for virtual collaboration and virtual teaming

1.  Team members are expected to adopt and adapt to new information technologies as necessary for rapid information processing and dissemination.

2. Team members must be “open” and “resilient” to a variety of changing assignments, tasks, and responsibilities that may require new learning.

3. Team members are required to have (or learn) superior collaboration skills (both cognitive* and functional**) in working with other team members regardless of location.

4. Team members are expected to operate both independently (with the least amount of management ) and interdependently (in cooperation and supporting other team members) in defining their roles,
planning and prioritizing their activities, and executing their responsibilities with a high level of effectiveness and efficiency.

5. Team members must learn and master the essential interpersonal skills of teamwork and collaboration—trust, respect, integrity, honesty, and sensitivity in working with others.

6. Team members must view their inherent differences as the source of breakthrough innovation, creativity, and competitive business advantage.

7. Team members must learn the practical skills of participating on and leading virtual teams, such as agenda preparation, expected outcomes, information dissemination, and follow up report and future
activities in specific time frames.

8. Team members must adapt to divergently different cultural workstyles, e.g., high or low context, polychronic or monochronic, and Eurocentric and non-Eurocentric.


* Cognitive skills refer to one’s mind-set with respect to responsibility, accountability, acceptance of others, collaboration, etc.
** Functional skills refer to one’s behaviors that follow from a proactive
mind-set, such as coaching, information sharing, planning
with others in mind, proactively changing