LinkedIn asks the expert network about their experience around certain topics – this time about „Leading virtual Teams“ – as I am often a bit careful with the often used Buzzwords, I tried to answer a bit more critical and give some „food for thought“.

The main Headling of LinkedIn’s task:
You’re struggling to lead a virtual team effectively. How can you inspire and motivate your team members?
Topics:
Building Trust:
Transparency is an important ingredient of trust – the one, where everyone else knows, what is going on.
My goal in distributed teams – working asynchronously and digital is to ensure all I am doing is done co-creative, best in (internal) social platforms. This way I am never the bottle neck for information – everyone can PULL, what they need, ask when needed and often get answers from peers, before I even see it.
My „like“ or appreciation than builds a culture of „relying on each other“, „supporting each other“.
In short – if I can go on vacation „anytime“, without preparation – the level of transparency and participation/engagement reached the needed trust level.
Set Goals:
Goals are ok, a clear vision in combination with strong values – everyone can experience are better for VUCA/BANI environments.
Goals are often on micromanagement level – reducing the opportunity for growth and learning. Classical goal setting – with milestones … is great for stable topics in non-changing-environments.
In my world, I do not want to limit our progress by setting goals. We do spend a decent amount of time with clarifying, where we want to go and what are fundamentals (often behaviors, values) – this allows us to – and this almost always happens – to be much more responsive and overachieve „goals“ most would have never anticipated at beginning.
Learning on the way – will enable better results – you can just not know upfront.
Encourage Collaboration:
„Encourage“ sounds a bit top-down – I would prefer: work, collaborate and co-create in a way, you all work on eye level.
Extrinsic motivation is – in my eyes – only needed, if you want something from people, they don’t want.
So find out, what people DESIRE (it is often outside of their profile, role or comfort zone) – than support, challenge, appreciate on the way.
Competence can be earned or added, curiosity and passion needs to be created. When you look in the shining eyes of people exceeding their own predictions… you won, they won – all win.
Recognize Efforts:
Whats recognition? a Like, a shoulder clap, a bonus…
Be aware that a child does not need any recognition for learning to walk, talk or anything else. They do it, because it makes sense, others are doing it too and they have a strong desire for belonging.
That does not say: no recognition needed – just not the classical one.
- Handing over a task or project early on, before they proofed your trust – is recognition
- Giving freedom = giving trust is recognition
- Sharing details, insights without demands – can be recognition
- Letting others speak or present in my name is recognition.
It is the way we role model, change ourselves, reflect together and show appreciation (not by top down „good job“ but by saying „thank you“)
Offer support:
Establishing Social Learning, asking for help, committing mistakes lowers the bar for others to ask for support.
Often we push support to show off, I try to establish a reputation (working transparently, sharing my learning, connecting relevant experts visibly…) „being supportive“ on 3 levels:
- my team & function
- my organization (enterprise social network)
- my networks outside (sharing is caring)
I talk about what is relevant for me, without expecting anything. So sharing my learning is more a matter of written self-reflection… and other can benefit.
Of course I always help, if I am asked… no one leaves with a „no sorry“ – there is always something you can create value for (maybe it is just spreading the question in my network)
Invest in Growth:
Growth – for me – best is a team effort.
Learning from and with each other, booking learning time and defending it, providing Microlearning, OpenCalls, sharing knowhow in Communities, connecting Experts in networks and sharing on LinkedIn and other Social Platforms builds my and our digital reputation. That helps getting faster answers, being inspired and more resilient. In the best case by growing this transparency and participation – I get answers before I even get stuck in the question. It works!!
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