In HCI’s 2010 Summit Day Three afternoon breakout on Virtual Leadership, Camille Preston from AIM Leadership, and author of two soon-to-be-published books, shared highlights from “Overwired- Reclaiming Success in a Virtual World” and “Virtual Effectiveness- New Leadership in a 3.0 World.” Camille’s vision is that people can work from the place they love, and do what they love with the people they love. For those lucky enough to attend in person, paradoxically, it helped us wrap our arms around working and leading virtually.
Challenges of virtual communication: We began with an experiential exercise by making assumptions about the person we were sitting next to, and then in dialog had an opportunity to “re-calibrate” those assumptions; most assumptions were less than 25% accurate. By contrast, when we can’t see someone, the assumptions are even less accurate. Email communications only use 7% of cues (specifically, words vs. voice tone or body language) to communicate. And by 2011, two thirds of people will be engaged in virtual work. While eighty-five percent of learning is visual, we become de-sensitized to all the emails and text messages we receive.
In a virtual world because we are missing other cues, our “intuition” becomes heightened-- if we remember to step back and tap into it. HCI members quickly listed reasons why virtual communication breaks down: people multi-task, not giving virtual communication their full attention, the interactions become less human, briefer interactions skip over important discover ad they get more focused on the bottom line. People felt top challenges of virtual collaboration were: limited interaction time precludes getting input from everyone (and when you try it’s a messy string of comments); lack of team bonding means people give in and compromise. (In fact, Camille pointed out that 87% of people have ideas about improving the business they don’t share at work!).
What does this mean for leaders (and those facilitating virtual meetings)? Managing virtual meetings means being very prepared to ensure people are engaged fully doing what you’re asking them to do before, during and after the meeting. Twenty-five percent of learning happens before the meeting, 25% during the meeting and 50% happens in the follow-up from the meeting. How do you get to know people you engage with virtually? (one HCI’er offered to fill out key info and personal triva sheets that get shared with everyone on the team). With respect to technology, “reclaim your ability” recommended Camille. People will build relationships in ways that are fun, through sharing Utube videos, “bringing their full self to the workplace.” Camille recommended “knowing yourself” (emotional intelligence competencies) becomes more important in order to share who you are with others in virtual work relationships.
Alignment with others becomes possible when everyone knows and communicates what they are bringing to the virtual team. That depends on people feeling they can “be real” and bring their full self to the table. So leaders can intentionally plan and create “authentic encounters.” When people are disengaged, change their physiology (as simple as breathing in unison), focus (listen intently, be genuinely interested), and language (use the other person’s language).
What needs to shift? Shifting mindset of how we see talent from “worker bee” to the “whole individual” so each person feels valued, provides insight to how they contribute to organizational success.
How do leaders develop trust in a virtual world? Develop trust with concrete reliability (do as you say you will do). In virtual collaborations we often skip over making a contract, from honest communications especially with respect to specific capabilities for deliverables. Trust breaks down when people are pushed too far beyond their “learning zone.” For example, team leaders and managers can make it safe to draw out what people don’t know about virtual technology and assign team members who are specialists to teach as needed. In a virtual world, trust needs to be developed more quickly; one way is quick team meetings to share priorities and interdependencies. Leaders can build transparency by encouraging people to ask questions, and by asking open-ended questions.
Writing a goal and saying it out loud in front of others increases the liklihood of follow-through. Here are some goals and tips HCI members shared these ideas at the end of this session (aka actions they would begin):
- Get to know the people you're talking to better.
- Get agendas out in advance.
- Be attentive to who is not talking on a call (not just those who are talking).
- Set a standard for more communication on virtual teams as to project status.
- Have a training program on how to have a virtual team.
- Ask leaders to lead with example by building trust.
- Try to not multi-task during next conference call.
- Plan ahead for meetings, and create and use some templates to prepare for virtual meetings.
- Invest in getting to know others in your workgroups.
- Express appreciation for members' contributions to the virtual team.
For more info see these resources.
