I've given this talk quite a few times, now. Based on my experience leading global teams while working from home for over 10 years. Also leading innovation programs, and generating new ideas, from a distance. While working virtually is not for everybody, nor suited to every role, it can work well for many roles & people.

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Working & Collaborating Virtually
Tips for Innovation & Distributed Teams
Heather Gillbanks
https://www.linkedin.com
/in/heathergillbanks/
August 2018 (updated)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

2. “If you’re asking
yourself how to
supervise your remote
workforce, you’ve
already lost the battle.”
-Amir Salihefendic
Remote-first CEO of @Doist

3. 7 Challenge areas with Virtual work 
there are (some) shared solutions
Team Communication
* Tools
* Check-ins
Set clear expectations
* Onboarding
* How to resolve questions
Team-building
* Tools
* Get social
Manage workflow
* Tools
* Check-ins
* Team huddles
Address accountability
* Clear deadlines
* Positive feedback
* Don’t wait to discuss, if
there are issues
Hiring & HR
* Remote work is a skill set
(…not everyone is suited)
* Interview via video chat
* Have a paid trial period
* Request work samples
Evaluate job performance
* Schedule feedback
* Self-reflection
* Don’t blind-side workers;
regularly discuss issues
Most of these should happen regardless of work location
… but they become critical for remote/ virtual teaming
Today, we will focus on these areas

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
The Changing Workplace
1973 1980s – 90s 2000s 2020+
Birth of the concept Traditional work Hoteling/ Co-working grow
2010s
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
87% of employees working
within multinational
companies conduct at least
part of their work virtually
- RW3 CultureWizard
41% of virtual workers will
never meet colleagues
34% of US
employees
would WFH
full time if
allowed
Millennials want
“jammie jobs”

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Does it feel like the world is shrinking?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Multi-nationals
Time Zones
Technology
Tools
Labor arbitrage
Tax havens
Niche skills
Economic blocs
Trade agreements
Special trade zones

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Today’s
workers
may not
share:
… locations
… time zones
… languages
… cultural
perspective
… gender
biases
“Happy
Campers”
Accents
Italy vs US
“rudeness”
Diminutives

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Relationships still matter
No more “water coolers”, but we still must:
• Build trust … Say/ Do ratio matters
• Increase teams’ willingness to work together
• Make people feel like they matter
Launching a new team in person is best, but …
● Virtual team building is possible!
● Survey your team members to get a regular
“weather report”
● Small treats & Games help people feel
connected and can spur creativity/ innovation
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Workers may be distant but
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Example: “Two Pictures” Game
Option 1: Dedicate 30 min; each
team member shares 2 pictures
in turn and talks about them.
Option 2: 5 min. @ any/ staff
meeting; 1 person shares
pictures; rotate through the
team until complete
This game has 2 formats/ options:
This Photo by
Unknown Author is
licensed under CC
BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed
under CC BY-SA

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Tools: The medium is not the message
• Dedicated time … especially when Forming
• Screen sharing/ video conference tool
• Teleconferencing solution
• Identified facilitator/ leader for each agenda
Dedicated time:
ESSENTIAL
TOOL
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Up to 10,000 non-
verbal cues can be
exchanged in one
minute of face-to-
face interaction

10. Choose
the right
tool

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Virtual Meetings: Be POLITE
P Put yourself on MUTE when not speaking
O Only ONE person speaks at a time
L Listen to understand, then ask questions
I Include everyone on the call if possible
T Tell callers WHY they are on the call
E End the Call on time

12. Innovation Spurs
Ask team members to
stand if they normally
sit (or vice versa)
Send each person
the same stress ball
or other small toy(s)
Don’t squash
“weird” ideas
Run some experiments
… even if the outcome
seems clear
Ask people to put
“creative time” on their
calendar every day
Whatever works
for YOUR team
& peopleNo
boring
pitches

13. Best
Practices
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Collaboration: “Do”
 Specify how you’d like to interact with
other people before trouble arises
 Pay attention to Time Zones → how far
are team members from YOU & from each
other?
 To engage people’s emotions, share a
“success story” or a “case study”
 To improve how others react to you:
develop “presence, clarity, empathy,
awareness, & authenticity”
 Distribute Minutes: Clearly assign action
items, with owners & deadlines
 1 thing at a time … focus matters
 2x: Repeat important points. Repeat
important points.
 3S: “Keep it simple. Say it slowly. Have a
smile.” (people can hear you smile)
 4P: “preparation, purpose, process (of the
meeting) & people”
Pro Tip: Video helps with #1

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Collaboration:
“Don’t”
 2/3 of work problems result from language
and cultural misunderstandings
 “Power, time, communication, and
individualism and group orientation” impact
behavior in different cultural contexts
 If you need to restate … explain using new
words; help make more sense to more people

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Bonus:
The
Well-
Heeled
Nomad
- Keep your work backed up!! (Dropbox, CrashPlan  the tool matters not)
- Work Hard Anywhere (iPhone): Find a workspace when on the run or in foreign city
- ToDoIst: Consolidate ALL to do items in 1 spot … created BY a fully remote team
- Hackpad.com: Co-create documents; also a checklist … alternative: Google Docs
- Trello: Manage multiple projects virtually (Kanban methodology)
- WudaTime: Keep track of the time you spend on tasks
- Freedom: Block websites that you find often distract you from your work
- Entrain: Tells you when to seek dark or light to adjust faster to new time zones
- PackPoint: Packing list app, which also checks the weather
https://tommorkes.com/work-from-anywhere-in-the-world-14-business-apps/

17. HBR: Global Teams that Work
S Structure (perception of power)
P Process (importance of empathy)
L Language (fluency gap)
I Identity (mismatch of perceptions)
T Technology (connection challenge)
• How do I help the team encourage
healthy disagreement about what
to do and how to do it?
• How do I prevent language fluency
(or cultural bias) from cutting off
input?
• Do I need to reinforce the
message?
• Am I leading by example?
Invest the time to
create emotional
connections
“Am I explaining well?”
NOT
“Do you understand?”

18. Backup

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Got VOIP, not POTS? Hardware
• DO: ethernet cable … wifi goes
up & down (by design)
• For “jitters” (scrambled voice) use
Cat6 (not Cat5)
High quality headsets
have better cables
Add a ferrite bead to
reduce line “noise”

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Got VOIP, not POTS?
• Download OR
talk … it’s a
choice (voice
needs ~100
kbps)
• No email,
videos,
photos, OS
updates,
backups while
on VOIP
• Run a network
speed test
Feedback? lower your
speaker volume

21. Resources new to this update
https://hubworks.com/blog/overcome-challenges-managing-remote-workforce.html
https://zapier.com/learn/remote-work/avoid-work-burnout/
https://us.experteer.com/magazine/what-are-the-challenges-of-working-in-virtual-teams/
https://info.trello.com/hubfs/Trello-Embrace-Remote-Work-Ultimate-Guide.pdf
https://visiplevc.com/blog/virtual-collaboration
https://www.d2l.com/enterprise/blog/3-tips-making-virtual-collaboration-work-across-global-
organizations/
https://tommorkes.com/work-from-anywhere-in-the-world-14-business-apps/

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Resources from earlier version
The Mindful International Manager, J. Comfort & P. Franklin,
2011
How to Say Anything to Anyone, S. Harley, 2013
Executive Presence, H. Monarth, 2009
Working Globesmart, E. Gundling, 2003
Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, J. C. Maxwell, 2010
10 things … Effective Meetings, S. Kalvar, TechRepublic
HBR: Global Teams that Work (R1510D-PDF-ENG)
https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-virtual-teams-can-create-human-
connections-despite-distance

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ATD Houston Collaboration Tips
4/21/2016
Resources: Podcasts
TMA World - Making the best use of virtual team talent (only 1 minute long!)
Offers questions a team leader should ask themselves to ensure they are making the best of
virtual team talent
TMA World - Working in virtual teams – team focus (1 ½ minutes, includes transcript)
Gives an overview of 10 key topics to include in a team charter to ensure success in virtual
teams
Tao-Leadership – How to Create a Virtual Water-Cooler (30 minutes)
Virtual Not Distant – Virtual Team Leader: Boss or Facilitator? (1 hour, includes transcript)
Virtual Team Builders Series (in iTunes)
Created in 2010/2011 and features 18 sessions on topics ranging from feedback to virtual
meetings to the future of virtual teams
The Wide Teams Series (feedburner or iTunes – look on the right side of the page)