Virtual Managers (Essay Sample)

VIRTUAL MANAGERS
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Virtual Managers
The growth of technology has seen the emergence of a new concept in management. This is the idea commonly referred to as virtual teams. Although this is a growing phenomenon in the corporate world today, studies show that most organizations do not manage their virtual teams properly (Lepsinger, 2011). Therefore, to help organizations realize maximum benefits from virtual teams, this paper will feature six lessons for successful virtual teams.
The first lesson indicates the need to focus on people issues (Lepsinger, 2011). This is due to the lack of human contact that is inevitable in virtual teams. This is because people work from home or other locations away from the workplace and are, therefore, physically separated from each other (Solomon, 2010). This may reduce the team spirit necessary for the progress of the organization. Organizations can tackle this problem by developing a team page where team members can share information. Other steps to be taken include creating ways for virtual team members to interact and communicate informally and virtually celebrating the successes of each team member (TechJournal, 2012).
Secondly, virtual teams need to build trust amongst their members. To achieve trust among team members, virtual teams need to meet physically at least once or a number of times and to have direct contact lines (Lepsinger, 2011). The teams also need to enable virtual members to develop and act on their decisions. Creation of trust among team members is closely related to the third lesson, which is the development of soft skills. Soft skills are essential because they contribute to team building and interpersonal skills, which are vital to the performance of the organization.
The fourth lesson is about watching out for performance peaks. In order to achieve performance peaks, virtual teams need to clearly define roles and accountabilities of each member to avoid confusion, misunderstandings and frustration (Goldstein, 2011). It is also important to regularly review team processes regularly. This leads to the creation of a high touch environment, which is the fifth lesson. One of the greatest performance barriers in electronic technology is the inability to reproduce a high touch environment in a virtual set-up. As such, virtual teams have to invest in a few face to face meetings.
The sixth lesson is the virtual team leadership matters. Leadership is at the core of the success of virtual teams (Duarte & Snyder, 2001). Effective leadership drives the company to the peak while weak power will inevitably evolve into poor performance. To promote effective leadership in virtual teams, it is important to set clear goals and priorities and get regular follow-ups. Virtual teams also want to emphasize shared values and interests, as well as laying emphasis on trust and cooperation. In addition, it is also important to celebrate team successes and achievements, as well as teaching the essence of conflict resolution.
All the six lessons are of equal importance. This is because they contribute to each o...