Keep on keeping on – how to maintain your team’s momentum

Introduction

Part-time working from home for one or two days a week has been common for several years and employees and their managers have settled into different ways of working.  Then overnight full-time home working for some organisations became mandatory for all their employees. There was no time to plan or provide specialised training. Yes, most of these employees have an ‘office in their pocket’ and may be accustomed to using modern communication platforms.  But technology alone is not the answer to the challenges of working virtually. To hold the team together and maintain momentum human engagement must be the top priority.

Before looking at specific ways to maintain momentum, check you have addressed the following points:

Have you revised the team’s plans?  Has your team adapted its plans to the new business environment?  In your discussions did you cover the team’s shared purpose and vision; the team’s required outcomes; its measures of success; new system of communicating; and who does what and by when?

Have you shifted to a new mind-set, new behaviours and processes?  In this fragile environment a new mind-set recognises that it’s all about relationships.  It recognises that members of the team need to spend substantially more time communicating with each other.  Time for social chit chat should be built into virtual meetings. ‘People persons’ will immediately see the relevance of this, whilst team members who are primarily task or systems focussed may need to learn the importance of ‘small talk’ and patience!

New challenges are likely to include:

– difficulty contacting a colleague when help or a quick decision is needed

–  handling disagreements; and

– getting to grips with a new communication platform.

Providing prompt support will strengthen working relationships and help maintain momentum.

Specific points to maintain momentum

In a virtual team the risk of losing momentum is larger than in a traditional team.  For example, a manager in a dispersed team will find it more difficult to check on progress and quality of work.  In addition, the manager will not be available for the kinds of quick and informal conversations that face to face contact make easy and which serve to maintain focus, encouragement, support and motivation.  To counter this the manager should discuss and agree the following actions:

Conflict slows things down

Conflict is likely in any team.  As this danger can be hidden in virtual team working it is important to find ways to encourage team members to ‘speak up’ and express their opinions.  Even in the coming difficult next year or so endeavour to have a light touch. Often ‘a smile is a curved line that makes things straight’.

Maintain team bonding

A long spell of working virtually can create a feeling of loneliness, being left out, abandoned or forgotten, resulting in stress, health issues and lower productivity.  Some team members will find full-time virtual working particularly difficult.

For example, an extrovert team member (as defined by Myers Briggs Personality Types) is likely to feel cut off from the rest of the organisation if they are no longer energised by social interaction with people within and outside their organisation.  Managers should find way out each team member’s preferred ways of working. Otherwise productivity will drop as will the team’s momentum.

Use existing skills and tools

Although virtual working is significantly different than traditional face to face team working, don’t forget to use other skills and tools you have learned e.g. project management skills, how to delegate effectively, influencing with integrity and Bruce Tuckman’s stages of team development.  Using your existing skills and tools will help to maintain momentum.

If you only take away two points from this article, they are:

– change your mind-set in order to succeed in this new environment

– encourage all team members to significantly increase the volume and quality of communications.

Richard Fox  is founder of pan-European firm The Learning Corporation and author of new book Making Relationships Work at Work – a toolkit for getting more done with less stress available June, priced £15.99

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