The Handbook of High-Performance Virtual Teams is an essential resource for leaders, virtual team members, and work group leaders. The editors provide a proved framework based on five principles for working collaboratively across boundaries of time, space, and culture. Written by experts in the field, the contributors offer practical suggestions and tools for virtual team who need to assess their current level of effectiveness and develop strategies for improvement. This important resource also contains an array of illustrative cases as well as practical tools for designing, implementing, and maintaining effective virtual work.

In today’s complex organizations it is not uncommon to have as many as 50 percent of employees working on virtual teams. As the “virtual revolution” continues to spread, how can companies ensure that virtual team collaboration is producing the desired results? Highly practical and easy to navigate, Virtual Team Success leverages the authors’ robust global research study and hands-on experience to provide an immediately usable resource for virtual team members and team leaders. This groundbreaking book is a hands-on, practical toolkit filled with down-to-earth examples and insights that can enhance the virtual team experience for everyone involved. The authors’ research study is one of the most comprehensive applied studies ever conducted on virtual teams, and all of the recommendations outlined are based on these findings as well as the authors’ years of experience helping virtual teams and virtual team leaders effectively lead and collaborate from a distance. To help organizations and leaders enhance virtual team performance, the book includes: Why Virtual Teams Fail—outlines the four pitfalls that frequently derail virtual teams Profile of High Performing Teams—addresses the characteristics of the most effective virtual teams and what makes them successful Virtual Team Launch Kit—provides practical guidelines and tools for successfully launching virtual teams How to RAMP Up Your Team’s Effectiveness—introduces a practical research-based model of virtual team effectiveness to improve team performance Profile of Top Performing Virtual Team Leaders—identifies the practices of the most successful virtual team leaders Facilitating High-Impact Virtual Meetings—includes tips and techniques to effectively lead “v-meetings” Virtual Team Success also includes practical resources for virtual team leaders, quick reference guides for diagnosing virtual team problems, and six lessons for virtual team success.

The papers included in this volume identify some of the problems and some of the solutions to the kinds of problems that arise through working as virtual teams. They provide a framework for thinking about such problems and ideas that can form a foundation for advancing practice in the field.

Virtual Teams That Work offers a much-needed, comprehensive guidebook for business leaders and managers who want to create the organizational conditions that will help virtual teams thrive. Each chapter in this important book focuses on best practices and includes case studies and illustrative examples from a wide variety of companies, including British Petroleum, Lucent Technologies, Ramtech, SoftCo, and Whirlpool Corporation. These real-life examples demonstrate how the principles identified in the book play out within virtual teams. Virtual Teams That Work shows how organizations can put in place the structure to help team members who speak different languages and have different cultural values develop effective ways of communicating when there is little opportunity for the members to meet face-to-face. The authors also reveal how organizations can implement performance management and reward systems that will motivate team members to cooperate across multiple boundaries. And they offer the information to determine which technologies best fit a variety of virtual-team tasks and the level of information technology support needed.

Get solid collaboration from team members in remote locations Globalization and new technologies have made team collaboration from distant geographical locations—on the road, from home or client sites, even on the other side of the globe—a routine part of business. Managing these teams requires new skills and sensitivities to maximize team and organizational performance. Emphasizing pragmatism over theory and offering helpful tips instead of vague observations, Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams helps you bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation and get peak performance from employees you rarely see. You will learn how to: Keep team members in remote locations motivated and involved Coach for peak performance via e-mail, telephone, teleconference, and videoconference Help widely scattered team members understand their contribution to the business Build consensus for decisions among virtual team members Learn effective communication and feedback techniques for enhancing team performance Briefcase Books, written specifically for today’s busy manager, feature eye-catching icons, checklists, and sidebars to guide managers step by step through everyday workplace situations. Look for these innovative features to help you navigate each page: Clear definitions of key terms and concepts Tactics and strategies for managing virtual teams Tricks of the trade for executing effective management techniques Practical advice for minimizing the possibility of error Warning signs for when things are about to go wrong Examples of successful virtual managing Specific planning procedures, tactics, and hands-on techniques

Understand the dynamics of all different types of teams Beyond Team Building: How to Build High Performing Teams and the Culture to Support Them represents the latest in thinking about creating effective teams. The authors present a new “Five C” framework that focuses on the core aspects of team building. The book helps the reader assess how his/her team is performing on each of the 5Cs—context, composition, competencies, change, and collaborative leadership, and discusses options concerning how to improve team performance along each of these dimensions. The book includes: • A wealth of examples of effective (and ineffective) teams from such companies as Cisco Systems, Bain & Company, and Amazon • New material concerning how to develop effective entrepreneurial and family teams • How to manage cross-cultural, virtual, and alliance teams • How to create a “team building organization” This book provides the next generation of team leaders, team members, and team consultants with the knowledge and skills they need to create effective and high functioning teams.

The book Managing Virtual Teams, explores the critical elements that must be considered in managing virtual teams in organizations – from structural, managerial, and process points-of-view. Based in solid research, the book provides a deep look at the nature of virtual teams and the factors that enable their success. It lays out in clear detail the key characteristics of virtual teams and traces their emergence within organizations and the research literature. It makes a valuable contribution with clear guidelines for managerial practice - both to researchers interested in learning about virtual teams and to managers and organizations dealing with the challenges of managing virtual teams.