Last week I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Maren Deepwell at the OER22 Conference about Building Connections with Virtual Teams.
This session was actually an extension of a conversation Maren and I had on the radio about leading and working with teams virtually, so it was really fun to make it a part of OER22 as well. We started first by introducing ourselves and breaking down the modes of working, which Maren brilliantly shares in the following visual:
No matter your mode of working, whether fully remote or in a hybrid environment, we argued that you would likely encounter challenges that tend to circle back to the 4 “Cs”:
- The larger Culture of a team: your shared approach to work based on core values — are these readily available? The overall mission that drives your team…is it clear?
- The methods by which you’re Connecting as a team: is everyone on the same page? Are you aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses? Do you know what your teammates are working on, what they’re struggling with?
- How your team is being Cared for: is there a general sense of trust and understanding? Are folks supported or encouraged to have work/life balance? Is work being celebrated? Or taking a step back even further… How is work being seen in a remote environment?
- How the team is Communicating: does your team know where to go to ask for help? If they’re offline when a decision is made, how is that communicated?
Maren and I then spoke about our personal experiences with the above by considering our own challenges, offering strategies that have proved successful, and sharing tools and best practices for building connections in virtual spaces. The full conversation can be found here and embedded below if you want to check it out:
