Leading Virtual Teams
A few years ago, I purchased a new GPS system. I got it all set up. The GPS came up and told me where I was (which I knew). This really isn’t helpful, is it? Heck, I can figure out where I am by looking out the window and save myself $200. In order for this GPS tool to really work well, I needed to tell it where I wanted to go. This is no different when leading virtual teams.
Your team needs to know where it is going.
More importantly, we all have a desire to do something bigger than ourselves. As leaders in your company, you need to build your team around your companies WHY. Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, gave a great presentation: “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” I highly recommend you watch his talk to truly get why the WHY is so important.
Simon talks about hiring people who believe in what you stand for. People who don’t just want a paycheck, but people who want to be a part of what you are building as a team.
Our WHY started with our founder: Pablo. He is an entrepreneur and engineer with a deep passion for development. In his work, he couldn’t find a project management solution that really improved collaboration for both internal and external teams. He needed a system that effectively and efficiently helped people collaborate.
So, his WHY was quickly defined. The desire to build something useful for millions of users ultimately led him to found Teambox. Now, we have a team spread out throughout the world focused on helping others collaborate at new and extreme levels. Yes, we have the greatest collaboration software on the market. (You can say we are very confident.) More importantly, our team’s WHY is all about you. Our organisation believes in thinking and working differently so that people can do amazing things.
If your team has a deficient sense of ownership and commitment, lack of direction, or lack of understanding your WHY, you have some work to do. Before you build your virtual team, the first thing you need to do is focus on your team’s and/or company’s WHY.
