Virtual project teams

Whereas operational work units are usually co-located, meaning they are all working together under one roof, project teams often work remotely, only ever communicating via email, video conference, and other file-sharing technologies.

For example, the project that developed OPEN was managed from Australia, but had specialist team members working on it in South Africa, India, and the USA. 

It also outsourced smaller parcels of work to Romania, Croatia, and the Netherlands!

The virtual team format is very compelling in that it makes it possible to:

• Form teams of people from the same company who live in widespread geographic areas
• Add special expertise to a project team that would not otherwise be available
• Accommodate employees who work from home offices
• Form teams of people who work different shifts or hours, and
• Include people with mobility limitations or disabilities.

So, how can you be a better virtual project manager?

Trust

Situations like these require you to trust your people.

Micromanaging just won’t work over distances of hundreds or thousands of miles.

Your leadership style (which we will discuss in the next Unit) should relax from authoritarian to delegative.

It is nonetheless important, though, that you adhere to the good practice principles of delegation we discussed earlier.

Over-communicate

As we know, the early and iterative identification of things that can and have gone wrong in projects is a critical factor for success. 

If there is a delay in realizing something is amiss, the impacts may be felt exponentially across time, cost, or scope.

Regular communication thus becomes an even more critical factor for project success.

After all, when you’re around each other, a lot of information is picked up through informal discussions and office chatter.

While separated this won’t happen, you need to put effort into communicating more and not assuming people know.

Importantly, comprehensive project documentation that is maintained in real-time – and that is easy to access and search – becomes a critical backstop to the other communication media introduced and critiqued in Unit 4.

Leverage technology

There are numerous platforms to communicate with, share work on, and track projects.

Use them – they will be crucial.

But be aware technological interdependence is critical when working over distance. 

Although it has improved in recent years, basic incompatibility issues still exist even between PC and Mac operating systems.

Team members using different software, or even different configurations of the same software, can bring serious chaos to otherwise straightforward projects.

You should therefore endeavour to harmonise operating systems and reduce the number of different platforms users need to login to, if for no other reason than to ensure efficient task performance.

Be human

When you see your coworkers at work, you inevitably ask how they’re doing and what’s up in their life. 

Don’t stop just because you’re working remotely.

That human connection is often the difference between teams that are norming/performing and storming.

In the next Unit, we will also introduce the principles of emotional intelligence as they apply to leadership.

Be patient

Understand that things will move a little slower when you are working in a virtual space.

You and your people will be doing something unfamiliar, so it’s going to take a little longer to get things done.

Everyone is adjusting to a different system and not being together.

That said, there’s a good chance you’ll identify some improvements to your normal processes as a result of this new form of engagement!

Source: Herb Thompson

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Managing volunteers

A huge number of projects – especially in the community and not-for-profit sectors – depend in part or in full on a volunteer workforce.

By definition, volunteers are donating their time (and often money) freely to the project.

In other words, they believe so strongly in the intended outcomes of the project and the objectives of the organization or group delivering it that they are willing to forego a sometimes significant portion of their leisure to that cause.

If that is the case, then the counterfactual proposition also holds true: if that faith is broken, they will withdraw their services.

So, how do you get the most out of project volunteers?

The obvious answer is to value their contributions.

From an administrative point of view, this quite literally means pricing their labor in planning and delivery. 

The price you put on their effort need only be notional – $x per hour – yet as we discussed in Unit 5 on the topic of Budgeting, this allows us to:

• track the effort contributed
• see whether individuals are being under or over-worked, and
• accurately capitalize costs when valuing the project’s outputs.

It also sends a signal to volunteers that their donated time is valuable and appreciated, while at the same time seeking their agreement through the plan to commit x hours to the project.

From a leadership point of view, there are a number of other ways you can value volunteers’ time:

• Correctly induct them into your organization and onboard them into the project
• Be positive, patient, and respectful in all your interactions 
• Delegate meaningful tasks that are explicitly linked to project outcomes and organizational objectives (not just the project’s outputs)
• Properly resource them to deliver those tasks
• Where appropriate, give them autonomy around how tasks can be delivered, as long as task deliverables are on time and to scope
• Create opportunities for them to develop new experiences, skills, and networks
• Regularly seek their feedback and act quickly in response to any issues or opportunities they raise
• Personally and professionally appreciate their efforts with appropriate recognition and reward