Working Together When Apart
I was on my way to London last week to conduct a series of programs on Creating Effective Global Teams, and coincidentally came across an interesting and timely article in the June 16th issue of the Wall Street Journal, called “Working Together When Apart.”
The article, by Dr. Lynda Gratton of the London Business School, acknowledges the growing importance of global virtual teams. It identifies the challenges teams face and recommends solutions to make them more effective. While the focus of this article is on process and virtual team management, it is clear that the impact of different cultures needs to be considered if the global team is to be successful.
We thought the article would be useful, especially in light of the references she makes to online resources and collaborative tools. As you know, RW³ has recently launched the Global Teams Tool, which allows participants to see and analyze the cultures on their team and develop tactics for working together.
As always, I look forward to your feedback and reactions. By the way, if you have not seen the new rw-3.com website, you are in for a treat.
- Mike
The writer’s observations are excellent. I would have liked some cultural anecdotes like the frustratioin of the Swiss members of my team who comment about the length of time we take to get started on a phone call. We devote 15 minutes to chatting before our team meetings.