The connected professional: becoming more effective in a virtual world

Dear Embracing Technology, The human spirit must prevail over technology– Albert Einstein The office today hardly resembles the office of Albert Einstein’s era in the early 1900s where the switchboard was literally a board and the computer took up a lot more space than your desk. Yet today his advice remains relevant, as we comb through email threads, attend virtual meetings and teleconferences from the comfort of our chairs all while trying to keep up with LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and more.

The virtual team has become a mainstay in corporate life. In a study published by The Academy of Management Executive, the authors describe a virtual team as a “group of people who work independently with shared purpose across space, time, and organisation boundaries, using technology to communicate and collaborate.” Virtual teams allow organisations to bring together people with the best expertise, regardless of where they live. The challenge now is for our skills to keep up to stay relevant.

Challenge If you thought communication was an important skill in the workplace, wait until you are in that teleconference call and your manager can’t see your facial expressions.

Your mood and tone become even more important than ever when you are on that call. According to research, your tone accounts for 38% of what is communicated, and your words are 7%, whilst 55% of your communication is your body language. We must agree based on our experiences, that different tones convey different messages, even when the same words are used.

Communicating by email and instant messaging can be equally challenging, especially when a virtual team includes members from different countries and cultures. Believe it or not, the written word also has a tone and it is easy to be misunderstood.

Tip Remember there are no visual clues when you are on that teleconference call, so ensure your tone is consistent with the message you want to deliver and be clear and crisp when speaking.

Likewise, review your email and check your choice of words for opportunities to be misunderstood. Is the tone of the email rough or courteous? How would it be received? Did you include all the relevant information in the email? Sometimes we write as though people have a sneak peek into our minds. Make sure the tone is pleasant, that the information is thorough, and the reader has all the information so he can respond accordingly and take action.

An important part of communicating clearly is knowing how to listen. Listening is an underestimated skill in the workplace.

If your manager called you in his office for a meeting, would you bring your laptop and work on another report while he is speaking to you? If you don’t do it in a face-to-face meeting, then why do it in a virtual meeting? Always use active listening skills when someone else is speaking, never multi task when you’re listening. Give the other person your full attention; not only will you understand them better, it’s also a sign of respect and courtesy.

Communicating with instant messaging is considered to be a less formal form of communication.

Nevertheless, pay attention to the possibility that your message may be misunderstood, particularly if it has emotional content. Agree with your team that it’s acceptable to use emoticons, and then use them to clarify any message where the emotional meaning could be taken the wrong way.

Challenge Communication technology is a good thing but with the ease and benefits of communication technology, we risk becoming disconnected in a connected world.

Building sound relationships at work is critical for building an effective team, whether it is a virtual team or not. The main question is how do we build an effective team, when the research and development department is outsourced to a company in India, the digital marketing gurus are in Canada, the website guys are in Croatia, and your accountants are on Level two, #66 Pembroke Street? Tip To build an effective team you must build the relationships. You must be deliberate and intentional in building a relationship with your virtual team.

An important part of establishing a relationship with anyone, virtual team or not, is building and maintaining trust. Trust evolves differently in virtual teams than normal teams in the office. In an office, team members build relationships through social interaction and collaborative work, which leads to trust. Researchers call this benevolent or interpersonal trust.

However, in a virtual team, colleagues build trust through reliability, consistency, and responsiveness – this is called ability-based, or task-based trust.

Make an extra effort to keep your word to show you are reliable. If you agree on a deadline, or you make a promise to action an item, do what you promised to do. When you demonstrate your integrity and work ethic, your team members will learn that they can rely on you.

Remember to be sensitive to your colleagues in different time zones.

You may be expecting a bit too much for your colleague if you expect them to be highly vocal or engaged in the meeting scheduled at 3 am his time, while you just came back from having a tall caramel macchiato from the Starbucks around the corner. If possible, try to schedule important meetings for times when you’re both in the office.

Communication technologies are here to stay and you should use the very same technologies such as Twitter and LinkedIn to build relationships and stay relevant.

Working in a virtual environment requires a different mindset and a deliberate way of interacting.

Remember, business, like life, is about building relationships. The human spirit must prevail over technology if you want to remain professionally relevant.

AFETT is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2002 with the goal of bringing together professional women and engaging in networking opportunities, professional training and business ideas. ASK AFETT is a column meant to address issues and concerns of professionals seeking advice to assist in progressing in their careers. Today’s response was written by Charlene Pedro, AFETT President- Elect; Managing Director – Conventus Consultinc, corporate coach and trainer. Learn more about AFETT at www.afett.com or by contacting the Secretariat at admin.afett@gmail.

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