Create Effective Virtual Teams

Overview

What are the critical levers when managing virtual teams?

What specific challenges do they present?

How can managers facilitate communication and prevent conflicts in virtual teams?

How can I strengthen relationships that are very diverse in nature?

What tools and technologies can be used to support and increase the effectiveness of geographically dispersed project teams?

The prevalence of virtual teams has been one of the most relevant organizational trends in recent years. Enhanced communication and information technologies have allowed companies to reach new international markets and tap into previously inaccessible talent pools in search of streamlined production processes and lower development costs. Despite these potential advantages, managing a virtual team presents technical and social challenges that don’t arise in traditional work settings.

Create Effective Virtual Teams provides strategies to help participants maintain transparency in the communication process and minimize the conflicts that frequently arise when integrating diverse geographical, organizational and social contexts. Led by IESE Business School faculty experts, the program examines the nature of distributed teams, analyzes the unique challenges inherent in designing and managing multicultural teams, and outlines mechanisms designed to foster a climate of cooperation and collaboration.

Create Effective Virtual Teams helps participants go beyond the simple recognition of cross-cultural and geographical differences, and enables them to develop capabilities that leverage diversity. Participants leave the program equipped with enriched decision-making capabilities and the ability to harness new ideas that will ultimately boost the organization’s competitiveness.

Participants

The program is aimed at regional directors, first-line managers, project managers, human resource professionals and IT directors who currently manage virtual teams or will need to do so in the future.