“Bonding”, A Virtual Team Survival Tactic
NO, not bonding like guys going camping together, or a serendipitous encounter of old friends. I’m talking about some serious, planned, coming together of the team.I was surprised to discover that organizations deliberately globalize for increased profit,(Yeah, where have I been for the last 5 years.) and then burn out the team leaders managing those 24/7 projects.
Bonding can save the team lead from sure burn out by creating an ongoing people, process and project language bond. The lead establishes and maintains this bond by rotating people (physically) among the team locations, a few at a time. During those co-locations a consistent project language is used to explain the processes being used. The people become accustomed to the language and use it daily. Rotation of people among the sites spreads the word.
Then the leadership for work can shift to sites that follow the sun, allowing the team lead a break. They can now trust other sites to manage progress. Bond, trust, share leadership, survive!
Jim Sloane, Owner, PME
