Strategic Decisions Without Borders (3)

Traveling costs are going up.

Video conferencing is on the rise

Your virtual team of project implementers are located at
different remotes. How do you get them to made decisions as a team?

If some teams cannot make decisions in close quarters,

what are the chances that they will make decisions
efficiently well at remote locales?

How do you get them to collaboratively operate as a team?

While technology connects people,

a good strategic decision-making process

is the key to a strategic success.
Do you have a process that can get people to
operate effectively as a team?

Since 2006, everyone are still focused on the matters of different locations, time zones, and culture. They do not know how to build a big picture as a team. They do not have a process to make decisions. Nothing has changed. Technology evolves. Jobs are continually being outsourced. Salary and bonuses for the worker-bees declines. Attention span decreases.

Most people continually think tactically. They do not assess the big picture and do not try to understand the premise of the "big picture" strategy. ... When people does not connect with the big picture strategy, one can expect bad things. ... Life goes on. ...

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Where In the World?

James Bain

September 1, 2010

More and more projects span different locations, time zones, even cultures. It only makes the project manager’s job more challenging. To succeed on such projects, you must learn how to improve your interactions with remote team members. Here are six suggestions.

Managing people and projects from across the hall is tough enough. Managing people and projects from different cities, states, time zones, or countries is infinitely more difficult. You might as well be on different planets. And, as the world economy changes, this remote sort of management is becoming more and more common. Whether your organization has a sales force spread around the country, an engineering group located across the state, or projects you might be building across town, the lack of opportunity to “run into” the other members of your team can be devastating to the team’s performance. While there are certainly some advantages to a remote workforce, its downsides must be recognized and either minimized or avoided completely.

The goal of most organizations and sub-organizations is to deliver something of value to their external customers, their internal customers, or both. As such, the difficulty of managing people remotely has a direct impact on both the productivity of the workforce and the quality and quantity of the end product or service. To operate at peak performance today, project managers must learn how to improve their interactions with remote team members.

Studies over the last five decades have held that motivational triggers exist at differing levels for each individual. The most basic of these needs, such as food, water and shelter are satisfied by means of a salary or wage and are not affected by the location of the worker. Middle level needs such as relationships, work conditions, and a sense of belonging are easier to satisfy when people work in direct contact with each other. In other words, remote employees are inclined to be dissatisfied with their work because it is more difficult to develop the necessary relationships.

There is limited “face time.” Fortunately, if those management hurdles are cleared, the highest level needs such as achievement, the work itself, recognition, responsibility and advancement, are not only possible, but often enhanced by remote working arrangements.

The key, then, is to take creative measures to ensure that remote relationships are built and nurtured. Many people have experienced that feeling that they think, act and speak in different languages than their spouse, children, or boss. They might as well be from different planets.

How can project managers make sure that they are on the same planet as their remote team members?

1. Start by agreeing on the outcomes you seek. Engage in true two-way communication. Be specific about the desired results of the work. Confirm that all parties understand the details of the desired results. Agree on a “get well” date. When will the project be finished? Remotely located employees have more flexibility in the “how,” but need to have fairly specific goals and objectives on the “what” and the “when.”

2. Get out of your office and go see your remotely located people. Whether you schedule your trips to your remote locations on a regular basis or a more haphazard basis is not critical. Visiting their turf, their offices, their project sites is! Back in the 1970’s this was called MBWA — Management by Walking Around. People want to see you so that they feel as if they have access to you and so they know that you care.

3. Institute a daily or weekly “How can I help you?” call. At an agreed upon time, if you and your remotely located people have not yet talked, part of your responsibility as a manager is to find out how you can help. This regular call will go a long way to building the trust that occurs more readily when they are just across the hall. Make this call one of your good habits.

4. Use technology to its fullest potential. Nearly, everyone is aware of e-mail. Videoconferences, on-line virtual meeting sites such as Second Life, and social networks like Facebook and Twitter, are excellent examples. While there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction, current technology can get you pretty darn close. This is also an excellent way to bridge the generation gaps that are developing in today’s workforce. If you are a baby boomer, learn to e-mail, text and maybe even Tweet your gen-X and gen-Y employees. They will appreciate the effort just as inhabitants of a different planet would appreciate you learning their language.

5. Walk a mile in their shoes. The construction business is a great example. The office personnel find it hard to understand the difficulty of working out of a hot dusty pick-up truck with paper spread everywhere, no place to fill out all of the necessary forms, and Burger King bags on the passenger seat floor. Develop a “day in the life” program. Set up opportunities for staff from different groups in your organization to spend a half or whole day job shadowing each other. The experience will help different functions understand the difficulties each group faces when working away from the “head shed.”

6. Care. Take the time to communicate with your people in any form available. It will help to build those relationships so necessary for job satisfaction. Start by asking your people about their lives, their work, their needs. Then shut up and listen. You’ll be surprised what you learn.

The rapidly increasing incidence of remote management can directly and severely impact the job satisfaction for your remote employees. Decreased job satisfaction has a negative impact on productivity and performance. The reality is that special measures must be taken to alleviate those issues. Using these tips will help you practice the first three rules of effective employee management: communicate, communicate, communicate!

James S. Bain, MBA, is an author, speaker, consultant, and coach. He is the founder of Focus on the 5, a division of Falcon Performance Institute, a consulting and corporate training firm focused on productive performance. Look for Jim’s soon to be published book, “Never Pass on a Chance to P- A Roadmap to Peace in Your Life.” For more information: www.falconadv.com.

Copyright © 2010 projects@work All rights reserved.

http://www.projectsatwork.com/article.cfm?ID=258496

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A properly-built team strategic decision process enables the project implementors to effectively utilize their technology in specific situations. Without a process, technology is only effective in limited situations.

Our Compass AE methodology is a strategic decision approach that emphasizes on advanced planning. It enables the project team to use our Tangible Vision module to plan their goal and their strategic overview. They are always collaboratively prepared for all situations. The team understands what are the specific priorities, the particular approaches and the contingencies for the different circumstances that could occur.

This process also allows them to make decisions regardless of the distance, the technology and the project culture.

In future posts, we will explain the beneficial values of Compass AE.

If you are interested in knowing more about Compass 360 Consulting services, please contact us at http://www.formspring.me/Compass360CG