Leading dispersed teams: it’s all about communication

Dispersed teams can be described as ‘teams working together apart’. These teams have members who are not in the same place and they come from different countries, cultures and time zones. 

Managing geographically-dispersed teams is not an easy issue. Probably the most difficult task is to create a deep sense of belonging to the team among the different members and at the same time keep a high productivity performance. For that purpose it is mandatory to have a clear strategy, very solid values and a strong leadership. The team members need to know and understand what they are doing together. If they understand only their own work, they will always just be individual contributors. So it is necessary finding some time to be together to share knowledge and experience and, of course, to socialize.

Team members located together have opportunities to socialize throughout the day. Virtual teams don’t, so it is more important for the manager to look for ways they can be together. This might include getting  time in a face-to-face meetings.

According to some researches face-to-face meetings are best when occurring at predictable times and intervals. This allows team members to plan their time and interactions, reserving discussion of certain complex or delicate issues for those in-person interactions.

Therefore it seems very clear that the key for dispersed team members commitment is communication. You need to be extremely proactive in your communications to make sure everyone understands what is expected. The communication lines on a this kind of team must be opened up especially wide.

Communication is all about conversations. So the first task for a team leader is listening to the team and give all the members opportunities to express their opinions and feelings. The leader must build a safe and confident atmosphere to be sure  the conversations and feedback are sincere and honest.

It is also very recommended to conduct periodic employee satisfaction surveys to truly understand the issues that concern people and to design an action plan to deal with the improvement areas.

Some interesting articles on managing virtual and dispersed teams are:

Working together… when apart (Wall Street Journal)

Managing virtual teams (Harvard Business Review)

10 tips for virtual management teams (Tech Republic)

The role of the leader in the innovation process

One way for organizations to become more innovative is to capitalize on their employees’ ability to innovate. Employees can help to improve business performance through their ability to generate ideas for new and better products, services or work processes. But the challenge is to put this theory into practice.

In order to realize a continuous flow of innovations, employees need to be both willing and able to innovate. For that reason it is imperative to create a good working atmosphere and provide the right tools and skills.

Probably the most important ingredient for both things is the leader as enabler and enhancer of innovative behaviours among the employees. Leading by example is the best way to promote this kind of behaviour as far as leaders have a powerful source of influence on any work behaviour. In addition to that the leader must promote employees’ interaction with others in the workplace.

Innovation theorists often describe the innovation process as being composed of two main phases: ideas generation and implementation. For the first one the leader must reinforce the creativity capabilities of the team. The goal is to find good ideas that can be productive for the firm and implemented in the short-medium term. The leader should stimulate team members to view problems in new ways and help them to develop to their full potential.

Most companies however fail in the implementation (when ideas should become real products, services or processes). The role of the leader in this point is key. He should act as a real organizational facilitator and help the team to implement the new idea.

Finally there's another important task for the leader: expectations management. The leader must ensure that everyone understands that innovation is not just finding great ideas. Make small improvements in processes is another useful form of innovation.

Detecting sales force productivity inhibitors

According to a working paper by Doug J. Chung (Harvard Business School) sales force costs average about 10% of sales revenues and as much as 40% of sales revenues for certain industries. Therefore, when managing a sales network (particularly in B2B companies where personal selling is probably the most important element in the value chain) we must be sure that the level of productivity is the highest possible.

Detecting the potential sales force productivity inhibitors is consequently a strategic priority. In each case the causes that could prevent achieving an optimal level of productivity may be different. It is therefore necessary to make a specific study adapted to the characteristics of each sales force.

In any case it is likely that the results obtained in this research can be the combination of several of the following possibilities (among many others):

• Lack of motivation.
• Excessive dedication to non-selling tasks (administrative, post-sales service, etc) vs commercial tasks (prospecting, client presentations, negotiations and closing deals).
• Lack of ROI culture.
• Poor management process automation.
• Poor internal communications: goals are not clear enough, the strategy is unknown, lack of knowledge sharing culture, etc.
• Home office working.
• Inadequate talent management (lack of skills, competencies, etc for the assigned function, inadequate wage compesation, bonus not focused on results, etc).
• Poor time management.
• Excessive internal processes (too many levels of authorization, too many partners, etc.).
• Inadequate organization (geographic location, organizational location, work distribution, etc.).
• Poor leader delegation (everything has to go through him/her).
• Ineffective corporate policies and excess of bureaucracy.
• Hostile or bad work enviroment.
• No implementation (or lack of use) of new technological tools (smartphones, webinars, tablets, etc.)
• Lack of personal & professional life balance

As I mentioned before it is very useful to conduct a survey among the sales people to truly understand what make them be more or less productive and design a good action plan to improve the current results.

The Challenge of a Marathon Businessman Runner

37,440 Kms later, I’m proud to say that I finished my 12th marathon (42,195 kilometers or 26 miles and 385 yards) in less than three hours. Many people keep asking me today for the reasons why after so long I face such a demanding challenge every year.

It all started in 2001. After thinking about it for several weeks, I decided to take my summer vacation on the beach to incorporate some healthy habits in my daily life and start doing some exercise. I thought it would be easy to start running as it is a sport that depends only on yourself. And as it didn't require any special infrastructure it was the ideal solution for my frequent business trips. That's how I run my first kilometer...

I gradually improved my fitness until, four months after I started training, I thought it was time to do my first marathon. I finished in 3 hours 56 minutes. Test passed! I realized that, as in professional life, defining goals and implementing action plans to achieve them, also work in sports. So, once recovered from this hard first experience, I set myself a new, a bit more ambitious challenge.

The importance of maintaining the discipline of training and of being fully committed to the goal became increasingly evident. Translated into the routine of everyday life, that means I must always be prepared to go running when I have free time, whether it rains or not, whether I feel like it or not.

That dynamic has given me really nice experiences. For example, I have trained in places as disparate as the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, on a timber transport path near Ohio or on the road between Maasmechelen and Maastricht (across the international border between Belgium and the Netherlands). It also allowed me to enjoy some moments of urban tourism during my trips (for example, I have run under the Eiffel Tower and over the bridges of the Seine River in Paris). Moreover, all this time I also had the opportunity to share increasingly this passion with my business colleagues. Jogging and chatting with a partner is a highly recommended experience.

Behind all this there is very much physical effort and, above all, mental strength. Many people say the sport is addictive and I fully agree. If I spend more than three days without running, somehow the body asks me to go out... Of course there is pain, tiredness or routine, but there is also time for reflection and introspection when I run alone, and for conversation when I run together with somebody.

The keys? Discipline, perseverance, patience and lots of willpower. You have to set ambitious goals, but at the same time, you must be realistic about your capabilities. Trying to achieve certain results too quickly or without having previously done the "homework," leads you to failure and discouragement.

This lifestyle allows you to meet the personal and professional challenges in the same way and builds your character. It helps you understand the importance of effort and discipline, and to develop a highly resilient personality.

I am often asked about my preferred running event. I always answer the same: my first marathon and last. The first because it was a real milestone for me. The last because it is the closest and that it is what I talk about more with my colleagues, friends and family. And I enjoy talking about it ... This year's result - 2 hours 58 minutes in the Madrid Marathon, was also a special accomplishment that everybody who knows me has celebrated with me.

Talking about my family: for me it is very important to count on them. I fortunately have the support of my wife and sons. They accompany me and give me courage in the most challenging runs, and they willingly accept that I have to spend some of my free time doing my training. It is certainly a privilege that I very much appreciate from the bottom of my heart.

Today, after running more than 37,440 kilometers (23,264 miles), I'm as excited and engaged as the first day. Running is a lifestyle I like and it makes me grow a little more each day. It is a pleasure that, for now, I will not resign. After all, I only have 2,635 kilometers left to complete a world tour. Not even a year...