Working Virtually [OP]: Managing People for Successful Virtual Teams and Organizations

Virtual working is a fact of life as companies manage teams of individuals dispersed on sites across the country or around the globe; take increasing advantage of improving technology and software to telecommute and teleconference; and begin to think about the human element in disaster recovery.

The key to successful dispersed working is not technological expertise, but a clear understanding of what it takes to get the enterprise ready for virtual work, and of the skills for bonding individuals into cohesive, high-performance teams across distances and differences.

This book provides that guidance - through work charts, vivid "composite" examples, definitions and actual cases - and shows how the technological tools support and expand the options for collaboration.

It answers such critical questions as "What makes working virtually work?", "How do we start?", "How do you develop new leaders in a virtual environment?", "What skills do virtual managers and team members need?", "How do you determine how ready they are?", "Which technologies are most appropriate for your purposes?", "What’s the impact on existing systems and structures?"

This book is an indispensable practical guide and reference for virtual team leaders, HR managers, CEO’s and trainers. It will also be suitable for professional certification and business courses in organizational development.

Trina Hoefling has been at the forefront in the field of remote management training, leading with the message that “Technology is the enabler, but People are the key.” Trina is an organization development and transformational change consultant, graduate school professor and master teacher, strategic facilitator, leadership coach and virtual team collaboration expert. A noted author and speaker, she is also a contributing chapter author in The Handbook of High Performance Virtual Teams, “The Three-Fold Path: Building Trust in a Virtual Team.” Trina is an accomplished thought leader who has never lost her passion for helping people and organizations grow. She especially enjoys being an online learning engagement facilitator, coach and shadow consultant to support today’s career professionals, teams and committed organizations.