They were soon joined by another Brazilian colleague, Gabriel, who shared a story about a recent weekend camping trip he’d been on in the rainforest. He’d slept under the stars and seen a jaguar hiding among the trees.

The conversation eventually moved on, back to the project they were busy developing.

Virtual as Normal

According to the 2018 Trends in High-Performing Global Virtual Teams report, Kirsten, Gabriel and Julio’s work setup is now the norm, with 89 percent of people working in at least one globally distributed team and 88 percent saying that these teams are critical to conducting daily work. In addition, 65 percent of people say that they work on teams with three or more cultures.

And, according to the research, they’re happy doing so, despite increased pressures from some employers to get people back into the office.

The Benefits and Challenges of Global Teams

So, what exactly are the pros of working in a global virtual team, and do they outweigh the cons?

Cultural Diversity

One of the things most people enjoy about being in a global virtual team is the snapshot they get of lives lived elsewhere on the globe.

While language barriers and cultural diversity can result in some miscommunication and misunderstandings, many of the people I asked while researching this newsletter said that the ability to learn about different cultures was one of things that they most enjoyed about working in a global virtual team.

But there are some things that can help us to work better in culturally rich teams:

1. Respect one another. Depending on where you live, you may celebrate different public holidays or religious events. In Brazil, for example, there are several saints’ days, while in India, there are 17 public holidays based on religious and cultural events. It’s essential we respect what’s important to one another in terms of our diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
2. Take the time to learn. Spend some time learning about your teammates’ culture, whether that be simply exploring social etiquette, discussing different foods and recipes, or understanding more about diverse local wildlife. Doing this can help to build trust, understanding and mutual respect. It can also build stronger relationships with your clients, particularly if you serve a diverse or global client base.

Time Zones and Meetings

The benefits of working in a global virtual team are often the drawbacks too.

Operating in different time zones can mean that you get round-the-clock service. And you might start your day discovering that a piece of work has already been completed by your Brazilian colleague, while you were asleep on the other side of the world.

But it can also mean that team meetings get squeezed into particular time slots when everyone’s available, making certain time periods very meetings-heavy.

Virtual meetings are still a sore point for many of us. Large meetings can alienate quieter group members. Others feel like these take up all their time. And according to the 2022 Global Virtual Work Survey, 61 percent of people still find “Zoom fatigue” somewhat or very challenging.

Here are some tips that can help you to run your virtual meetings more effectively:

1. Have regular one-on-ones, as well as team meetings. Regular one-to-ones with your people can help you to stay in touch and build direct relationships. They also offer a safe space where people can give opinions that they might not have the confidence to share in larger meetings.
2. Get the right tech. A good headset, good webcam, and of course, a good internet connection, are a small price to pay for glitch-free meetings.
3. Hone your virtual meeting skills. Body language can be hard to read in virtual meetings. But you still have a camera – so use it! Think about your posture... sit up straight, smile and nod. If you’re facilitating a large meeting, encourage the use of fun functions like the “react” option in Microsoft Teams, GIFs, emojis, and the meeting chat to share comments and questions.

Communication

One of the biggest challenges for global virtual teams is communication. A combination of poor internet connection, time zone differences, and language barriers can make communication even trickier.

Despite this, most global virtual teams have become increasingly adept at overcoming these kinds of challenges, with the 2022 Virtual Teams Survey showing that only 13 percent of people had trouble with intercultural communication.

But there are always some things we can do better, so here are some tips for improving communication in your virtual team:

1. Transparency. Be clear about what is and isn’t working for you. If some things are not being communicated well because of language barriers, call on the help of others who have bilingual skills. And make use of tools like Google Translate. You can also use the translate function in Teams to translate direct messages.
2. Get it in writing. If you’re working in a team where people’s first language is different to your own, their grasp of what’s being asked of them or the actions that you’ve agreed on verbally may not be enough. So, follow up with written processes, guides or actions.

Belonging

Another big problem that remains a challenge for lots of virtual and hybrid organizations is creating a sense of belonging and connection within and between teams. A 2022 report from Gartner revealed that only 24 percent of hybrid or remote workers felt connected to their organization’s culture.

Pre-pandemic, most companies depended on informal, in-office, in-person interactions and events to build and support culture. But the move to hybrid and virtual working has created a gap that leaders need to fill carefully and intentionally.

So how can virtual organizations create a sense of belonging and preserve company culture when people and teams are so dispersed?

1. Create connection through work. Start by looking at your work processes and how they match your organization’s values. Do people understand the benefit that their work brings to the organization? Or the impact that it creates for its stakeholders or clients? Do you celebrate this regularly?
2. Make time for in-person gatherings. As far as virtual working has come, the truth is nothing can replicate the value of in-person meetings. Although one of the positives of operating a virtual model is that you can recruit talent from anywhere, consider recruiting around locational “hubs.” You might have a team based in London and another in New York. Team members based in those locations can meet up on occasion.
3. Host regular all-company virtual meetings. Schedule regular all-company virtual meetings that everyone can attend, regardless of time zone. Try and reserve a portion of these meetings for fun, interactive exercises like Q&As, quizzes or brainstorming. Also, consider rotating the chair of these meetings between different teams.
4. Identify opportunities for cross-team collaboration. Think about how the separate teams in your business work together... do teams tend to keep to themselves? Or could opportunities be created for some teams to work more closely together? Consider creating cross-team projects between teams where natural synergies already exist, like the sales and marketing functions.

Working in a globally dispersed team can be a window to a world beyond our own. We get to explore and learn about other cultures and countries, and even hear about jaguars in the jungle.

There’s no doubt that virtual and hybrid work is here to stay. The research quoted above shows that virtual teams are often more productive. But work still needs to be done to preserve and protect organizational culture, so that employees still have that sense of belonging and emotional connection to the organization that’s needed for it to become a truly great place to work.

What's Next?

If you want to learn more about how to manage a global team, as well as how to overcome some of the typical challenges involved in doing so, read our article, Managing a Geographically Dispersed Team. And if you want to learn more about how global teams can better serve a global client base, listen to our interview with leadership expert, Dr Elisabeth Marx who explores everything from good governance to the psychology of managing a globally distributed team in her book, “The Power of Global Teams: Driving Growth and Innovation in a Fast-Changing World.”

Tip of the Week

Working Out What's Important: Advice From a President

By Matthew Hughes, Mind Tools Content Editor

Do the important things slip you by?

If you’re anything like me, you may find that you’re so busy trying to complete your day-to-day, urgent tasks that your bigger plans and ambitions fade into the background.

Well, this is where the 44th U.S. President can help.

In a 1954 speech, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

"I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."

Mind Tools has turned this quote into what we call the Eisenhower Principle, or Eisenhower Matrix.

To make sure that you’re focussing on the important things, divide your tasks, activities and projects into the following four categories: important and urgent; important but not urgent; urgent but not important; and finally, not important and not urgent.

Once you have your list, prioritize everything in that order, with particular focus on the “important but not urgent” category. These are the things that can fall away, like studying for a qualification or improving your portfolio.

I love this tool (and I’m confident in saying the rest of the Mind Tools team does too) because it helps you reprioritize your workflow to give time to the important things, without compromising on the urgent, routine tasks.

This principle has even more to offer so find out more about the Eisenhower Principle in our in-depth article or quick-fire infographic.

Pain Points Podcast

This week’s podcast asks: how do I balance my work and my kids?

Join three seasoned parents and Mind Tools editors and as they discuss the ways they’ve managed to balance raising a family while progressing in their careers.

Hear their stories – and learn tips and techniques along the way – in this week’s episode of Pain Points.

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News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Why We Need Young Leaders

We need multigenerational executives. At least that’s according to a new piece in Fast Company by Bill Adams.

Many older executives are retiring later due to poor succession planning and the fear of passing on the torch to younger generations.

Adams argues that leaders need to embrace and invest in young leadership. His three reasons as to why can be summed up as work-life balance, relevance and longevity.

High-pressure jobs can take a toll on older workers, and the new emphasis on work-life balance is something they can learn from. In a rapidly changing society and economy, companies need to stay relevant, and the inevitable departure of older workers means a company's longevity relies on cultivating young leaders.

How to Get a Remote Promotion

Even though global virtual teams are on the up, remote workers are still less likely to get promoted. New research by Live Data Technologies shows that remote workers in the U.S. got promoted 31 percent less frequently in the last year compared to office-based workers.

Writing for Forbes, Jack Kelly says there are things remote workers can do to ensure they stand out. The advice includes:

Establish consistent communication and share information, such as how you’re getting on with your projects and assignments, to demonstrate productivity and value.

• Overcommunicate to stay visible, such as scheduling regular one-on-ones with your boss to keep them informed.
• “Manage up” by anticipating your boss’s needs and company direction.
• These actions should mitigate “proximity bias” and keep you in the conversation, wherever you are in the world.

Read our articles Working From Home and Working in a Virtual Team on the Mind Tools site for more on making remote working work for you.

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mind Tools team!