Collaborate Effectively Even When You’re Working Remotely
Collaboration is especially difficult right now, when some, or all, of your team is working remotely. But there are steps you can take to ensure your team is effectively moving ahead in accomplishing group goals. You may be tempted to set aside a specific time to do this, but you don’t want to add to people’s already overcrowded schedules. Use existing meetings to brainstorm, set vision, align roles, or have other creative and strategic discussions. Set an agenda in advance, and assign someone to facilitate the meeting to keep the group on track and focused on decision-making. Also, remember that not every communication needs to happen in a meeting. When you can, use shared documents that can be updated and tracked by multiple people asynchronously, and set clear deadlines for the team to review. You can also encourage people to work virtually “side by side” to push forward a shared project. They might get on a video call to work together, so that they can easily stop and ask a question or request feedback. Working together well from afar is difficult, but it’s possible, with intentionality and focus.
“4 Tips for Effective Virtual Collaboration,” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders