The 5 Rs in Ramping Up as a Virtual Team

We’re stepping into the last week of the month and many teams may feel like the holidays were many, many months ago! Other teams may feel that they are just hitting their stride.
This week I wanted to share the 5 Rs for Virtual and Remote Teams in Ramping up  In my work as a coach, author and trainer, I speak a lot about helping teams remember things, by making things memorable, and my hope is that the 5Rs will be something to stick.
The 5 Rs for Virtual Teams to Consider are:
·         Relationships
·         Results
·         Resourcing
·         Requirements
·         Rationale

Let’s look at each one in turn.

Relationships – Relationships are critical for virtual and remote team success. While we might feel that we spend most of our time in isolation, the skills of collaboration and influence take on an even more important role in the virtual space, given that we have to work across distance and space.
As I write in Effective Virtual Conversations, “out of sight does not mean out of mind”, building in time for intentional and specific team and peer relationship building events can be key. This might include spending time having a virtual coffee or spending time building in a project meeting.
What relationships are key to foster right now?

Results  - Results set the foundation of any team success – in person and virtually. It’s important to plan for goal setting and review sessions with the team. Another critical part of working around results with a virtual and remote team is helping them understand the entire context in which their work has impact and relates to the goal. They may only see one part, and their part may be different. Helping them see the connections and how their work feeds into, and potentially impedes, others work is also a key part of results.
When working around results you will want to consider the varying levels – organizational, regional, team, etc. and also ensure that check-ins and adjustments around these are regular.
What is important to note about results?

Resourcing – the third R is resourcing. Teams will want to consider the resourcing required for successful completion of their goals. Resourcing should also be allocated to relationship building or advocacy elements. Resourcing might include human resources, IT resources, financial resources, logistical resources, training resources etc.
What resourcing is important to note for the team?
 
Requirements –  Requirements relates to scope. What will success look like? What is the end product needed? What are the requirements that are important to communicate with the team? Being clear on requirements is even more important in the virtual space to ensure consistency across the team.
What is important to note around requirements?

Rationale – Rationale takes us to the topic of WHY. This is at the heart of team culture – why we do things helps us with prioritization, decision making and being able to align our tasks with others. Rationale also helps ensure with consistency and knowing what is important.
What is the rationale for the projects you are working on?

As a team, what's important to explore right now?

Enjoy your conversations, 
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized  - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs
Award-winning Coaching Skills Training
Join us for one of our 2019 Annual Coaching Groups - Teams365 Leadership Lab for Virtual Leaders and Team Members or
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(416)996-8326

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