Building and Managing a Successful Distributed Info Dev Team ALYSSA FOX @AFOX98
May 16, 2015
Building and Managing a Successful Distributed Info Dev TeamALYSSA FOX
@AFOX98
Ways Distributed Teams are Created• INHERITING TEAM MEMBERS• BUILDING A TEAM FROM SCRATCH• ADDING TO A TEAM THROUGH HIRING
Challenges in Managing a Global Team
Us vs. Them
flickr: Alex de Mey
*Solutions*
Buddy System
flickr: Sabina Panayotova
Quarterly Global Team Meetings
flickr: Horasis
Time Zone Differences• SWITCHING TIMES FOR MEETINGS• BE RESPONSIVE AFTER HOURS
Consistency in Standards
People are #1
Getting to Know Individuals• UNDERSTAND THEIR CULTURE AND
HISTORY.• KNOW HOW THEY WORK WITH THEIR
PROJECT TEAMS.• TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR REACTIONS
TO CHANGE.
• FREQUENT 1:1 MEETINGS• TRAVEL• WHO’S WHO PAGE• FUN SANDBOX AREA ON WEBSITE
*Solutions*
Team Expectations• KEEP EXPECTATIONS THE SAME NO
MATTER THE LOCATION.• TREAT EVERYONE FAIRLY, NOT EQUALLY.• SUPPORT THE TEAM IN PUSHBACK TO
PROJECT TEAMS.
• JOB LADDER• WEEKLY MANAGEMENT
SYNC-UP MEETINGS
*Solutions*
Evaluating and Tweaking Processes and Tools
• CONSIDER WHAT IS WORKING ON ALL SIDES.• WHAT CAN EACH GROUP TEACH THE OTHER?• ENSURE KNOWLEDGE, SUPPORT, AND
LEADERSHIP FLOW BOTH WAYS.
• GLOBAL TEAM TRAININGS• “SHOW AND TELL” AT QUARTERLY TEAM
MEETINGS• LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT LIAISE
BETWEEN TEAM AND MANAGEMENT• TOOLS TEAM • VIDEO TEAM
*Solutions*
Working with Project Teams
• HAVE PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WORK ON PROJECTS TOGETHER.
• ID LEADS IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Communication
• 1:1S AND GROUP MEETINGS• CHAT TOOLS, CONFERENCE CALLS, AND
VIDEO CONFERENCES• EMAIL AS LAST RESORT• FOCUS ON COLLABORATION AND
CONVERSATION
OVERCOMMUNICATE!
Collaboration & Conversation
• LET THE TEAM DRIVE ITSELF.• COACH, SUPPORT, AND ENCOURAGE.
REMEMBER, IF YOU TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE, THE REST FALLS INTO PLACE.