Week 6 blog post - working in remote teams.

The pros and cons of working in remote teams and how to get around obstacles that may occur.

Working in remote teams allow communication to proceed no matter the different time zones or the different schedules people have.

A disadvantage is not being able to communicate vertically and whether your teams works well together. Having the wrong team members is also a big disadvantage. 

These disadvantages can be overcome by setting up certain tools like Trello or google documents, allowing everyone to access documents and plan for a task. It shows when they should be done and who they should be done by. This makes a good process to get the team working as a team and having the ability to prioritize time and tasks. Good processes make it easy to get work done in the absence of all else. It provides structure and direction for getting things done (Foster, W).

It is important to have structure for team meetings. A helpful way of doing this is by using certain tools, like iDoneThis app. This helps to stay on top of what everyone is getting done on a day-to-day basis, helps eliminate blocks as they come up and keeps everyone up-to-date on what everyone else is up to. 

Ground rules for communication are also essential in a successful remote team. An example of a great ground rule is to keep up to date, not only on personal tasks but the tasks of members of your team. This can be achieved by gaining a habit of daily feedback to improve and/or develop efficient cooperation within the team.

In the little time, I’ve been working in a remote team, I have learnt the importance of feedback and support. A random check-in with someone in the group who may have some input or greater knowledge than I on a certain subject is one way to gain feedback and support.

Appointing a team leader has been the most important key. By keeping the team motivated to complete tasks, our team leader has provided great structure within the team and has been one with the most experience and one with the greatest devotion to the team.

The rest of the team is a support to the leader. As the leader needs helpers to get things done. The importance of proper support and trust within the leader will lead to a functioning remote team.

Reference:

Foster, W. How to work in a remote team. Retrieved from http://www.zapier.com