global

You’re working with a global project team that’s struggling to meet its goals. The project leader and team are experienced, but you’re not sure how much support they’re receiving from the rest of the organization. The senior team is concerned and is considering a leadership change. They’ve asked you to assess the situation. When a team needs to improve its performance, leadership is always an important consideration: Does the leader have the right skills? How’s their leadership style impacting the team? But leadership is not always the problem.

Think about the last virtual meeting you attended. Was the group fully engaged? Or, were some drifting off or doing email? How engaged did you feel? Virtual meetings can be a challenge or an opportunity to accelerate team effectiveness.

How do you make the business case? Do in-person meetings really benefit the bottom line? Recent research suggests that investing in face-to-face meetings, every 9 to 12 months for long-term, strategic project teams can be a game changer for accelerating team effectiveness, according to Katherine Schroeder, Ph.D. Katherine is the Senior Director of Organization Development for the Americas with Astellas and is also an adjunct faculty member with Benedictine University.

Susan Camberis, ECC’s VP of Learning & Organizational Development, moderated a panel discussion at last week’s Association for Talent Development (ATD) conference and walked away with some innovative ideas for enhancing global leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and resilience. Change Your Leaders From The Inside Out: SAP’s Social Sabbatical described a global partnership between SAP, PYXERA Global, and The Ken Blanchard Companies. Social sabbaticals are short-term, cross-border, volunteer programs designed to develop global leadership skills.

How are things with you today? When you show up for an in-person meeting, you may automatically ask or be asked this question. It forms new connections and reinforces existing ones. But, what happens with virtual meetings?