virtual

What’s it like where you work? You’ve probably been asked this or a similar question before by someone who wanted to learn more about your organization’s culture. According to culture theorist and Professor Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Edgar Schein, organizational culture has three levels: cultural artifacts (things that others can readily observe), espoused values, and underlying assumptions.

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.