Leading Remote or Virtual Teams - A Quick Course from Udemy

The Covid pandemic forced almost every company to require or encourage remote work. It is becoming increasingly clear that this change in where we do our work is becoming the norm. One of the great miracles of the twenty-first century is the declining importance of borders and distance. The internet has made knowledge universal and is enabling talent to be developed in every corner of the globe and country without prejudice. This means that any company can bring talent together in virtual teams to develop products and plans and accomplish shared goals regardless of their location. But, enabling these teams to work well together is a skill that every manager needs to develop to succeed in the new world of virtual collaboration.

Leading Virtual or Remote Teams is designed to build the skills of virtual collaboration and teamwork. It covers issues around the use of virtual meeting technology, including a comprehensive survey of meeting software, user advice and recommendations. But, the primary focus of this course is on the human side, the skills of facilitating and participating in virtual teams. While it is important for all team leaders and facilitators to develop good meeting facilitation skills, there are unique challenges when team members are not co-located. This course addresses those challenges and provides advice based on the available research and the instructor's many years of experience facilitating virtual meetings.

What's inside

Learning objectives

You will lead online or virtual meetings that engage and respect all team members.
You will facilitate your team in a manner that leads to clear decisions and clear accountability.

You will develop effective meeting agendas and action plans.
Assure accountability and action following meetings which will reduce waste!

You will lead online or virtual meetings that engage and respect all team members.
You will facilitate your team in a manner that leads to clear decisions and clear accountability.
You will develop effective meeting agendas and action plans.
Assure accountability and action following meetings which will reduce waste!

Syllabus

Introduction to Leading Virtual Teams

Why Take This Course?

How to Make the Most of This Course

Activity 1: Team Self-Assessment

The Research on Virtual Teams - What Works Best

Introduction to the Research

Research Results from the Harvard Business Review

Research Results from Forbes

Survey of Users: Introduction

Activity 2: Evaluation of Best Practices

Advice from the Users

One Thing You Could Do to Improve

Survey Feedback on Meeting Technology

The Future of Meeting Technology

Facilitation Skills that Make VT Meetings Effective

Developing Your Virtual Team Charter

Activity 3: Writing Your Team Charter

Team Roles and Responsibilities

What is the Skill of "Facilitation?"

The Agenda

The Action Plan

The Power of Visualization

Decide How You Will Decide

Activity 4: Choose Your Decision Styles

Facilitaton Skills: Organizing & Clarifying

Facilitation Skills: Reflecting & Motivating

Facilitation Skills: Comforting and Controlling

Facilitaton Skills: Concluding & Bringing to Consensus

Facilitaton Skills: Resolving Conflicts

Resolving Conflicts continued

Activty 5: Practice Conflict Resolution

Summary

Bonus Lecture and Additional Resources

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Focuses on the human side of virtual collaboration, which is essential for managers adapting to the increasing prevalence of remote work environments

Teaches skills in facilitating and participating in virtual teams, which are broadly applicable across various industries and organizational structures

Covers developing effective meeting agendas and action plans, which are crucial for ensuring productivity and accountability in virtual team settings

Includes activities such as team self-assessment and writing a team charter, which promotes a deeper understanding of team dynamics and shared goals

Examines research results from reputable sources like the Harvard Business Review and Forbes, providing a foundation of evidence-based best practices

Includes a survey of users and advice from practitioners, which offers practical insights into improving virtual team meetings and collaboration

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Leading Remote or Virtual Teams - A Quick Course with these activities:

Read 'The Culture Map' to understand global team dynamics

Show steps

Gain a deeper understanding of cultural differences to improve communication and collaboration within virtual teams.

View Penguin Readers Level 4: No Rules Rules (ELT... on Amazon

Show steps

Obtain a copy of 'The Culture Map'.
Read the book, focusing on chapters relevant to your team's cultural makeup.
Reflect on how cultural differences might be affecting your team's dynamics.
Identify strategies to bridge cultural gaps and improve communication.

Practice active listening techniques

Show steps

Improve your ability to understand and respond effectively to team members in virtual meetings.

Browse courses on Active Listening

Show steps

Review the principles of active listening.
Practice active listening in conversations with friends or colleagues.
Seek feedback on your listening skills.

Develop a virtual team communication plan

Show steps

Create a structured approach to communication that addresses the unique challenges of virtual teams.

Show steps

Assess your team's current communication practices.
Identify communication gaps and areas for improvement.
Define communication channels and protocols.
Establish guidelines for response times and availability.
Share the plan with your team and solicit feedback.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Create a short video on effective virtual meeting facilitation

Show steps

Reinforce your understanding of facilitation skills by teaching others.

Show steps

Research best practices for virtual meeting facilitation.
Write a script outlining key facilitation techniques.
Record a video demonstrating these techniques.
Share the video with your team or online community.

Role-play conflict resolution scenarios

Show steps

Improve your ability to handle conflicts effectively in a virtual setting.

Show steps

Identify common conflict scenarios in virtual teams.
Partner with a colleague to role-play these scenarios.
Practice using conflict resolution techniques.
Reflect on your performance and identify areas for improvement.

Review 'Remote: Office Not Required' for remote work strategies

Show steps

Learn strategies for building and managing successful remote teams.

View Remote on Amazon

Show steps

Obtain a copy of 'Remote: Office Not Required'.
Read the book, focusing on chapters relevant to your team's challenges.
Identify strategies to improve your team's remote work practices.
Implement these strategies and track their impact.

Mentor junior colleagues on virtual team best practices

Show steps

Solidify your understanding of virtual team leadership by sharing your knowledge with others.

Show steps

Identify junior colleagues who could benefit from your expertise.
Offer to mentor them on virtual team best practices.
Share your knowledge and experiences.
Provide guidance and support.

Career center

Learners who complete Leading Remote or Virtual Teams - A Quick Course will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Virtual Meeting Coordinator

A virtual meeting coordinator ensures that online meetings run smoothly and efficiently. This course is a great starting point for individuals who manage virtual meetings. The course extensively covers meeting software, user advice, and recommendations, making it highly effective for a virtual meeting coordinator. A coordinator can use the course material to learn how to design and manage effective meeting agendas and action plans, and the facilitation skills section helps them to guide discussions effectively, and the material on conflict resolution will prove invaluable. Because the course addresses the nuances of remote team collaboration, a virtual meeting coordinator will gain the skills needed to optimize virtual meetings for engagement and productivity.

See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Meeting Coordinator

Team Lead

The primary responsibility of a team lead is guiding and supporting a group of individuals towards a unified goal. For team leads managing remote or virtual teams, this course is particularly helpful. The course emphasizes the importance of effective virtual meeting facilitation and provides a deep dive into the technology available. Because the course also focuses heavily on the human and soft skills of virtual collaboration, such as conflict resolution and motivation, a team lead can learn techniques to make their teams more successful. The curriculum, focusing on agenda and action-plans, provides practical tools that are essential to successful team leadership.

See salaries and explore the career path for Team Lead

Project Manager

A project manager is responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects. This course helps project managers successfully lead virtual teams, which is now a common practice in many organizations. The concepts covered in this course about virtual meeting technology, facilitation, and team charters are directly applicable to managing projects across remote teams. Given this course's focus on the human side of virtual collaboration, a project manager can use the skills of organizing, motivating, and resolving conflicts to help their teams function effectively. The course emphasis on clear decisions, accountability, and action plans assists project managers in achieving project goals, and ensures that projects are completed on time and within budget.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

Scrum Master

A scrum master facilitates agile development teams, often in virtual or hybrid environments. This course provides a scrum master with the skills that are important for virtual team collaboration. The course's exploration of meeting technology, facilitation, and team dynamics is particularly useful for their role as a leader of remote agile teams. The emphasis on developing effective meeting agendas, action plans, and ensuring accountability directly correlates with the responsibilities of a scrum master. This course helps the scrum master guide their teams towards clear decisions and promote effective collaboration in a virtual setting. The concepts of the course on conflict resolution are particularly helpful in helping the team resolve issues that may arise during development.

See salaries and explore the career path for Scrum Master

Team Coordinator

A team coordinator provides crucial support to teams to ensure smooth operations and effective communication, which is increasingly happening in remote settings. This course helps a team coordinator develop skills specific to virtual team collaboration. The course’s exploration of meeting facilitation, technology, and team charters will assist a team coordinator in managing remote teams more effectively. Moreover, the emphasis on agenda setting, action plans, and conflict resolution makes a team coordinator more effective in their role, ensuring that tasks are completed on time and team morale is high. The course provides team coordinators the support needed to coordinate in virtual environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Team Coordinator

Remote Work Consultant

The role of a remote work consultant involves helping organizations transition to and optimize remote work setups. The course’s focus on virtual collaboration and team facilitation makes it extremely relevant for a remote work consultant. This course will help a consultant develop strategies to support the human side of remote team dynamics and understand the technology that enables virtual collaboration. Additionally, the course's focus on team charters and decision-making processes can equip a remote work consultant with techniques and advice for organizations operating in a remote environment. A remote work consultant who has taken the course may find that their expertise in best practices is enhanced.

See salaries and explore the career path for Remote Work Consultant

Change Management Specialist

A change management specialist guides organizations through periods of change, which today often includes adapting to new work environments or technologies. This course assists them by offering best practices that are relevant to virtual collaboration. It provides a strong understanding of virtual team dynamics, which is important to any organization making a shift to remote work. By understanding how to facilitate virtual meetings, make clear decisions, and develop team charters, a change management specialist can create strategies that support both individual and team success during organizational change. The course will also help a change management specialist encourage a positive transition for employees who may be facing new realities and ways of working together.

See salaries and explore the career path for Change Management Specialist

Training Facilitator

A training facilitator's main task is to effectively deliver learning experiences, which often requires adapting to different modalities, including virtual settings. This course helps a training facilitator develop the capabilities required for effective virtual sessions, such as how to manage online meetings and how to keep participants engaged. The course's exploration of virtual meeting technology and facilitation skills is highly relevant to a facilitator who must lead remote learning sessions. Additionally, the emphasis on conflict resolution and decision-making directly applies to facilitating discussions and encouraging participation. This course can help a training facilitator enhance their skill set for training in the virtual space.

See salaries and explore the career path for Training Facilitator

Human Resources Specialist

A human resources specialist focuses on managing employee relations and optimizing workplace effectiveness, which in many modern companies, now includes virtual and remote teams. This course assists a human resources professional by providing an overview of best practices for virtual collaboration. They can implement the frameworks surrounding virtual meeting technology and facilitation to improve team dynamics. The course’s material on developing team charters, conflict resolution, and clear decision-making assists a human resources specialist in promoting a positive and engaged work environment. By understanding the specific challenges of virtual teams, a human resources professional can better support their employees. This is particularly useful given the wide adoption of remote work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Human Resources Specialist

Instructional Designer

An instructional designer creates learning materials, often for online or blended learning environments. This course may be helpful to an instructional designer as it is designed to lead virtual teams, which includes a survey of meeting software and a focus on team facilitation. An instructional designer can use these skills to enhance the design of their training sessions and also learn ways to keep the virtual learning experience engaging. The emphasis on meeting agendas, action plans, and facilitation strategies can help an instructional designer create more effective online courses and workshops. The course will support their ability to create a positive learning experience.

See salaries and explore the career path for Instructional Designer

Organizational Development Consultant

An organizational development consultant works with organizations to improve their effectiveness and performance and may increasingly be working with remote or hybrid teams. This course may be useful to them as it provides best practices for virtual team collaboration. This course dives deep into topics such as facilitating virtual meetings, creating effective agendas, and establishing accountability. The course's focus on team charters and conflict resolution can assist an organizational development consultant in making recommendations that enhance team cohesion and productivity in virtual settings. The course provides the tools for an organizational development consultant to support positive outcomes when an organization is adopting remote work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Organizational Development Consultant

Online Community Manager

An online community manager builds and manages virtual communities, which often involves fostering online discussions and collaboration. This course may help them better lead their communities. The course’s coverage of virtual meeting technologies and facilitation strategies provide an online community manager with the practical tools needed to manage virtual interactions and discussions more effectively. Given the course's emphasis on creating clear decisions and shared accountability, an online community manager can use these skills to better guide online member discussions and ensure active participation. By understanding how to create inclusive and respectful virtual engagements, an online community manager can build stronger and more successful online environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Online Community Manager

Nonprofit Program Coordinator

A nonprofit program coordinator manages programs and projects for a nonprofit organization and may frequently interact with virtual teams. This course may help the program coordinator become more effective in their role. The course's emphasis on virtual team dynamics, facilitation skills, and meeting technologies provides a strong foundation for anyone coordinating virtual collaborations. Furthermore, the focus on setting clear objectives and promoting accountability as well as creating agendas and action plans directly supports the program coordinator's role in managing projects and teams from afar. By implementing the techniques on conflict resolution, a nonprofit program coordinator can strengthen the cohesiveness of their teams and ensure that community projects are successful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Nonprofit Program Coordinator

Business Development Manager

A business development manager is responsible for creating new business opportunities and fostering client relationships. This course may be helpful to business development managers who need to collaborate virtually with team members. The skills in this course on virtual engagement, meeting technology, and facilitation are directly applicable to remote collaboration. Because the course also emphasizes the importance of clear decision-making, setting agendas, and action plans, a business development manager can use the concepts to improve the communication and efficiency of their team. By understanding the best practices for virtual team management, a business development manager can ensure consistent and effective progress. A business development manager who takes the course can learn how to build stronger relationships with clients, even when working remotely.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Development Manager

Operations Manager

An operations manager oversees the smooth running of an organization's day to day activities, which increasingly involves managing virtual teams. This course may be helpful to an operations manager. The course's focus on virtual meeting technology is essential in today's business environment. The concepts of the course, especially team charters and facilitation, can assist the operations manager in optimizing team performance and collaboration within remote teams. By implementing the principles of this course, the operations manager can enhance team efficiency, improve communications, and make decisions effectively to ensure the smooth running of the organization.

See salaries and explore the career path for Operations Manager

Leading Remote or Virtual Teams - A Quick Course

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Good to know

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses