Global business demands and new technologies have created a virtual workplace for many companies, with employees and teams routinely collaborating from distant geographical locations on the road, from home, at client sites—even on the other side of the globe. The Distance Manager provides practical information and tools to help managers bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation, and get peak performance from employees they rarely see. This handbook is perfect for sales managers, project team leaders, senior managers, and anyone who manages people at more than one location. Key topics include: • Using e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing for maximum effectiveness • Mastering the people skills required to manage from a distance • Virtual team building, and strategies for managing multiple locations

"This encyclopedia will give readers insight on how other organizations have tackled the necessary means of sharing knowledge across communities and functions" -- Provided by publisher.

How do you lead a team scattered across the globe? How do you keep members you can't see organized, communicative, and productive? In this book, you?ll find valuable advice on forming virtual teams, assessing their communication and technology needs, and ensuring that they produce high-quality work. You'll learn how to: - Understand the benefits and challenges of virtual teams - Build a virtual community that promotes collaboration and ongoing communication - Utilize technology to enhance your virtual team?s focus, motivation, and output Meet Your Mentors Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps are CEO and Chief Scientist, respectively, of the Boston-based consulting firm NetAge and authors of many books and articles on networked organizations, including Virtual Teams."

With an increasing number of employees working remotely, it is more difficult than ever to ensure that team members are working smoothly and productively. This books provides a roadmap for bridging the logistical, cultural and communication gaps that can prevent any virtual team from reaching its full potential.

Virtual teams are a relatively new phenomenon and by definition work across time, distance, and organizations through the use of information and communications technology. Virtual Teams: Projects, Protocols and Processes gathers the best of academic research on real work-based virtual teams into one book. It offers a series of chapters featuring practical research, insight and recommendations on how virtual team projects can be better managed, as well as in depth discussion on issues critical to virtual team success, including the place of virtual teams in organizations, leadership, trust and relationship building, best use of technology, and knowledge sharing.

The mere suggestion of employees working from home is enough to make many managers sweat. Faced with the prospect of managing an employee they can’t even see, many discover that their managerial style just doesn’t work anymore. As an increasing number of jobs can be executed from home, managers must learn how to adapt their leadership style to cater to remote employees. Based on years of research, The Virtual Manager provides any manager with the tools he or she needs to successfully work with virtual employees. Trust us: it’s not like managing office-bound employees! This book is a tell-all user manual for a new generation of managers. To stay competitive in a global marketplace, it is essential to incorporate virtual employees into talent management strategy. The Virtual Manager arms managers with the knowledge they need to be become effective virtual leaders, including actionable advice on how to: Leverage the top engagement drivers for virtual employees Develop or alter policies and procedures to fit virtual employees’ needs Impact business outcomes through a flexible work strategy

Many organizations worldwide are currently exploring the potential gains to be made from working with virtual teams. Although many different things are meant by use of 'virtual' (and indeed by 'teams'), usually it denotes groups of people with common purpose and goals working in different locations and often different time zones; they will be interconnected via a variety of telecommunications networks, perhaps including the Internet and intranet, video conferencing, shared white boards, as well as telephone, mail and e-mail. For organizations implementing such virtual teams there is a great need for guidance, in terms of the organizational structure and support which needs to be put in place. This book offers a practical guide to developing virtual teams, providing both an overview of what is involved and also a clear simple framework around which organizations can build their own implementation process. Although the different support technologies are discussed (at a generic level), the thrust of the book is on the organizational and human factors issues which must be addressed to make virtual teams a success. It contains detailed case studies to show how virtual teams work and where they can go wrong.