Virtual teams are made up of members from different locations or even different companies. However, they must still work together to deliver on a common goal. For any team to be effective there must be an environment of trust and rapport among team members. But there are particular challenges when team members must collaborate across time zones, distance and cultures.

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“Our company is moving more and more towards virtual collaboration, and we want our meetings to be energized and productive. This program really helped me to improve the quality of our meetings. The materials were relevant, practical and immediately applicable to my planning, facilitating and participating in virtual meetings and conference calls. ”
— Cindy Ray, MBA, CPF PeaceHealth

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We have two programs to help you learn how to overcome the hurdles of time and distance to build a high performance team. We tailor these to best address your organization's needs.

• Download the Leading Collaborative Teams and Exceptional Virtual Meetings fact sheet

Getting Great Results from Virtual Meetings and Webinars This program trains team leaders on how to design and run meetings that engage participants in productive and effective interaction. Delivered in an innovative blend of on-site workshop, virtual meeting and asynchronous collaboration or as a virtual webinar series, participants learn by doing and come away loaded with practical tips and techniques. Here is a sampling of topics, which are tailored to each client's needs:

Experiencing the Difference
Using collaboration technology we invite participants to assess their own virtual facilitation skills and explore as a group the unique challenges of facilitating virtual meetings.

Planning and Designing Effective Virtual Meetings
What are the steps to convert a face-to-face meeting into a successful virtual event? What are the critical design factors? What is the role of a virtual facilitator? How do you select the right tools for your meeting?

Engaging Participants
How do you prepare participants to take responsibility for their own participation? What are best practices for keeping participant engaged and away from their emails?

Designing Interactive Webinars
How do you engage the audience and draw on the wisdom of the group as well as the knowledge of the trainer? How do you incorporate techniques like action research, case study analysis, problem solving, reflective learning, breakout groups, feedback and assessment into your virtual training?

Essential Skills for Leading Effective Virtual Teams This program is a modular series of 90 minute webinars with follow-up to train team leaders and managers on best practices for leading remote teams. Here is a sampling of topics, which are tailored to each client's needs:

Challenges Virtual Teams Face
What most often gets in the way of virtual team productivity? What skills and practices are needed to make the virtual team work well?

Facilitating Team Collaboration
How can a facilitator engage and guide a team s/he cannot see? How do you know what combination of tools and technology can enable a team to succeed at any given time?

Characteristics of Effective Virtual Teams
What skills and behaviors do team members need to be successful? What role do shared operating principles play in creating a trusting and open environment where collaboration can thrive?

Running Effective Virtual Team Meetings
What are the 6 critical success factors necessary to run virtual meetings that fully engage participants and produce a high level of interactivity and productivity?

Building Trust Across Boundaries
The absence of trust can stop a virtual team cold in its tracks. What steps can virtual teams take to cultivate an environment of trust? How do cultural differences affect notions of trust?

Leading Virtual Teams
What effective leadership skills can help galvanize, energize and mobilize a virtual project team?

Our approach
We interview you to determine your challenges and opportunities as you look at “going virtual” and tailor a program for your organization. We deliver the program in the way that’s best for you: traditional on-site workshops, blended workshops with in-person, online and asynchronous components, or we can lead your team in a completely virtual learning experience. We integrate hands-on use of collaborative technology to facilitate small and large group idea generation and discussion. Our training is highly interactive: We use our collective skills and imagination to build a list of practical ideas for solving even the most difficult virtual meeting situations.

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