This week AIM Strategies^® hosted a Mastermind Brainstorming session with experienced colleagues to share ideas about meeting the challenges of managing virtual teams. There as unanimous interest to further explore human connection topics I wrote about in A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams and figure how to better leverage these concepts going forward. Cross cultural communication was the big issue of the day, and several participants would like to see more coaching to support people who work together across continents.

While we didn’t figure out the priorities to take this forward, I can definitely say that we exercised our brains and engaged our time together in constructive discussion about something of great interest to all.

For those of you following my blog posts, I pose this question: What additional cross cultural challenges do you encounter in your virtual teams?

Feel free to share and continue the dialogue/conversation.

I’d like to share some exciting news.  This Friday, January 27th, I am speaking at ASTD‘s TechKnowledge™ 2012 conference in Las Vegas. Over 1,200 professionals are expected to attend 140 sessions which focus on some aspect of the design, delivery, management and strategy of technology and learning.

My “Implementation Strategy” session, called “A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams: Bringing Reality to Your VT” will run from 9:45 am – 11:15 am PST (12:45 pm – 2:15 pm EST).  Here’s what my session will cover: Participants will learn how to apply the four key elements of successful virtual team performance to their own virtual teams. I’ll address relationship challenges in the virtual environment (including Context Communication), how to engage ‘lost riders’ and ‘silent riders’ and provide guidance on how to develop an action plan to achieve that ‘people connection’ so vital to virtual team success.

You can connect with me about this conference in the comments section below the post or directly on ASTD TechKnowledge blog, where you can find my recent Q&A with Justin Brusino.
 
 
ASTD 2012 TechKnowledge Twitter Chatter: #ASTDTK12

I'll be interviewed tomorrow at 8pm by Wayne Hurlbert | Blog Talk Radio http://t.co/leLXGB3K

— Yael Zofi (@yaelzofi) February 6, 2012

Researched by Karina Koloch, Posted by AIM Strategies®

Before we fully enter 2012, let’s reflect on the previous year’s events and share a few thoughts and resources that demonstrate how the virtual world has evolved. The past year continued to gain momentum on bridging the human connection in the virtual world. Virtual team arrangements continued to rise as more people work on virtual projects, attend virtual classes, learn in virtual [...] Continue Reading…

Join me this week for my second webcast with hr.com this Wednesday, January 11th at 11am EST.  Last October I shared highlights from my recent book, “A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams” during the Contract Workforce and Talent Exchange Virtual Conference. Please click here to view that session.

In this week’s session, I will unveil the “5 Secrets to Engaging “Lost Riders” on Your Virtual Teams” and elaborate on ‘Lost [...] Continue Reading…

The AIM Strategies® NY family wishes our extended business family a happy holiday and a joyous New Year. It has been our honor to collaborate with you and we appreciate your continued interest. We strive to make AIM Strategies® the consulting firm of choice for your human capital development and virtual team management needs.

May the holiday season and coming year bring you much joy and success.

Yael Sara [...] Continue Reading…

My latest book was recently reviewed by Mr. Murali of The Hindu, the leading English language daily in India with circulation well over a million. Having written books, articles and short pieces before, it is always amazing to read how someone else interprets my views, understands underlying themes and appreciates key messages. Mr. Murali does a fantastic job of making the connection about the importance of the human connection [...] Continue Reading…

During a recent interview with Mind Tools Club Expert Interviews series, “in-depth interviews with world experts in key areas of management and personal development”, I explored the nature of virtual teams with Rachel Salaman. My interview began by defining virtual teams “Whether across the street or across the world, a team whose members simultaneously work together to a common purpose, while physically apart” (P.7). We discussed the growing numbers [...] Continue Reading…

 
Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Dear Clients, Colleagues & Friends,
 
At this Thanksgiving time, I would like to thank you for being part of our extended business family. We appreciate your continued support and strive to be the consulting firm of choice for your human capital development and virtual team management needs. We promise to continue to innovate tools and techniques that promote the human connection across your organization.
 
Best Wishes for a wonderful [...] Continue Reading…

Today’s knowledge workers can work productively anywhere, thanks to mobile devices, fast network access and online collaboration tools. Working remotely has become the norm, and in this challenging business environment a growing number of new companies now provide virtual assistance (virtualworkteam.com), virtual meetings (buzzumi.com), and various virtual collaborations tools have emerged to aid teams set up virtually. Global marketplaces for virtual teams and distance team members, vendors and [...] Continue Reading…

This week I was interviewed by David Zinger (Canada), Founder of Employee Engagement Network. During our engaging conversation, key principles, practices and approaches to guide managers of virtual teams were reviewed. I presented several virtual team trends along with Rules of the Road to guide virtual team behaviors and a Roadmap for effectively enabling the human connection in the workplace. We also discussed the most important virtual leadership challenges [...] Continue Reading…