Motivating geographically dispersed teams

In today’s global economy, the success of an organisation is often contingent on how well its employees with complementary skills and expertise work together in teams to achieve shared business goals. Because of their strong footprints in other African countries and around the world, many companies in Nigeria are evolving their method of team structuring thanks to the advent of globalisation and the benefits of technology. Whereas traditionally all employees worked from one location, companies now employ individuals who are the best fit for the job-even if they are remote.

The modern workforce is increasingly geographically dispersed, cutting across cultures and countries in different time zones. When designed and deployed effectively, these teams can provide unique benefits for the organisation and its employees, including flexible working times, cost savings and the advantage of increasing the scope of business.

Managing traditional work teams where employees come from the same locale and share the same office space can be difficult, and these challenges are likely to be more pronounced when team members work from different locations and have different cultural backgrounds. While sound and efficient traditional leadership practices are essential, they will not suffice for managing global teams.

Technology tools such as social media and video conferencing have removed many of the geographical barriers by allowing regular virtual communication, but team leaders still need to be sensitive to the effects of cultural, social and emotional differences that exist within their team. Managers need to be able to merge this awareness with their skill, knowledge and experience in order to get the best out of their team and improve business results.

Without this cognisance, team leaders who are treading the unfamiliar terrain of leading geographically dispersed teams may struggle, especially those who depend on wielding their position and authority to get work done across locations. As a result of this skills gap, communication among the team can swiftly deteriorate, misunderstandings can occur and cooperation can break down into distrust and disunity. In order to prevent this dynamic from occurring, team leaders must strengthen relationships and build trust and transparency to ultimately accomplish team goals by becoming skilled at handling the complexities associated with each team member’s work environment. Essentially, they must possess a high level of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to recognize, manage and respond well to one’s emotions and the emotions of others. Translating that into the workforce, EI helps employees work harmoniously in teams and build relationships and networks that benefit the organisation in the long term.

For managers, this goes beyond sending regular updates on projects or increasing the frequency of video calls with team members. Rather, it encompasses facilitating a high degree of emotional connection with and among team members and involves establishing rapport with members outside of work while encouraging members to do the same. Even with virtual communication, it’s important for leaders of geographically dispersed teams to establish values for the team and underscore their place in the company in order to make them feel included. That can mean taking the first five minutes of a meeting to share what’s happening in each other’s lives before diving into work, which can help promote a healthy work-life balance.

EI also involves being aware of issues such as national and religious holidays and differences in time zones and taking these factors into consideration when scheduling meetings or assigning tasks. Those with high EI are adept at recognizing cultural differences and nuances without stereotyping religions or nationalities. Moreover, understanding these differences may impact how members of the team perceive and react to situations and the effect they have on the business.

Managing teams across different cultures, nationalities and time zones can be challenging. While some leaders find it easy to respond well in such situations, all can garner immense benefits from developing their capacity in this area.

After all, although we are born with an intelligence quotient (IQ), or thinking potential, we can continue to enhance and develop our EI over time. Programmes such as Walden University’s online master’s and doctoral degrees in Industrial and Organisational Psychology can help working professionals better understand leadership in unique environments and how to effectively manage geographically dispersed and multicultural work teams.

As Nigerian companies invest in the right technology to hire the best people for the job regardless of location, they should place just as much importance on curating the best teams to produce the best work to meet organisational goals. Leaders with high EI are self-aware and aware of others around them. As a result, they are better positioned to build trust and unity while managing global teams in a way that bridges geographical distances, enhances collaboration, facilitates communication and converts cultural differences into competitive advantage.

Lori LaCivita