Building and managing a successful distributed info dev team

Building and Managing a Successful Distributed Info Dev TeamALYSSA FOX

@AFOX98

Ways Distributed Teams are Created• INHERITING TEAM MEMBERS• BUILDING A TEAM FROM SCRATCH• ADDING TO A TEAM THROUGH HIRING

Challenges in Managing a Global Team

Us vs. Them

flickr: Alex de Mey

*Solutions*

Buddy System

flickr: Sabina Panayotova

Quarterly Global Team Meetings

flickr: Horasis

Time Zone Differences• SWITCHING TIMES FOR MEETINGS• BE RESPONSIVE AFTER HOURS

Consistency in Standards

People are #1

Getting to Know Individuals• UNDERSTAND THEIR CULTURE AND

HISTORY.• KNOW HOW THEY WORK WITH THEIR

PROJECT TEAMS.• TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR REACTIONS

TO CHANGE.

• FREQUENT 1:1 MEETINGS• TRAVEL• WHO’S WHO PAGE• FUN SANDBOX AREA ON WEBSITE

*Solutions*

Team Expectations• KEEP EXPECTATIONS THE SAME NO

MATTER THE LOCATION.• TREAT EVERYONE FAIRLY, NOT EQUALLY.• SUPPORT THE TEAM IN PUSHBACK TO

PROJECT TEAMS.

• JOB LADDER• WEEKLY MANAGEMENT

SYNC-UP MEETINGS

*Solutions*

Evaluating and Tweaking Processes and Tools

• CONSIDER WHAT IS WORKING ON ALL SIDES.• WHAT CAN EACH GROUP TEACH THE OTHER?• ENSURE KNOWLEDGE, SUPPORT, AND

LEADERSHIP FLOW BOTH WAYS.

• GLOBAL TEAM TRAININGS• “SHOW AND TELL” AT QUARTERLY TEAM

MEETINGS• LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT LIAISE

BETWEEN TEAM AND MANAGEMENT• TOOLS TEAM • VIDEO TEAM

*Solutions*

Working with Project Teams

• HAVE PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WORK ON PROJECTS TOGETHER.

• ID LEADS IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Communication

• 1:1S AND GROUP MEETINGS• CHAT TOOLS, CONFERENCE CALLS, AND

VIDEO CONFERENCES• EMAIL AS LAST RESORT• FOCUS ON COLLABORATION AND

CONVERSATION

OVERCOMMUNICATE!

Collaboration & Conversation

• LET THE TEAM DRIVE ITSELF.• COACH, SUPPORT, AND ENCOURAGE.

REMEMBER, IF YOU TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE, THE REST FALLS INTO PLACE.