Adam Kingl, Executive Director of Learning Solutions, Executive
Education, London Business School, comments:
“Business
teams working virtually sometimes do a better job than a group sitting in one
location.
“Virtual
working is a great way to break down barriers of hierarchy, culture and gender
and encourage creative brainstorming and innovation. A virtual platform breaks
down some of the biases that occur when teams meet face-to-face.
“In
a face-to-face work environment, one or two dominant personalities can
sometimes assert their view points, forcing everyone else to go along with
their ideas to avoid confrontation. A virtual platform facilitates a meritocracy
of ideas. This is a clarion call for the introvert, the outcast who might
suggest new, break-through ideas, to embrace a virtual team dynamic in order to
thrive. In an asynchronous, virtual environment, when people have the chance to
assess ideas on their own merit in a social media ‘discussion board’ type of
dialogue, there can be a more effective discussion, particularly around idea
generation and evaluation.
“Even
co-located teams working in one office can benefit from discussing some issues
in a virtual environment. A simple discussion board on social media, with
time-bound parameters, can be particularly effective. One can avoid problems
such as the first idea being the anchor that team members latch onto. People
joining the forum will look at a few ideas at a time and will therefore be more
likely to suggest multiple perspectives, fresh thoughts and approaches rather
than variations of only the first idea proposed.”
