Virtual Team Tips: Instructions

Virtual Teams--101 Tips Email Game. Round 1.

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TEAM? A virtual team is a group of geographically dispersed individuals who are connected primarily by different types of electronic technology (including online conferencing, video conferencing, audio conferencing, email, bulleting boards, Web pages, and shared databases) to work across time, space, and organizational boundaries. Like other teams, members of the virtual team share a common goal, have different skills, knowledge, and perception, and work in an interdependent fashion.

COME PLAY WITH US! This is an email game called "Virtual Teams: 101 Tips". Our goal is to generate 101 practical tips that can increase the effectiveness of virtual teams.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? Five things:

You participate in an engaging game-like activity.
You learn practical tips to improve your skills related to being a facilitator or a member of a virtual team.
You can adapt this email game for your own use.
You share practical tips with an eager audience.
You achieve fame: You get points and, if you are one of the five top scorers, get your name placed in the "Hall of Fame".

HOW TO PLAY. Send us some practical tips on how to function effectively in a virtual team. Keep your tips brief (three or four sentences and not more than 50 words). Review the samples below. Send us at least one tip and not more than five tips per day.

HOW TO WIN. Any new tip (which is different from the sample tips listed below) earns you 10 points. In addition, our panel of judges will select the top three tips at the end of each 3-day period. The best tip receives a bonus score of 70 points, the second-best 30 points, and the third-best 10 points. If you are among the top five scorers, your name is added to our Hall of Fame. This list is updated at the end of each three-day period.

HOW TO CHEAT. Reflect on your own experience as a member of formal or informal virtual teams and come up with important tips. Borrow ideas from your friends and coworkers. Think back on everything you learned about diversity and teamwork in ICPT courses. Read books and articles, attend workshops, interview experts, and surf the internet to collect virtual-team tips and rewrite them in your own words. Obviously, we don't want you to violate copyright laws and we do want you to give credit where it is due.

HOW TO SEND YOUR TIPS. Remember the limit of five tips per day (of 24 hours duration). Send your tips directly to us at thiagi@thiagi.com .

THERE ARE NO DEADLINES. Once every 3 days, we will review all the tips that we received, award scores, and select the top three tips.

WHEN DO I START? Right now!

WHAT NEXT? We will continue this game until we accumulate 101 tips or I become too old and senile, whichever comes first. At the end of each 3-day period, we will update the list of tips and place them in our web site ***. Review this list frequently and continue sending additional tips that do not duplicate the tips already on the list.

WANT YOUR NAME IN PRINT? In our list of tips, we will include your name at the end of each tip that you contribute. If (for reasons of false or real modesty) you do not want your name publicized, please let us know. Also, if you prefer to use a pen name instead of your real name, let us know.

CAN MY FRIEND PLAY TOO? Of course! We are an inclusive group. If you want your friend, colleague, or significant other to join this game, just ask her (or him) to send a note to thiagi@thiagi.com . New players can begin any time they want.

MORE FAME. When the game ends, we will select the grand champion with the highest score. You will also vote for the five best tips. We will honor the person who sent the most tips. And we will figure out other categories of winners....

HELP STAMP OUT SPAM. We are sending you this note because you indicated an interest in participating in this email game. If we are mistaken, we apologize. Please, please send us a note with "Unsubscribe" on the subject line and we will take you off the list.

THANK YOU for participating.

List of Sample Tips

MAKE USE OF DIVERSITY. Encourage team members to use their unique cultural and individual backgrounds to contribute to the team. Do not ignore or attack ideas from others just because they are different from your way of thinking.

LOOK BEFORE YOU DELETE. Use clear and consistent subject lines in your emails to prevent other team members from mindlessly deleting your note. Also, be sure that you don't inadvertently delete email notes from your teammates.

FORGET MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS. Don't handicap yourself by believing (and spreading) such statements as "Teams need face-to-face meetings to solve tough problems". Field research during the past 5 years clearly demonstrates that virtual teams have frequently outperformed teams whose members work side by side.