6 February 2025|leadership skills
There is a lot to navigate when building a team and creating a team spirit. This is even more so when your team is diverse in terms of culture and time zones.
Your virtual open door
If you were all in the same location and same office, then you could have a quick chat by the coffee machine or water cooler as soon as the issue had become apparent. If your team is global, then you may never be beside the same coffee machine, or even if you are sometimes together, perhaps it’s only twice a year and the next one isn’t for five months. So, the original small issue has the potential to become bigger and more difficult to address and solve.
How do you deal with issues which are negative, sensitive or just ‘difficult’?
Booking a meeting or arranging a call, may seem too formal for a small issue. By booking something specific, it may feel as if you are attaching more importance than you intend.
How then do you create a virtual coffee machine or water cooler for your global or hybrid team?
One solution is to have a weekly ‘virtual open door’ meeting.
You could also start the virtual open door process by asking the whole team what their equivalent is of ‘the coffee machine’ – is it a cigarette outside, in a corner of the canteen at lunchtime, cake mid-afternoon, the stairwell ….
All you need to do is to allow an hour when you are available and make the link to join visible. So the virtual open door is not invitation based. Then anyone can ‘drop in’ and mention something, ask something or raise an issue – or perhaps just say hello. If you want to keep the informality, suggest everyone has a drink and snack when they join the virtual open door call – and then that gives you an icebreaker:
“What are you drinking/eating today?”
You may find that the very act of having this ‘open door’, will help improve communication and the team may feel closer.
Further Reading
Excerpt from Water Cooler Conversations by Lisa Ardill Content Editor at Workvivo.
“A recent report conducted by Upwork indicates that by 2025, 36.5 million Americans will work remotely. However, despite the benefits (such as flexibility and focus), research shows that many remote workers are lonely, and 25% don’t feel connected to their colleagues. For an organization with remote employees, it’s crucial to provide ample opportunities for the type of watercooler conversations that would happen in a more traditional work environment. Your employees will thank you – and so will your bottom line”.
Excerpt from Where Did the Watercooler Go? Keeping Your Culture Connected by Jonathan Chajet Partner at Prophet.
“Glug glug. The proverbial watercooler.
It’s where employees take a pause and engage in small talk. It’s where employees keep up to date on the latest developments. And it’s where many of the most innovative ideas first get floated. When employees can casually congregate at the watercooler, cafeteria or ping pong table, it breaks down formal barriers and encourages employees to bond with co-workers outside of their immediate working team. These personal connections not only build comradery but also enable trust and open communications, which are cornerstones to a healthy culture”.
If you are managing a diverse team in terms of culture and time zones, and you are finding it challenging, use Intercultural Success to coach effective virtual leadership and support your virtual team leadership.
We have decades of experience and have helped hundreds of leaders and managers across the world.
Contact us today to discuss your challenges.