Power Teams Beyond Borders How to Work Remotely and Build Powerful Virtual Teams

Empower your virtual and remote teams with this comprehensive and timely new resource

Power Teams Beyond Borders: How to Work Remotely and Build Powerful Virtual Teams shows readers how to unlock the potential of their remote and online teams. Full of actionable advice and concrete strategies, celebrated consultant and author Peter Ivanov offers virtual leaders practical guidance on how to create and sustain online engagement across multiple time zones and cultures.

The book includes step-by-step advice on areas like:

• How to build trust and clarity without meeting in person
• How to establish structure in communications and avoid confusion
• How to make the most of your team members' unique talents in a global setting
• How to use the technique of "over-communication" to ensure your team members remain fully informed

Perfect for anyone who's expected to lead in an online or virtual environment, Power Teams Beyond Borders also belongs on the bookshelves of everyone who hopes to deliver results in an environment that includes remote teamwork.

PETER IVANOV is an internationally renowned executive coach and business consultant. He is a highly sought-after keynote and conference speaker whose message of how to lead virtual teams has resonated with over 6,000 live audience members in over twenty countries. Peter holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from Sofia University and fluently speaks five languages. He has successfully led 100+ member online and virtual teams that have delivered proven results for many firms across the globe. His work with virtual teams has earned Peter several corporate and industry awards, including the Global IT Connect Award. He is a passionate advocate for agile virtual teams and remote leadership.

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: Building Trust and Clarity: Discovering, Dreaming and Goal-Setting

Chapter 1: From Failure to Amazing Success in Global Teams

What causes global teams to fail?

What do all high-performing teams have in common?

Establishing your foundation

Chapter 2: Personality in Focus

How to start building trust in your team

The importance of empowerment

Chapter 3: The Strengths Matrix

How to uncover people’s natural strengths

How this works in practice

Why personality in focus and the Strengths Matrix is a magic combination

How to create a team vision

Chapter 4: Interdependent Goals

Start by defining the hottest issues for your team

The thinking behind SMART goals

Creating SMART goals

Name your team

Developing your roadmap

Sharing responsibility

Getting the best from your team

Part 2: Establishing Structured Communication: Active Collaboration and Coopetition

Chapter 5: How Everyone Can Contribute and Shine

How to maintain engagement in your regular team meetings

Always have an agenda

Change the format once a month

Allow people to ask questions

The importance of time management

Making time for personal and professional

Don’t have too many meetings

How often should virtual teams meet in person?

Setting the agenda for an annual meeting

Chapter 6: Bridging Time Zones and Knowledge Management

Finding the optimum time for meetings

Coping with language barriers

How to deal with challenging accents (and make sure everyone is understood)

Agree on a channel for urgent communication

Knowledge management

Encourage people to join a community

Build regional zonal communities

Best practice for online communication

Chapter 7: Regular Feedback

How to structure a performance feedback session

Learn the difference between the development plan and performance feedback

Why is this so important in virtual teams?

Practice generous listening

Use the magic words

Speak about possibilities

Tips for sharing team feedback

The formula for a virtual power team

Key takeaways on feedback

Chapter 8: Cross-Company Cooperation and Coopetition

An evolving environment

How to build trust

The need for a collaboration agenda

Structured communication is essential

Finding your optimal culture

Don’t forget personality

Defining intra-organisational and inter-organisational coopetition

Where does inter-organisational coopetition come from?

Where does coopetition lead?

Why you should explore cross-company coopetition

High-profile examples of coopetition

How to establish your win-win

Developing the right mindset for coopetition

Part 3: Uniting Global Teams: Leveraging Global Community

Chapter 9: Praise, Praise, Praise

What qualities do you need to stay motivated when working virtually?

How to motivate and retain key team members when you work remotely

How to make decisions in hybrid teams

Chapter 10: Building the Optimal Team Culture

Case study

The three scales for optimal team culture

Tips for leaders to adjust their leadership style

The four levels of meetings

Tips for adjusting your decision-making process

Tips to adjust to different conflict styles

Finding your optimal team culture

Chapter 11: Establishing a Winning Spirit

My team

The early stages of the project

Taking a different approach

The road to Tenerife

The outcome

How to apply this to your team

What if you don’t have the budget to be generous?

Use tangible tokens

Don’t forget about people’s families

Chapter 12: Next Generation leaders

Building virtual power teams under virtual power teams

Ways to develop next generation leaders

Top tips

Virtual power family

Why it’s important to foster gravity in your virtual family

What can you learn from being part of a virtual power family?

Applying these principles to long-distance relationships

Maintaining global friendships

Connect with your parents

Co-living to be part of a community

The importance of community

My advice for living and working remotely

Setting up your virtual working environment

Chapter 13: Building Power Communities

Case Study: Youth Against AIDS

Lessons for a more remote future

The importance of frequent updates

Regular updates are essential for strengthening bonds

Be clear on your ‘why’

Case Study: Teach For All

Empowerment and trust building

Responding to any major change or disruption (including a pandemic!)

Case Study: The Covid-19 pandemic

The road to digitalisation

Career visibility when working remotely

Conclusion

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.