The demands from today’s
customer for higher quality, better reliability, more service and faster
response time is compelling organizations to focus on development of new
methods for assembling project teams. Accordingly, virtual teams are becoming
more popular due to the need to collaborate quickly and efficiently within and
across organizational boundaries to create products and services where
information is the value-added component (Oakley 1998). In the virtual team environment the concepts
of economies of scale and scope of ability do not apply. Technology has made it possible for
organizations to draw talent from diverse corners of the globe. Free agents who
possess the needed skills can readily be drawn into a virtual team and released
when no longer required.
The advent of the virtual
project team has created a shift in the management paradigm of how we control
and direct the activities of project team members. This environment has led to
the evolution of managers as e-intermediaries, which requires greater
leadership skills than in the past. This paradigm defines two managerial
challenges for the virtual workplace: making the transition from managing time
(activity-based) to managing projects (results-based). Organizations are
searching for a set of principles that can be effectively implemented to ensure
the success of the organization within these new operational parameters. It is
my belief that the application of open systems concepts and learning
organization principles will help define the roles of leadership and membership
within the successful implementation of virtual project teams in affordable
housing organizations.
The
Macro-Level – Open Systems Concept
People develop an
initial mental model of an organization based on what is perceived as the
objectives of the organization. Individuals’
often fail to realize that organizations are much more complex than what is
observed on the surface and that other variables impact the organizational
structure. Closer observation of the
organization helps one recognize that organizations are social systems and as
such have a ‘life’ and ‘personality’ of their own. All social systems exhibit patterned
activities that are repeatable on a continuous basis. These patterned activities are either
complementary or interdependent to the common aspirations of the
organization. These patterns represent
cycles that work to maintain the organization’s existence and as such occur
within an open system environment.
In “Organizations
and the System Concept” Katz and Kahn (Classics of Organization Theory,
1996) discuss the cross application of biological concepts to organizational
social systems. They state that system
theory is basically concerned with problems of relationships, of structure, and
interdependence rather than with constant attributes of objects. The implication of this perspective is that
organizations are dynamic in nature and cannot be reduced to the study of
static organizational concepts such as profit making. As a living social system organizations are
dependent on their environment and thus must be recognized as an open
system. Prior to this recognition of the
open systems concept researchers viewed social structures as either a closed
system to which the laws of physics applied or as a living concept in which
immanent forces control and direct its life and its development. However, the concept of the open system means
we do not have to follow the laws that physics presents to us or abandon the
tools that science provides us for studying social systems. We are able to identify organizational
systems and determine their purpose by tracing the patterned activities that
people engage in and ascertain how the output can be translated into energy,
which can reactivate the patterned activity.
In the virtual project management arena these activities are extremely
difficult to identify. With limited
face-to-face interaction, the need to communicate in an open and non-punitive
way is critical to the success in identifying these activities. Successful managers of a virtual team have a
clear and concise understanding of open systems characteristics.
Open
systems import energy from the external environment, which provides continuous
stimulation to revitalize the cyclical nature of social systems. Open organizational systems transform the
inputs of energy into products that benefit the continued existence of the
organization. The throughput process
then is able to export products to the environment, which then become inputs to
another cycle. This might be viewed as
one organization’s output, either internal or external, is another
organization’s input helping to maintain the cyclical nature of the open
system. It should be remembered that
events create structure and not things, so organizational structure is a
dynamic rather that a static concept.
Open
organizational systems survive by utilizing negative entropy, which holds the
organization together and prevents the disorganization or death of the
organization. Organizations survive by
importing more energy that they expend thus conservation reduces the speed at
which entropy takes place. The advantage
to social systems is that they are not limited by physical constancy as
biological organisms are and can thus arrest entropy indefinitely. By definition, virtual project teams have
access to unlimited sources of energy.
Virtual members bring the potential for new insight into the project and
thus additional focal energy and effort.
Additionally,
open systems work to maintain a state of homeostasis. The virtual project manager desires to keep a
balance between inputs and outputs of energy exchanges. Since open systems are
dynamic there is movement over time but the maintenance of balance is
fundemental to controlled growth and expansion.
So, virtual organizational systems exist under dynamic homeostasis not
in static environments. Beyond
homeostasis, these virtual organizations work to differentiate the aspects that
make up the organization. Specialization
becomes an intricate part of the virtual organization's survival. This specialization helps to arrest entropy
and gather feedback for the continued existence of the organization. Also, there is the recognition that many
paths exist to the attainment of organizational goals. This recognition of equifinality has more
impact early on in a virtual organization’s existence but often is reduced as
the virtual managerial system grows and expands.
Open source
emphasizes collective performance and individual benefit as much as emphasizing
an individual’s performance. Even in this environment, where there is clear
potential for chaos, success is achieved through disciplined actions of
multiple, interacting governance mechanisms. These mechanisms (membership
management, rules of the institution, monitoring and sanctions, and reputation
building) create self-governance in the absence of employment or
fee-for-service contracts. Open source contributors enjoy the sense of “helping
others out” and “giving something back”.
The appeal of a better mousetrap underlies much of the open source
participation. Traditional organizations
should consider ways to shift from management of knowledge workers to
self-governance of knowledge workers. The networked organizational paradigms in
which, work is conducted by temporary teams that cross organizational lines are
the wave of the future (Markus, Manville and Agres, 2000).
The
ability of the virtual project manager to synthesize a shared mental model that
captures the requirements of the project and focuses all energy towards the
project’s success is difficult at best to accomplish. Creation of a model that traverses both
distance and culture is an extremely arduous endeavor. The ability of the
virtual team manager to create self-sustaining governance mechanisms is built
on the shared mental model of the team.
Leaders of virtual project teams typically receive a series of brief
snapshots of situations - This happens with voice mails, text messages, emails
and other supporting technologies. Effective leaders need to quickly and
skillfully diagnose what is happening, then determine a course of action, and
adjust how they communicate and what technology they use to achieve the desired
results.
The role of the
manager in the open systems concept has changed to become that of the
leader. Employees are encouraged to be
proactive rather than reactive in situations.
Organizational flexibility is also a key factor. Without flexibility organizations cannot
react effectively to change. If the open
systems approach is a macro level solution for the development of virtual
teams, then at the micro level it’s the learning organization.
The Micro-Level – The Learning Organization
Peter Senge (1990) has been a driving force behind the
development of the learning organization concept. He conceptualized, distilled, and presented
the concepts in his book entitled “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice
of the Learning Organization” in 1990.
It is based on his experiences and observations of successful business
organizations. He takes no credit for
inventing the five disciplines in his book.
Instead, he sees the five disciplines as a melding together of
organizational management theory from the brief history of the discipline. The five disciplines (systems thinking,
personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning) are a
constantly evolving and changing set of principles. Adaptability characterizes
the learning organization as it proceeds to work within boundaries guided by
strategies. Effective coordination and collaboration across boundaries is
crucial for the virtual project manager. The creation of mutual trust and
respect; teamwork and collaboration; and focus on visible contributions that
appear within the virtual team is key to its success (Thompsen, 2000). As a
practicing manager and keen observer of the application of management
techniques, I believe that the use of learning organization principles will
find great success in the management of virtual teams.
The umbrella discipline is systems
thinking. By using systems thinking,
virtual project managers can see the whole organization and understand the
framework of interrelationships that permeate the organization. The tools and techniques are distilled from a
variety of disciplines and they prepare the virtual project team manager to
deal with any situation that might arise.
Because virtual team managers can see the whole of the organization, they
can also see the structures that underlie complex situations. The other four disciplines (personal mastery,
mental models, shared vision and team learning) are all essential to the
success of systems thinking.
Personal mastery refers to the
discipline of personal growth and learning.
The term mastery refers to the concept of craft mastery such as that
seen in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. As a master of ones own growth the individual
can align his needs with those of the organization by learning what is
important to both. Personal mastery also
helps to clarify how the individual sees each situation. Clarity of thought helps to maintain the
alignment between the virtual team leader and the virtual team member. Individuals with high levels of mastery live
in a continuous learning mode. This
ability is extremely important in a virtual environment. Without alignment of personal goals with
organizational goals, the virtual team cannot be successful.
Mental models are a concept borrowed
from Chris Argyris (Senge 1990). Mental
models affect what and how we see situations.
Mental models are by definition simplifications of situations. Both virtual team leaders and virtual team
members develop mental models about all aspects of their life. Problems arise when these models are static
in nature and do not change with changing situations. Mental models can help to accelerate learning
in the virtual organization by creating a common perspective from which the
virtual team can operate.
Shared visions are not ideas but are inspiring forces that focus energy
within the organization. Virtual team
managers use these shared visions to focus the energy for learning within the
virtual organization. Truly shared
visions happen when two individuals are committed to the same aspiration. Virtual team managers should never impose a
vision on the virtual team but must work to develop a vision through each
virtual team member’s own personal vision. This approach ensures the
coordination and cooperation of each team member towards successful project
implementation.
Team learning is about the mastery
of dialogue and discussion. Effective
virtual team managers understand the difference between these two tools. Dialogue requires the ability to disengage
one’s self from an idea or situation and openly listen to other ideas without
filtering them through one’s own perspective.
Discussion is when one defends one’s position and work to convince
others that it is the correct perspective.
Team learning also tries to recognize opposition forces to dialogue and
discussion and prevent them from surfacing.
Organizations
need to adapt to their changing environments. Local line leaders in the
organization and high level executives as well as internal networkers and
community leaders are needed who can motivate and direct the organization and
its members, to learn to adapt to the changes. We have efficient manufacturing,
effective mass marketing, and rapid adoption of technology, financial acumen
and a strong belief in the human factors in organizational theory. What is required for future success, of the
virtual project model, is the distributing of power while increasing
self-discipline. These requirements can
be met through the use of open systems concepts and learning organization
principles.
A Shift in
the Paradigm
Virtual team managers
will need to continue to develop the ability to listen, which will improve
conversation. Communicating effectively
is a highly visible concern for virtual team environments. Communicating effectively in distance
situations requires careful attention to listening. How we present our own
thoughts and ideas, focusing on clearly conveying our positive and constructive
intent, choosing the right technology to quickly and sensitively communicate a
dear message, taking extra steps to respectfully ensure understanding and
expectation for action. Managers use
information inputs to provide knowledge about the environment and the
organization’s function in the environment. Informational feedback is used to
make course corrections for the organization.
Organizational managers, especially virtual project managers, use
management by exception to maintain organizational direction. Focus is given to exceptions to organization
goals, which limits the reception of inputs from the environment. Communicating effectively in a virtual
project team also requires careful diagnosis of any given situation to discern
not only the task or work objective that is in question, but also the emotional
content that is obvious or hidden within the situation. It requires deliberate
attention to the needs of the project team members and their desire for action
or a remedy in a timely and sensitive manner (Thompsen, 2000). Thus effective
virtual project managers are able to attune themselves to information signals
that have the most relevance to them.
This ability to code signals allows for the filtration of confusing
information that might lead down the wrong track.
Another highly visible concern
revolves around the issue of mutual trust.
The success of the virtual project team is dependent on building mutual
trust at the beginning of the work relationship. The concept of trust is an essential element
to social contracting among knowledge workers. The ability of the team to
develop this important asset begins and grows with the willing sharing of
knowledge. When mutual trust exists between team members’ interdependencies
develop. However, trust is very fragile
in nature. It requires clarity of
intent. Over time, actions that fulfill
any commitments tend to solidify the trust.
This is especially important for virtual project team members who have
diverse signature skills or represent different technical disciplines (Thompsen
2000).
Leaders of virtual project teams receive snapshots of
situations. The development of
communication and mutual trust in a virtual project team requires careful
consideration on several fronts. First, the leader determines which
communications method is appropriate for a given situation. Second, the leader chooses the communication
technology form that best fits or is preferred by the team members. Third, in order to maintain mutual trust, the
leader must adhere to the project teams ground rules. In a traditional organization, the difficulty
of coordinating and collaborating across boundaries has always been
problematic. Working in a virtual
environment only exacerbates the difficulties present in a traditional
organization.
What we have witnessed in the last 30 years is a testament to
the shift in management application from the mechanistic to more of the organic
model. What has driven organizations to
make this shift is the rapid change in technology that permeates the business
environment. The rapid technology
changes have forced companies to be more nimble in order to react to customer
demands and competition. Those that
cannot react fast enough often find themselves in an unfavorable business
position, which could eventually lead to business failure.
The individual who
benefits from this environment will be a leader first and a manager second with
the skills required to empower geographically disperse individuals, working
with him, to create a nimble organization that values flexibility and can
change to meet the market situation.
There will be a strong recognition that organizations are organic in
nature and thus must adapt on a continuous basis to deliver the optimal
solution to customer demands.
Bibliography
Thompsen, Joyce A.; “Effective leadership of virtual project
teams”; Futurics; St. Paul; 2000
Oakley, Judith; “Leadership processes in Virtual Teams and
Organizations”; Journal of Leadership Studies; Summer 1998
Senge, Peter; The Fifth Discipline; The art &
practice of the learning organization; Doubleday Currency; NY. 1990
Katz, Daniel; Kahn, Robert L.; “Organizations and the System
Concept”, Classics of Organization Theory, Fourth Edition, Harcourt
Brace College Publishers, 1996
