Empowering your Virtual Team

Empowering your virtual team poses unique challenges, as the absence of face-to-face interaction can lead to isolation and stagnation. Your team members are by far your most valuable assets, regardless of their location. How can you maintain the balance between ensuring that your team members meet project milestones, and having them feel as though they've made a significant difference, wherever they may be?

Empowerment goes beyond motivation. Whether they are internal employees or independent consultants, your virtual team members are experts at what they do. They provide strengths and expertise in their own right, and when empowered, can make a huge difference both locally and organizationally.

When your virtual team is in need of some empowerment, use the following approaches to guide you:

Be Virtually Present - Take proactive measures to let your team members see how invested you are in them. Set an example by being as available as you expect your team to be. Maintain a proactive, virtual presence by ensuring that issues are addressed with urgency (e.g., technical difficulties and project-related issues), and make conscious efforts to regularly engage your team both individually and in group settings.