Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed (Wiley Desktop Editions)

This third edition of the best–selling resource Mastering Virtual Teams offers a toolkit for leaders and members of virtual teams. The revised and expanded edition includes a CD–ROM with useful resources that allow virtual teams to access and use the book‘s checklists, assessments, and other practical tools quickly and easily. Deborah L. Durate and Nancy Tennant Snyder include updated guidelines, strategies, and best practices for working effectively with virtual teams across time and distance to see a project through. The useful tools, exercises, and real–life examples show how anyone can master the unique dynamics of virtual team participation in an environment where the old rules no longer apply.

From the Inside Flap
Virtual teams can communicate from great distances or be part of a group that works in the same building. No matter where they are, today‘s virtual teams are complex entities that rely on technology to make up for the lack of face–to–face meetings. Managers are under pressure to assemble the best talent they can find from wherever they can find it. But once these teams are in place, managers must also find ways to help the team—who are often from widely different backgrounds—work smoothly together. Using the principles in this book, virtual teams can be as tight–knit and effective as on–location teams.

The best–selling first two editions of Mastering Virtual Teams offered a succinct guide for managers who must help people from different parts of the company, different countries, and different cultures work together efficiently and effectively. In this newly revised and expanded third edition, the authors—both respected global management experts—have updated the contents to reflect the most current analysis and reflect today‘s changing business environment. ?

In this comprehensive book, the authors tackle the challenges of today‘s virtual team head–on.

The chapters include:

• Critical success factors
• How to use technology as "an additional team member"
• Impact of culture
• Myths and realities of leading virtual teams
• Six major steps to starting a virtual team
• Team dynamics
• Building trust
• Virtual team meetings

The authors have also included tools from the book on a CD–ROM that offers solutions to the unique challenges of working with a virtual team. Full of exercises, checklists, and competency assessments, the CD–ROM‘s toolkit can be customized or simply printed as–is for team use.

From the back cover:

Your Hands–On Guide to Virtual Teams—With a CD–ROM Full of Practical Resources

This third edition of the best–selling resource Mastering Virtual Teams offers a toolkit for leaders and members of virtual teams. The revised and expanded edition includes a CD–ROM with useful resources that allow virtual teams to access and use the book‘s checklists, assessments, and other practical tools quickly and easily. Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder include updated guidelines, strategies, and best practices for working effectively with virtual teams across time and distance to see a project through. The useful tools, exercises, and real–life examples show how anyone can master the unique dynamics of virtual team participation in an environment where the old rules no longer apply.

About the Author:

Deborah L. Duarte is an expert on strategy innovation and leadership. She has consulted with many public and private organizations, including Time Warner AOL, NASA, Freddie Mac, Discovery Communications, Colgate Palmolive, and TIAA–CREF. She has a doctorate from the George Washington University.

Nancy Tennant Snyder is corporate vice president of strategic competencies and leadership for Whirlpool Corporation. She has consulted at many companies on a wide range of business topics. Holding a doctorate in organizational behavior from George Washington University, she is the author of numerous articles on innovation, virtual teams, and organizational capability. She teaches as an adjunct faculty at the business school of the University of Notre Dame.