Article Summary

Global Teams That Work Well

Earlier, team-based projects required all members to be physically present in the same
location during the tenure of the project. However, these days with advancement in
technology teams are functioning with people from different geographical locations with
varied backgrounds these teams are named as global teams. But managing such diverse
workforce is extremely difficult as social barriers to interpersonal communication exist at
each step. Mitigating these social barriers becomes the primary management challenge for
the global team leader.

Tsedal Neeley suggested a framework to identify and successfully manage social distances,
the SPLIT framework. The five components that this encompasses are: structure, process,
language, identity and technology. The structural framework deals with the location,
number of sites where the team members are based and the number of employees who
work at each site. The main problem here is the perception of power. The team members
who are at a closer proximity to the team leader are perceived to have more power by
those who aren’t. Process captures the importance of empathy at work place. The members
who interact on a daily basis in the office feel more empathetic towards each other.
Language and fluency are vital elements in this framework, the team members having good
communication skills seem to dominate those who don’t. Sometimes while interaction some
regional words are used which aren’t understood by everyone. Identity, global teams work
efficiently when members know where each one of the team comes from but this is easy
said than done. Members do not understand the value system of others who range from
diverse locations. The modes of communication used by global teams need to be carefully
considered as technologies can both reduce and increase social distance.

The leader has to deal with the above mentioned problems to come up with effective
solutions in order to make global teams with proper synergies that work well. The structural
difference can be overcome if the leader imbibes in all the feeling of unity. The leader needs
to make time for informal chats so that the members understand and develop empathy for
each other. The barrier of language and fluency disparities can be handled if the leader
encourages equal participation from each member, along with that all the members should
be asked to communicate in the language that is understood by all the members of the
team. The team leader needs to instruct and facilitate his team members to parse their
observations and understand one another’s identities. For faster and more efficient
communication the leader needs to understand the team dynamics and encourage use of
those communication technologies and during those hours when all the members are at
ease. So, to manage social distances effectively and maximize the talents and engagement
of team members, leaders must stay attentive to these five elements of SPLIT. When this
happens the teams will become truly representative of the “global village” and achieve the
true objective of global teams.

Submitted by: Group 1