Your virtual team is feeling isolated and disconnected. How can you bring them together and boost morale?

My top three tips for leading icebreakers: 1. Choose a question that is inclusive and stays away from polarizing topics (i.e. religion and politics). This can include simple questions that require little to no prep or more thoughtful questions that you might want to give participants time to prep for. 2. You share first! Set the tone for your group by answering first. This allows the team to gauge if this is a light, funny sort of question, or something you are expecting people to answer with serious thought. It also gives a minute to think of their answers. 3. Be a hype person and ask follow up questions when possible (and if time permits). Agree with answers you agree with, laugh at funny answers, ask a follow up to gather more info.

Plan an In-Person luncheon or after hours meetup (Bowling, Top Golf, etc.) as to allow for some interpersonal time with one another which is vital to the cohesion of any team.

Reunir uma equipe virtual e aumentar a moral pode ser desafiador, mas algumas estratégias eficazes incluem comunicação regular, agendando reuniões semanais para atualizações e discussões abertas, e utilizando ferramentas de videoconferência para manter a interação face a face. Atividades de team building, como quiz, jogos online ou happy hours virtuais, podem promover a interação e diversão. Reconhecer e recompensar conquistas, celebrando esforços publicamente e oferecendo incentivos, como cartões de presente ou dias de folga, é fundamental. Apoiar emocionalmente a equipe, incentivando conversas abertas sobre bem-estar mental e oferecendo recursos, como sessões de coaching ou terapia, também é importante. Promova feedbacks!

Fully agree with a fun question and I've used humor (usually at my own cost) in the past to "break the ice". Whether the team is virtual or not, as a leader, you need to be inviting and ensure that the team understands that your door is actually always open to ideas and they are comfortable with providing input. Again, I've found that humor can be a great ice breaker to lower any artificial intimidation barriers and help develop a sense of community. Understand how you demeanor can impact a team, and make communications inviting, yep, even when they are miles apart.

Algunas ideas para iniciar una reunión son: - Comenzar por destacar un hito o resultado que haya logrado el equipo o algún integrante - Comentar algunas cosas triviales, como las noticias del día o un próximo evento social - Compartir algo que te haya ocurrido, algo personal pero que se pueda compartir. - Compartir alguna anécdota. Lo importante es hacer acciones para comenzar la reunión en forma distendida

Fully agree, I greatly enjoy learning about my team members, not just what they are doing at work, but their hobbies or other outside activities. It goes back to building a sense of community, whether your virtual team members are a few states way, or half way around the world.

Regular check-ins with your team members are crucial and can help to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. I think it's also really important to not only discuss work but to spend some time learning about your team members outside of the office. It's important that team members feel cared about and motivated.

Regular check-ins are key. In a virtual setting, communication can become solely task-oriented. Schedule one-on-one chats to focus on how your team is feeling and what they need to stay motivated. Organise group calls around their achievements and challenges, letting them suggest topics that matter to them, whether it's project updates or seeking advice. Start each group call with a few minutes of informal conversation to check in on everyone. This ensures consistency, genuine listening, and a stronger team connection. Make these meetings inclusive by involving quieter team members and enforcing a no-interruption rule.

Totally agree that regular check-ins are vital. One tactic that can work is to have a virtual 10-15 mins coffee/tea break with the team once a week and just chat about anything other than work (family, news, hobbies, play a game etc). Makes one feel connected and less alone.

Este tema lo encuentro muy importante, tanto para trabajo presencial como virtual. Es súper importante tener reuniones, uno a uno, donde lo principal no sean las tareas. El centro de la conversación debe ser la persona, saber cómo se ha sentido, qué desafíos ha tenido en lo personal o con su equipo, pregúntale qué apoyos necesita. También es clave dar feedforward, indicando que se espera en el rol, cuáles son sus puntos débiles y hacia dónde debe ir. En resumen, las personas y su futuro está primero… porque problemas que resolver y/o proyectos que ejecutar siempre dependerá de la actitud de cada persona, sus conocimientos y habilidades

Como líder se debe construir un propósito con el equipo, plantear los desafíos y en conjunto acordar cuáles serán los planes estratégicos a implementar, cómo mediremos los indicadores de avance o perfomance y los indicadores de resultado. Es súper importante que todos entiendan el hacia dónde vamos y “porque”, de este modo el “como” es un proceso de co-construcción donde todos participan

As a leader of virtual projects, I consider building a team to be fundamental so that there is a shared vision of the work, a sense of camaraderie and connection, which generates unity and better results. As strategies to achieve this, I have used soft skills training sessions with trivias, spaced meetings where the central topic is not a project or technical issue, but rather discussing how the team members feel, sharing general company updates, and aligning the team's vision and mission. These seem key to ensuring the team works as a true unit, despite the physical distances.

Essa autonomia pode aumentar a satisfação no trabalho e reduzir sentimentos de isolamento, permitindo que os membros da equipe equilibrem melhor o trabalho com a vida pessoal. Além disso, oferecer essa flexibilidade pode promover um ambiente de confiança e responsabilidade, onde os funcionários se sentem valorizados e motivados. Ao ajustar o foco para resultados em vez de horários rígidos, você pode cultivar uma equipe mais engajada e produtiva, melhorando o bem-estar geral dos colaboradores.

Reconhecer publicamente as contribuições individuais durante reuniões virtuais ou por meio de canais de comunicação da equipe faz com que os membros se sintam vistos e apreciados, o que é um poderoso impulsionador de moral. Essa prática não apenas aumenta a motivação, mas também fortalece o senso de comunidade e pertencimento dentro da equipe. Celebrar sucessos, grandes ou pequenos, e destacar o esforço de cada membro ajuda a criar um ambiente de trabalho positivo e colaborativo.

Feeling isolated and disconnected in a virtual team is common. One effective approach to bring everyone together and boost morale is to work on shared goals. When your team works towards a common purpose, it creates unity and community. Small group projects that benefit the whole team and build on their best practices, expertise, and interests are particularly effective. This enables team members to get to know and learn from each other, strengthening their connection and enriching the team's overall skills and knowledge. Regular communication about these goals ensures everyone feels connected to the bigger picture.

Essa abordagem ajuda a alinhar os esforços individuais com a visão coletiva, promovendo uma maior coesão e engajamento. Além disso, ao envolver todos no processo de definição e acompanhamento das metas, você fortalece o espírito de equipe e a responsabilidade mútua, essenciais para o sucesso em um ambiente virtual.

Yep, when all are clear on the bigger picture, the team tends to feel more engaged. They have an understanding of why they are doing what they are doing and it can open engagement to new great ideas, because they see the bigger picture. Some of the best ideas come from people actually doing the work, because they are connecting dots that you may not see. Extremely important to ensure all know why they are doing what they are doing in the scope of the bigger picture.

As a product leader, I've found it very valuable to take that attitude that the team does not work for me, I work for them. Constantly ask "how can I help YOU, what can I do for YOU". For me, this has fostered a great sense of engagement with the team with more open and valuable interaction.

Creo que existe un para de puntos que no siempre se indican, pero que para mí es relevante: 1.- Un equipo se basa en la confianza y el cariño que se tienen sus integrantes. Esto lleva consigo conversaciones con respeto, siempre buscando mejorar, apertura para recibir recomendaciones de mejora o darlas y ofrecer ayuda. 2.- Un equipo debe ser diverso e inclusivo, pero me refiero a las ideas, formas de expresión y formas de ver el mundo. Esta diversidad permite tener soluciones novedosas, sacarnos de la caja y además nos desafía como líderes. 3.- Es responsabilidad del líder permitir y apoyar a sus colaboradores para que sean mejor que uno mismo. Es una forma de crecimiento mutuo, una muestra de apertura y cariño hacia los integrantes.

I found that my role on virtual teams needs to be very relational. As team leader I had much greater task oriented responsibilities, but I could not reduce the relationship orientation that I took. On the contrary, as team leader my relationship orientation needed to be even greater than on those teams where I was not leader. Yael Zofi, in her book A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams presents three challenges for virtual teams: 1) Overcoming feelings of isolation 2) Overcoming the lack of understanding of personalities and ways of working. 3) Overcoming the lack of personal history. Virtual teams are all about relationships! Take time for social interaction even when it feels like a waste of time.