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Index section

1. Welcome to Elements!
2. Virtual Teams
3. Inquiry Based Decision Making
4. Links: Treasure Hunt, Lower Bills, 50States, Newsletters
5. Coaching Notes
6. Newsletter Notes

Welcome to Elements!

On September 11th, I was about to send out Elements and then I stopped.  
After serious consideration, it went out a week later with a minor change.   

On September 12th, after much soul searching, we on the Board of Women in Networking decided to proceed with a scheduled networking meeting. However, we began the meeting by adding a moment of silence.

By the end of the week I had made contact in a concentric sort of way with most of the people and groups I am close to. I remade and had re-examined each of my decisions and actions. This occurred less often as time went on.

Over the next month, in personal and professional settings I listened to and heard different perspectives. I observed a multitude of actions that were very personal, community or globally focused.

By the end of the month, I realized I was tired. I had the luxury of taking a day off and I used it to recharge and to play.

This month in Elements the articles are about decision-making and virtual teams while the website recommendations focus on fun and items of a personal nature.  

This month's article in Elements about virtual teams discusses why they are important and includes some references.  On September 11th, when the airplanes stopped flying, some groups had to keep working in spite of limited access to on-site personnel. And they did so by becoming a virtual team for the first time, using videoconferencing, conference calls, and other means of working together.
   
The next article is an examination of decision-making processes.  An inquiry-based model is recommended for important decisions in our business and personal lives to ensure quality results. It is a summary of a longer article from the September Edition of the Harvard Business Review.  

In appreciation and gratitude,

Star
 

2. Virtual Teams

The Internet and other technologies have revolutionized the way people work as individuals, as businesses, and as teams. The recent attacks of September 11th are also changing how we work together.  

Common goals and missions are being pursued from all parts of the world.  The phrase "Virtual Team" has recently been labeled by businesses to describe teams that are not located in the same physical place.  Businesses have recognized the benefit of virtual teams in their ability to get information more quickly and have actions completed faster. It has reduced costs and has provided access to specialized skills and has allowed for efficiencies through reuse of content.  To be effective, virtual teams, managers, and leaders must be conscious of the their "virtual-ness".  It requires adapting, learning new skills, and understanding the impact on the productivity of the teams.  Hence, new ways of managing projects and teaming are required.  Some proof of industries acknowledging the Virtual Team has been evidenced by: a conference in August that was dedicated to Virtual Teams, best selling business books on the subject, and specialized consulting and training courses that are now available.

Here are some of my observations about the virtual aspects of a team.  They are based on over one year's personal experience with a virtual international project team that was responsible for delivering a worldwide Internet Billing System.  Above all, clear operating guidelines, roles, and communication plans must be established.

1. Virtual relationships are created differently, there is no water cooler.  It's best to know the   
   person before squaring off with an issue on a conference call or video link
2. If possible, key players must visit face to face at critical times
3. Over communicate. Return team members email, return phone calls within
    24 hours, send out updates on a regular basis.
4. Deal with conflict faster; by the time it arrives it maybe critical.
5. Create a common virtual place for the "team" to keep documents, emails, notes
6. Learn and use technology to your advantage.  
7. Know when to use (and NOT use) each technology and for what purpose:
   information, discussions, relationship building, issue working, direction setting.

Three great references for virtual teams are: 
 www.virtualteams.com - This website offers a free download of their books on virtual teams. 
 www.heiterassociates.com - Stefanie Heiter is an expert on virtual teams and offers comprehensive training and consulting for virtual team members and mangers. 
 mailto:stars@stardar.com -  Star Dargin offers coaching and consulting services for virtual project teams.

 

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3. Inquiry Based Decision Making for Improved Results

"The art of management is the art of making meaningful generalizations out of inadequate facts."  
   Dean Stanley Teele, "What you didn't know about Making Decisions", Harvard
   Business Review, September 2001, p108.

The premise that leaders are made or broken by their decisions implies that a quality decision-making process produces better leaders and better results.  This is the basis for the article, "What you didn't know about Making Decisions", in the September 2001 Harvard Business Review. The article outlines how leaders can design and manage an effective decision-making process using an inquiry model.  In the research that was done, the decision-making process is classified as advocacy, or inquiry, or a combination.  Advocacy is when participants view decision making as a contest and winners and losers emerge.  Inquiry is an open process where wide ranges of ideas are considered, multiple alternatives are generated, the exchange of ideas is encouraged, and a well-tested solution emerges.

An inquiry-based decision-making process considers a variety of options and requires working together to reach agreement.  All the raw information is shared and dissected which encourages critical thinking and allows constructive, not personal, conflicts to be openly debated.   

However, this presents many challenges for the leader such as:
 - Keeping the conflict constructive
 - Framing the core issues to create proper focus
 - Using Language to encourages openness and debate
 - Getting people to step outside their positions
 - Having awareness of high vested positions
 - Listening actively
 - Knowing when to end the deliberation

Being comfortable with ambiguity and letting go of control is a skill needed by leaders and teams who wish to support this type of decision-making.   The true measurement of a decision is not realized until after it is made and the effectiveness realized. The advice to leaders is to periodically review the decision-making processes by looking at some of these factors: number of alternatives considered, assumptions tested, criteria that were well-defined, amount of dissent and debate in conflict, and perceived fairness and the level of listening going on in the processes. There are some good business and political decisions from the past are used as examples in the Harvard Business Review article.  
 

4. Links: Treasure Hunt, Lower Bills, Newsletters, 50 States

www.lowermybills.com - This is a simple site that provides helpful information about services available to you in your area such as: telephone, Internet, insurance and others.  Your zip code is entered to determine what's available.   I found it helpful when switching long distance telephone services and to see what high speed Internet options are available to my house. 
 

www.cybersurfari.org - This is a fun and addicting an Internet Treasure Hunt game site.  The Discovery Channel sponsors it.  I learned about it from my son who is playing it at school. The objective is for you to find treasures buried in sponsors web sites.  Prizes are awarded starting at 20 treasures, things like Frisbees, tee shirts, and money. The new fall safari game starts on October 19, so get set, ready, go! 
 

www.50states.com - Everything you ever want to know and more about a state is here, including the basics song, flags, birds and more.  There's also information and links to most every state government agency, cities and towns, businesses, TV and radio stations, colleges, genealogical sites and way more. 
 

http://lists.webvalence.com/subscribeme.html  - Newsletters are becoming a trend for marketing.  I receive over twenty in a week.  Larger companies have their own IT staff and resources to create, deliver and manage them. This site services small businesses newsletters.  As part of the service they have a large list of interesting newsletters in various subjects for you to subscribe to from smaller businesses.   

 

5. Coaching Notes

Here's an article on the Coaching Profession and how it is evolving: 
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2730-2001Oct3.html

Call me or email with questions about consulting or coaching.  
I offer a free sample coaching call or consulting.

I keep two pro bono clients for three-month periods.  I will have a slot open in December and one in January call me if you are interested.

If you refer someone to me that becomes a client you will get a gift certificate from Amazon.

6. NEWSLETTER NOTES

Elements    October 2001
Written by: Star Dargin
Edited by: Ruth Gleba,  gleba@aol.com 

Advertising will be accepted.
Contact Star for rates at:  stars@stardar.com

Personal submissions will only be published with permission from the submitter, who is responsible for ensuring rights to the material. Based on your preference, submissions can be published anonymously.

Elements will be published 12 times a year.
The deadline for the next issue is October 31, 2001

To subscribe or unsubscribe send email to  stars@stardar.com

The opinions expressed in Elements are the author's viewpoint.   While every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of the content, such information is subject to change without notice.   Elements is not responsible for inadvertent errors.

Star Dargin

34 Robinson Road, Littleton, MA 01460
978 486-4603

Star Dargin is an independent coach, consultant and trainer and is a partner of Shared Learning International:  

www.sharedlearningint.com 
As a professional coach she collaborates with individuals and teams to provide focus and balance in achieving personalized results. As a consultant, she specialized in bringing software methodologies and project management to life for business, teams and individuals.

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