Trust in Virtual Teams by Wise Thomas P.;

Author:Wise, Thomas P.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2016-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Communication and Virtuality

Communications is defined as the transmission or reception of information or knowledge, either face to face, or through a mediating technology, and is often measured as a percent of time that team members communicate one to one. Communication is often considered to be an indicator of team virtuality which may be estimated as a percent of a team member’s communication with other project team members that is accomplished using electronic media in a typical week. With strong and effective communications considered to be an essential element for every team and the formation of trust, then the level of communication accomplished using electronic means may be considered to be a key variable in virtuality.

Closed loop communications are often considered by many experts to be a measure of communication effectiveness, and also to contribute to greater levels of performance in the areas of creative problem solving and team process changes. It is commonly accepted that teams in a virtual setting are beset by communications challenges, many of which may hamper the development of a consistent and open environment, and the expression of self-disclosed events that are necessary for the development of trust. Receiving feedback in the conversation, or reciprocation in self-disclosure events, as well as the regular feedback necessary for effective leadership, is commonly recognized to be significantly correlated with increases in team performance.

Another attribute commonly accepted as a measure of effectiveness in communication is the degree to which non-verbal signals are received and processed. How information is conveyed, though, depends greatly on the degree to which the sender depends on non-verbal signals, and the circumstance in which these signals are used. We’ll talk a little more about non-verbal signals as this discussion progresses.

I’ll never forget the day I was called into the CTO’s office to explain why I felt empowered to make demands on his time. With great wonder and trepidation I was summoned to his office to explain myself, and so I immediately set off to find out what I had done. When I arrived, he brought an email to the front of his computer desktop, and while pointing angrily at the screen demanded to know why I was making so many demands.

Shaking my head with wonder I again asked what he meant. He pointed to his screen again telling me to focus and explain my email as he jabbed an angry finger at the underlined sections of my email. Finally getting it, I asked why he felt these were demands. They’re underlined he exclaimed. Underline means that you demand.

I explained to him, that underline meant that I realized he would be using a handheld device to read his email while traveling, and that I wanted to be sure he knew which part of the email was important. I would never demand anything from a chief level leader, and of course if I did I would not do it by email. Just as a quick note, we all have to be very careful with electronic communications. The CTO’s

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