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CELNeT Launches Website

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CELNET

CFAME Connection is pleased to announce the launch of the CELNeT website, an online space dedicated to the Collaboration, e-Learning and Networks lab.

Sophisticated technologies have increased our opportunities to connect even as they have presented new challenges in how we communicate without the benefit of face-to-face interaction.  CELNet specializes in e-Leadership and virtual team disciplines and provides customized consulting for private and public sector organizations.

In a recent FaceTime interview with CFAME Connection, Maggie Pearson, Research Assistant, CELNeT, CFAME, highlighted the progress made since CELNeT’s beginnings in 2015.

Maggie Pearson

Maggie Pearson:

At CELNeT, we believe e-Leadership is a critical area for research and teaching in management. Our mission is to be a resource for all of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management’s schools and programmes.  I have been privileged to work with Martine Durier-Copp and Binod Sundararajan, the founders of the CELNeT program as well as the dedicated researchers who are affiliated with this initiative.

Martine and Binod developed the ConnecT Framework training model, which is based on evidence that major communication breakdowns and conflicts in virtual teams can be mitigated through leadership intervention. The ConnecT Framework explores the e-Leadership competencies that empower teams, leverage technology, and utilize timelines. Feedback has been extremely gratifying.

I believe that CELNeT’s success over the past two years comes from our personal experience of working remotely.  We understand the nuances of communicating within a virtual team structure.  Our evidence-based training modules are specifically designed to enable managers to thrive within a dynamic team environment.

As a graduate of Dalhousie’s Master of Library and Information Studies, I was excited to become involved in a project that held such potential for collaboration.  My predecessor, Amy Belanger, assisted Martine and Binod in the creation of the CELNeT training framework. Part of my mission was to design the website and build upon Amy’s foundation for the site’s information architecture. CELNeT required an online presence where researchers, learners, and seekers of solutions could connect, collaborate, and follow up.

During my tenure with CELNeT, I have participated in analyzing interviews with private and public sector employees on their virtual team experiences, researching best practices for successful e-leadership and virtual team work, developing workshop material for delivering our e-leadership training, and, of course, connecting with a network of researchers and building the CELNeT website.

My term at CELNeT is coming to an end.  As I go on to pursue other personal and professional goals, I will take with me the invaluable insight gained from working within a vibrant team. I am confident that the incoming research assistant will continue to expand the website with more researchers, resources, and connections.

Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There

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Created and Painted by the Students, Staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

Created and Painted by the Students, Staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

A few weeks ago, Binod Sundararajan was invited by the people at the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute to help them use social media to get their research out to those who would benefit from their findings.    Their goal was to increase collaboration in oncology.  Without question, this research will benefit many people and build upon existing knowledge and experience.  Knowing how to disseminate this type of message using social media venues is an acquired skill-set, but it is based on existing communication best practices.

As Binod explains:

My model for talking about social media interactions is to always practice “effective communication.” Whether you use LinkedIn, Twitter, a Facebook page, blog or YouTube channel, your end goal it to convey a message by creating a conversation.  

Know you audience: The audience is out there, waiting for your message.  Be prepared by asking yourself if you understand what that audience requires.  Who are your stakeholders?  Are they internal or external? What would interest them? How would they like the message to be delivered? 

Image and brand:  Whether you are representing yourself or speaking on behalf of an organization, speak with clarity and integrity.  The audience will measure your message by their beliefs and expectations surrounding your name or company/group logo.

I have found that critical listening is a significant factor in gaining trust that fosters long-term alliances. Listening provides us with invaluable information as to why an audience requires a specific message.  We can then customize that message and choose the appropriate channel.

Remember, social media is a two-way dialogue.  The highest vote of confidence that your message has been received is when someone responds and participates in a deeper conversation.  Being available for follow-up, support and guidance will open new possibilities for learning and engagement.

 

Binod Sundararajan: Is Anyone Listening?

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Social MediaSocial Media allows us to create and exchange information, ideas, and knowledge.  Websites, blogs, photo applications – all act as our link to networking opportunities within a wider audience. Social media has advanced global communication even as it has transformed the way we engage within social and work environments.  Our smart phones connect us to places that we may never visit; yet we experience “being there” via a photo uploaded on the other side of the world.  We send messages, listen to music, share videos, post selfies, all with nonchalant ease as we go about our daily routine.

CFAME Connection interviewed Binod Sundararajan to discuss the importance of participating in a complex and chaotic communication environment. Does my voice matter?  Is anyone listening?  Why bother?

According to Binod, every voice matters.

Social media allows us to share critical data that serves the greater good.  For example, when a natural disaster strikes, social media transports help from across the world. Social media brings together interdisciplinary teams to work towards solutions that will benefit society.  With the advent of social media, knowledge transfer has experienced exponential growth.  This is the salient point: articulating your ideas and experience builds upon what others have learned and shared. 

Social media will continue to influence and transform our communication styles.  To provide context, the statistics are impressive (Smith, 2016).  As of July 2015, total worldwide population was 7.3 billion. The internet has 3.17 billion users with 2.3 billion actively involved in social media.  Ninety-one percent of retail brands use two or more social media channels.  Internet users have an average of 5.54 social media accounts.  Even more telling, social media users have risen by 176 million in the last year.   What does that look like for any given 24 hours? There are million new active mobile social users added every day. That is twelve each second.  Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp handle 60 billion messages a day.

These numbers may appear daunting.  Of course, the next question that comes to mind: with so many messages surging through WIFI, is anyone listening?

Next Post: Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There

 

Speed, Quick Answers, Fast Results

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The Virtual Office

The Virtual Office

Technology and complexity are the bold signatures of our work experience.  Virtual teams, with the help of evolving communication channels, will continue to stretch the boundaries of what is possible.  Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There is more to life than simply increasing its speed,” but our current reality seems to contradict that maxim.

How do we keep leadership rigour in a virtual environment that values speed, quick answers, fast results?

This question was given to a panel of CFAME Connection contributors, Binod Sundararajan, Nancy Fijan and Martine Durier-Copp.  Please join the discussion by adding your comments.  We would love to hear from readers.

Binod: Great and successful leaders intuitively understand that communication with internal stakeholders is paramount to the successful buy-in of the leader’s vision. When this communication is conducted with transparency, devoid of hidden agendas, and a faith in the abilities of the internal stakeholders, then the leaders gain trust from their internal stakeholders. There is no shortcut to this, regardless of the type of channel. Whether it be email, texting, blogs, wikis, internal bulletin boards, or social media, if the leader is consistent, on message, doing what is needed by the internal stakeholders, then the troops rally behind the leader. The communication to external stakeholders is easier, because the whole organization acts like one, and the leader has set the tone for the organizational culture. These points are relevant to the question because, if the organizational culture is such, then speed, quick answers, fast results are secondary to quality, consistency, transparency and a standard of excellence that can be unrivalled.

Mobile Office

The Virtual Office – Closing Time

Nancy: I agree with Binod. Honest communication is essential. In my experience, a leader will succeed when there is clarity, commitment, tools and empathy. Clarity aligns a team on required outcomes and achievements.  Every person brings a specific skillset to the table; for a team to come together, there must be an understanding of individual roles and how the team will work together to track progress and accomplish goals. A leader seeks the 100% commitment of each team member, gaining agreement to prepare, be present and be accountable.  Optimum tools, at minimum, connecting by phone/conference line are essential for virtual teams to operate.  Better still, virtual whiteboards for creative brainstorming, video conferences or Webex for face time/chat box capability, and Dropbox or Google docs to track collateral/materials.

The most critical element, especially in a virtual environment, is empathy. Stuff happens, especially across time zones and continents.  Not everyone on a virtual team is encountering a blizzard that has shut one city down. Pitching in and helping each other out during a difficult time creates a stronger personal and team connection. Embracing the concept of iteration allows for flexibility during momentum blips whilst making the team feel like progress is still being made.

Virtual Teams

Martine:  Binod’s and my research confirms Nancy’s best practices.  Virtual teams face three challenges: goal alignment, knowledge sharing and motivation.  We have found that major communication breakdowns and conflicts in virtual teams can be mitigated through leadership intervention. If issues do arise, members of the team and team leaders will be better equipped to take action and reduce negative team results. Trustworthiness and cooperativeness are essential for positive team relationships. Trust forms while completing tasks and allows teams to expand outside the scope of their assignment to complete a project. Effective leadership seeks to create an environment that fosters interpersonal trust, shared vision, and effective decision making.

The e-Leadership Challenge

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Associate Professor of Management; Associate Director, Rowe School of Business; Academic/Research Director, CELNET; Area Coordinator, Management Area Group

Associate Professor of Management; Associate Director, Rowe School of Business; Academic/Research Director, CELNET; Area Coordinator, Management Area Group

“Being a well-connected leader to a diverse group of professionals outside of one’s team will enhance one’s ability to recruit the right people and keep good relationships. Teams that share common values and can find common interest will likely build trust and stronger relationships.” Binod Sundararajan

Binod Sundararajan, co-founder of CELNeT, contends that virtual teams are different from face-to-face.  It is essential to utilize technology to increase media richness to counteract the feelings of isolation that can plague long-distant networks.   In the virtual world, common sense is not always common knowledge.  Virtual teams require leaders who respond to the additional challenges of a mobile workforce.  Establishing a common purpose, planning team activities, negotiating role expectations, motivating and building trust within a virtual setting are the essential skillsets of an e-Leader.

In a recent “virtual” interview, Binod provided insight on the evolution of virtual teams and e-Leadership.

What prompted you to consider e-leadership research?

Binod: I have been involved with e-Learning research since 2003; my PhD dissertation was on e-Learning and blended learning.   Interestingly, research on e-Learning and virtual teams is about 10-15 years old, so we are seeing the beginning of a major trend in the way we organize work.  Without question, our understanding of virtual teams grows as adoption increases across sectors. However, this is a vast space, with teaching and learning for university students, high school students, continuing education students. The rise of online degree programs, certificate programs, like Coursera, Udemy, continue to address this market as more and more organizations, public and private, turn to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to connect their co-located and dispersed teams within and outside their organizations. Our literature review yielded many theories and best practices on doing distance/virtual team work, but it was Martine Durier-Copp, my co-founder in CELNeT, who recognized that there was a gap in this research:  that of e-Leadership. Leadership literature is vast, and has a long history stemming from Organizational Theory and Organizational Behaviour disciplines.

So, what then is e-Leadership and why is it any different from leadership?

Binod: Just like teaching in a face-to-face classroom is different from teaching in an online environment, managing a face-to-face co-located team is dramatically different from managing, and leading a virtual team. While there are many common issues like trust in leaders and managers, communication, and team dynamics, the technological challenges in a virtual team, the distance, lack of two-way communication compounds existing issues, while adding new ones related to complexities, tasks and timelines. The e-Leader, i.e. the Leader or Manager of a virtual team then must have a broader understanding of the contexts, a finer understanding of the complexities, an empathetic approach to team needs, a laser focus on tasks and timelines, a very good comprehension of the technologies and the adherent challenges, in order to successfully achieve the team goals and objectives.

What are the next steps?

Binod: As our research found out, there are more failures of virtual team projects than successes.  This led Martine and me to create the ConnecT© framework for e-Leadership, which connects the ‘C’s—such as culture, complexities, communications and context—with the ‘T’s—tasks, timeline, team and technology.  Our workshops to government leaders have been well-received. Currently we are exploring the landscape to identify an industry partner, with whom we will test this framework.

What do you enjoy most about giving presentations on e-leaders?

Binod: Whenever Martine and I give presentations, we look for that “aha” moment in the audience’s eyes. Participants engage in a virtual team simulation of a case, and then discuss the ConnecT© framework in the context of the case, and their own individual experiences at their workplace. We know we are doing this the right way, when the “aha” moments keep coming, and the discussions get informative, and participants respond with positive comments after the workshop is completed. All of this is thoroughly enjoyable, and it allows Martine and me to learn and refine our framework.  All in all, the outcomes enrich us all.

 

Dalhousie Faculty of Management

Dalhousie Faculty of Management

 

Leadership in the Age of Virtual Teams

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Technology has amplified the definition of community.  Social groups, previously limited to location, are now able to construct collaborative networks that promote and facilitate discussions that literally span the globe.    The speed of knowledge transfer has increased exponentially, transforming the way we learn and engage with others.  No longer do we require face-to-face interactions.   Friendships and camaraderie develop by participating in vibrant, meaningful conversations, which benefit from diverse experiences and viewpoints.

Virtual communities are commonplace:  LinkedIn, Twitter, SoundCloud, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+ and Flickr, to name only a few, are in our daily routine.

Advances in technology have likewise transformed workplaces by integrating hardware, software and on-line capabilities.  No longer restricted to geography, employees can network within a work environment while in transit or from a home office.  Team structures remain intact, but have embraced the added advantage of being virtual.

Martine Durier-Copp and Binod Sundararajan are internationally recognized for their knowledge and experience in building virtual teams.  Their research confirms that most team leaders are adapted to using technology to communicate and are aware that the world is more globally connected than ever before in history.  However, few have had training to address the needs of a virtual workforce.

The effective e-leader is one who connects all members of the virtual team, using a cross-cultural perspective to manage conflict and complexity and communicate expectations and goals. The goal of an e-leader is to empower the team, focus them on the timeline and tasks, with the appropriate use of technology to align the individual and group expectations and goals to those of the organizational objectives.

Martine and Binod will be highlighting their research in a series of upcoming posts on CFAME Connection.  We invite you to join the discussion, ask questions, and share experiences.

Next post: Going Virtual in Canada