PETER IVANOV is an internationally renowned executive coach and business consultant. He is a highly sought-after keynote and conference speaker whose message of how to lead virtual teams has resonated with over 6,000 live audience members in over twenty countries. Peter holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from Sofia University and fluently speaks five languages. He has successfully led 100+ member online and virtual teams that have delivered proven results for many firms across the globe. His work with virtual teams has earned Peter several corporate and industry awards, including the Global IT Connect Award. He is a passionate advocate for agile virtual teams and remote leadership.

Introduction xiii

How I learned to Develop Virtual Power Teams xvi

2020: The Tipping Point for Global Change? xvii

Part I: Building Trust and Clarity: Discovering, Dreaming and Goal-Setting 1

1 From Failure to Amazing Success in Global Teams 3

What Causes Global Teams to Fail? 9

What Do All High-Performing Teams Have in Common? 10

Establishing Your Foundation 14

2 Personality in Focus 17

How to Start Building Trust in Your Team 21

The Importance of Empowerment 23

3 The Strengths Matrix 27

How to Uncover People's Natural Strengths 34

How this Works in Practice 36

Why Personality in Focus and the Strengths Matrix is a Magic Combination 37

How to Create a Team Vision 38

4 Interdependent Goals 41

Start by Defining the Hottest Issues for your Team 46

The Thinking Behind Smart Goals 48

Creating Smart Goals 50

Name your Team 51

Developing your Strategic Roadmap 51

Sharing Responsibility 52

Getting the Best from your Team 52

Part II: Establishing Structured Communication: Active Collaboration and Coopetition 55

5 How Everyone Can Contribute and Shine 57

How to Maintain Engagement in your Regular Team Meetings 67

Always Have an Agenda 68

Change the Format Once a Month 68

Allow People to Ask Questions 69

The importance of Time Management 69

Making Time for Personal and Professional 70

Don't Have Too Many Meetings 71

How Often Should Virtual Teams Meet in Person? 71

Setting the Agenda for an Annual Meeting 72

6 Bridging Time Zones and Knowledge Management 75

Finding the Optimum Time for Meetings 81

Coping with Language Barriers 82

How to Deal with Challenging Accents

(And Make Sure Everyone is Understood) 83

Agree on a Channel for Urgent Communication 85

Knowledge Management 86

Encourage People to Join a Community 88

Build Regional Zonal Communities 89

Best Practice for Online Communication 90

7 Regular Feedback 93

How to Structure a Performance Feedback Session 98

Learn the Difference Between the Development Plan and Performance Feedback 99

Why is this so Important in Virtual Teams? 100

Practice Generous Listening 101

Use the Magic Words 102

Speak About Possibilities 102

Tips for Sharing Team Feedback 103

The Formula for a Virtual Power Team 105

Key Takeaways on Feedback 106

8 Cross-Company Cooperation and Coopetition 107

An Evolving Environment 111

How to Build Trust 111

The Need for a Collaboration Agenda 112

Structured Communication is Essential 112

Finding your Optimal Culture 113

Don't Forget Personality 114

Defining Intra-Organisational and Inter-Organisational Coopetition 114

Where Does Inter-Organisational Coopetition Come From? 115

Where Does Coopetition Lead? 115

Why you Should Explore Cross-Company Coopetition 116

High-Profile Examples of Coopetition 117

How to Establish your Win-Win 118

Developing the Right Mindset for Coopetition 119

Part III: Uniting Global Teams: Leveraging Global Community 121

9 Praise, Praise, Praise 123

What Qualities do you Need to Stay Motivated When Working Virtually? 129

How to Motivate and Retain Key Team Members When you Work Remotely 130

How to Make Decisions in Hybrid Teams 133

10 Building the Optimal Team Culture 135

Case Study 139

The Leadership Scale 142

Tips For Leaders To Adjust Their Leadership Style 144

The Four Levels of Meetings 145

Tips for Adjusting Your Decision-Making Process 147

Tips to Adjust to Different Conflict Styles 149

Finding Your Optimal Team Culture 149

11 Establishing a Winning Spirit 151

My Team 155

The Early Stages of the Project 155

Taking a Different Approach 156

The Road to Tenerife 157

The Outcome 158

How to Apply This to Your Team 158

What if You Don't Have the Budget to Be Generous? 159

Use Tangible Tokens 160

Don't Forget About People's Families 161

12 Next Generation Leaders 163

Building Virtual Power Teams Under Virtual Power Teams 168

Ways to Develop Next Generation Leaders 169

Top Tips 169

Case Study 170

Virtual Power Family 172

Why it's Important to Foster Gravity in Your Virtual Family 173

What Can You Learn From Being Part of A Virtual Power Family? 174

Applying These Principles to Long-Distance Relationships 175

Maintaining Global Friendships 176

Connect With Your Parents 176

Co-Living to Be Part of A Community 177

The Importance of Community 178

My Advice for Living and Working Remotely 178

Setting Up Your Virtual Working Environment 179

13 Building Power Communities 183

Case Study: Youth Against AIDS 187

Lessons for a More Remote Future 191

The Importance of Frequent Updates 193

Regular Updates are Essential for

Strengthening Bonds 193

Be Clear On Your 'Why' 194

Case Study: Teach For All 195

Empowerment and Trust Building 197

Responding to Any Major Change or Disruption (Including A Pandemic!) 198

Case Study: The Covid-19 Pandemic 198

The Road to Digitalisation 201

Career Visibility When Working Remotely 204

Conclusion 207

Using the 10 Big Rocks to Foster Gravity 207

Focus on Gravity 208

Epilogue 211

Index 215