| This organizational case study surveyed and interviewed 8 participants (N = 8) from the information technology (IT) industry to discover the characteristics and best practices of successful virtual teams. Four IT companies, listed in the Web100 and the S&P 500, referred 8 participants they considered virtual team experts to take part in the study. A thematic analysis of study data gathered from the participants indicated that the characteristics of successful virtual teams include a clear and superordinate goal, commitment to that goal, specific objectives, a results-driven structure, focus and direction provided by the team leader and organizational structure, competent team members, individual and mutual accountability, and high mutual trust among members. Study data also showed that successful virtual teams had best practices in the areas of virtual team building, adding and removing team members, and building and maintaining team cohesion. Virtual team best practices for team building were oriented toward helping team members develop positive interpersonal relationships. The best practices for adding new virtual team members involved inclusive activities that made new members feel like they were part of the team. The best practice for removing marginal or nonperforming virtual team members was for the leader to privately tell the member, face-to-face, the reason for dismissal. Frequent communication, that was considerate of time zone differences and that paid attention to more than just the team's tasks, described the best practice for building and maintaining team cohesion. |
