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Regardless of cultural backgrounds, people still have individual preferences for the

way they communicate, receive feedback, provide updates, and interact with the
team. Personal preferences are as varied as your team members. So again, get to
know your team members and their personal preferences in order to gain the most
value from your communications.

Technology barriers can have impacts that are unexpected. For example, in some
countries, it’s not an uncommon occurrence for the electricity to go out for hours at a
time or for Internet connections to drop for no reason. These issues can have
significant impacts on the project if you’re in the midst of a deliverable or

troubleshooting a problem. Team members may also have different levels of
proficiency with software programs and other technology you’re using during the
course of the project. Make certain that training is available where needed, or include
questions in the interview process about proficiency with the technology used on the
project. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to add some buffer time to the schedule to account
for unforeseen issues with technology.

Remember that the organizational structure itself may also have an impact on the way

you manage teams and the way they interact with each other. Intraorganizational
differences that exist within your own team can influence the methods you use to
communicate. If you have a small team and they are collocated, informal and
impromptu meetings may work well.

Interorganizational differences will also influence your communication methods. For
example, functional organizations that are hierarchical in nature can have impacts on
the team because there are other managers involved in their career and performance

evaluation. They also usually direct the work assignments of their team members. This
type of interorganizational difference likely calls for formal communications with
written reports that are produced on a regular distribution schedule.

As I discussed earlier, use your best judgment when determining the method and
content of your communication, and tailor it to your audience. Be certain to take into
account everything that could influence the message such as cultural or language

differences. Criticality of the message and timeliness of the information are other
factors to consider in your communication methods.

The Geographically Dispersed Team

Jim is a senior systems analyst and project manager for a large aerospace

contracting firm. He manages aerospace engineers, some of whom live in
California, others in Europe and South America, still others in Colorado, and so
forth. They design, build, assemble, and deploy rockets. Jim is an expert at
managing geographically dispersed teams. Here are some of his tips:

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