United by work, divided by time zones

Your dinner is their lunch and someone’s breakfast time is your virtual meeting time. And when a team member is attending to her daughter’s homework, you have just started your day at work. The only thing that’s common is the fact that all of you are tied to the same project.

In a virtual world that seems to feel that technology can break all barriers, including that of time, it sounds more complicated than the ground reality. True, managing to work with teammates across time zones and cultural differences can not only be difficult, it can also leave you tired, haggard and completely out of sync with what’s happening around you.

You can be lost at every meeting, if you don’t know how to manage teams across time zones. But on the other hand, if you are an optimist who would like to think of this as an opportunity to increase productivity, you have won half of the battle.

Because working with teams across time zones also means the work never stops. Your project, in other words, is always on a roll because one person’s slumber time is another person’s work hour. So, literally, the work happens round the clock, without leaving anyone overworked or exhausted.

While managing teams across time zones may sound much complicated at the beginning, it is easier if you understand the basics of working through such schedules. And, most importantly, come to terms with a global team’s limitations too. When you set your plans on the foundation of reality, clarity and complete understanding of such a work style, work can truly be a more enjoyable experience than something that gives you a heartburn and migraine every morning.

One golden rule to begin with: a global team thrives on a different beat and varied rhythm which you may never get to sing completely, owing to the absence or lack of human contact, or face-to-face interactions. You are solely dependent on voices and mails for anything that binds your common objective. The melody of this team can be different, and never a familiar tune that you would have heard.

Here are a few pointers that should help you beat the problems and increase the productivity despite all the limitations and differences one might be having.

No round-the-clock work
This is a golden rule that will go a long way. No matter how much you can work with as little sleep as you can get, remember, this is the only body you have and this will be your only abode on earth till you pop it off. Don’t abuse it. Spread the work, seek help and most importantly, share your burden with people even if you feel it is impolite. It is important to do this on two fronts: Firstly, it will keep the pressure distributed and secondly, everyone will be in tune with what’s going on with respect to work.

A good schedule is GOD!
Make sure that the meeting timings are consistent and are not pressuring anyone else unnecessarily. While there can be exceptions, a schedule shouldn’t eat into people’s personal time even when working across time zones. Respect your time, and respect others’ too!

Physical vs virtual
Though it would be natural for you to regard the person who is physically present in the meeting, remember members attending the meeting from other locations also bring equal hard work to the table.Do not make physical proximity an issue that can derail your project.

Face-to-face meetings
Invest in airfare and meet members working across the time zone, so that you get a deeper understanding of each person you are working with. In a virtual world, everyone keeps a super efficient schedule. But meeting people allows you to appreciate their time and work better. This also enables them to appreciate your effort in according equal importance to everyone.

Get a better understanding of cultural differences between members and be conscious enough to respect them.

This will certainly create more bonhomie than just holding meetings over the phone. Ensuring that there is a good communication between teams/people will normally help iron out small differences between members and keep the work on track.