Insider Tips for Managing Global Project Teams
by Russell Martinelli and Tim Rahschulte

[Business/Management]

The strategy to improve business results through globalization has become increasingly common. Success in achieving the business value intended from a globalization strategy is, unfortunately, not as common. As our national boundaries blur and we grow more connected through global collaboration, the dynamics of organizational life grow more complex. These complexities offer challenge, confusion, and frustration – but also great opportunity!

The key to achieving improved business results does not hinge on strategies alone, but also in our ability to effectively lead global product and service development teams to successfully execute the strategies. Research and experience shows that those struggling the most are the practitioners who find their historic team leadership practices ineffective in today’s global business model. It is the challenges of these people that we address in this audio recording.

Specifically, we answer the question: "How does one effectively lead global, highly distributed teams to achieve the improved business results needed to compete in today’s market?" In addressing this question, this recording addresses the following topic areas:

• Going global – Understanding the pressures, strategies, and execution of global markets
• Realizing success (part 1) – Overcoming the barriers and challenges to global business
• Realizing success (part 2) – Aligning strategy and execution for high performance
• Realizing success (part 3) – Developing global leaders and effective teams
• Continuing improvement – Understand the use and value of implementing an organizational change framework

This recording is comprised of three separate 1-hour segments. The agenda for each segment is outlined here.

1. Disc 1:
   • 1.1 - Welcome
   • 1.2 – Making the decision to go global
   • 1.3 – Understanding global pressures, strategies, and executions
   • 1.4 – Overcoming obstacles to success
   • 1.5 – Q&A
2. Disc 2:
   • 2.1 – Beyond cultural awareness: Developing a global worldview
   • 2.2 – With increasing complexity, simplify your technology
   • 2.3 – Keeping the line of sight between strategy and execution
   • 2.4 – Q&A
3. Disc 3:
   • 3.1 – Developing global leaders
   • 3.2 – Global competency model
   • 3.3 – Enablers of global effectiveness
   • 3.4 – Using a change model for continued success
   • 3.5 – Q&A
   
   
4. Disc 4:
   • Presentation slides to accompany each of the three audio discs

Who Should Listen to This:

Research and experience shows that those struggling the most with going global are the practitioners who find their historic team leadership practices ineffective in today’s global business model. It is the challenges of these people that we addressed our book and this recording. Specifically, this recording will prove valuable to project and program managers responsible for highly distributed teams, team sponsors and executives responsible for multinational teams, and members of teams engaged in complex markets and initiatives.