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Peter Ivanov is Manager, Entrepreneur, Author and Virtual teams Expert with over 25 years of international experience. Born in Bulgaria he graduated in Mathematics. After working as IT Services Manager for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Peter recognized the growing importance of the teams in multiple locations and developed an innovative method for leading Virtual teams. In 2013 Peter founded “Virtual Power Teams” and started new career as Keynote speaker and Executive coach on New Leadership. Peter is a passionate athlete and World Senior Champion in Discus. In his dynamic keynote speeches and master classes, held in English, German, Bulgarian and Russian, Peter uses the experience he has gained as Manager, Athlete, Entrepreneur and, yes, the father of five little girls, to show you how to build up and lead your own successful Virtual Power Teams.
Leadership challenges in the digital age
According to Forrester Research, today 81% of all teams globally are already virtual teams. A virtual team is like an atom, in which members have gravity towards the goal. Poorly managed teams lose gravity over time. During his 20 years of international managerial experience, Peter has developed a highly effective method: The 10 Big Rocks.
- Personality focus
- Strengths matrix
- Interdependence goals
- Forums and agenda
- Knowledge management
- Regular feedback
- Recognition
- Diversity
- How to establish a winning spirit
- Generation of team leaders
Virtual Power Teams book
Virtual Power Teams is a book written in a dramatic narrative, a business novel. As of today, the book is available in Bulgarian, English and German.
Communication challenges in virtual teams
A typical communication challenge is problems with accents. To mitigate this, put your questions in the chat, speak slowly, use less idioms.
Everyone must have a weekly slot to tell something personal, such as: I just ran a marathon, I am doing this new hobby, etc. Do it once deep in the initial workshop, and then only two minutes every week. The members will feel like they are spending time together.
It’s key to have a moderator who makes an agenda and keeps track of the time.
Tools for virtual power teams
Peter’s book covers several tools for virtual power teams. These best practices must be complemented with technology tools such as:
- A video conferencing tool to share presentations, videos and whiteboards (for brainstorming). Examples are: Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, GoToMeeting.
- A dynamic tool like Facebook groups for quick communication.
- A static communication tools such as a Wiki, which is used for knowledge management: recording the lessons learned.
Slack is gaining popularity as it combines the benefits of dynamic and static communication tools.
Related: Run Effective Meetings, Engage and Shine!
Favorite quotation
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together becomes a new reality.” ― John Lennon
Recommended book
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Routine to Shine
Three things:
- For the body, when feeling a bit stuck do deep breathing and stretching for 10 minutes.
- Write down your goals and put them on a wall.
- Before going to sleep and when waking up, use a little mantra which refers to your goals: how does it feel if I achieve my goals?
Links
The book Virtual Power Teams
Write to Peter: info@peter-ivanov.com
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