HighPerforming Cross Border Teams

Challenge 1: The Communication Gap

Many leaders believe they have clear communication, but in a virtual setting, clarity is easily lost. A major difficulty in international teams is that communication styles vary drastically across cultures. If this is not addressed from day one, it can lead to serious issues.

The reality is that remote employees are more likely to feel alienated and disconnected compared to their onsite counterparts [1]. For managers, this means the challenge is no longer just supervising tasks, but doubling down on ensuring psychological connection and clarity.

Solution: Establish a Communication Charter. The core solution returns to business fundamentals: clear direction and agreed values. Establish clear goals and communicate them consistently. Most importantly, the team must collaboratively define how they will communicate. This includes setting boundaries, agreeing on preferred mediums (e.g., asynchronous vs. video calls), and leveraging the strengths of each team member. This charter serves as the guiding beacon for all interactions.

Challenge 2: Building Trust and Shared Purpose

As the saying goes, trust is the glue that holds teams together, and it is particularly crucial in the context of virtual teams [2], where colleagues remain unseen and unmonitored.

A great way to solve this problem is to cultivate a shared mission. It is essential to create a mission statement that discusses the greater good and relates directly to the industry the team supports. For teams with rare face-to-face interaction, clear, agreed-upon values act as a guiding light, transcending cultural differences. This is especially vital for engaging modern talent, who are often driven by values-based missions and a desire to feel like they are doing something worthwhile.

Solution: Focus on Interplay and Shared Goals. Collaboration and team building play a huge part in this. Even without physical presence, interplay can be fostered online. Teams that do not define their goals clearly often suffer from confusion and a lack of cooperation. Managers must ensure a shared goal that aligns with broader business objectives and regularly meet (even via video) to discuss progress. Crucially, leaders must encourage the team to bring forward problems and solve them together, fostering a culture of psychological safety rather than blame.

Challenge 3: Sustaining Fair Productivity

Productivity is always a challenge, but in virtual teams, it often manifests as an unfair distribution of workload. Managers can be overwhelmed and, as a form of congratulation, “reward” high-performing employees with more work, while those who underperform are given fewer tasks. This practice leads to burnout, resentment, and the eventual loss of your best staff.

Solution: Measure Outcomes, Not Just Hours. The solution is to set clear expectations and check in regularly. A good leader needs to be able to see that everyone works at different speeds and in different ways. It is critical to measure outcomes and success rates rather than just hours put in. Furthermore, leaders must listen to the concerns of their high-performing staff and help them set boundaries to prevent burnout. As a manager, you must constantly scan the horizon with your staff before you get hit by the horizon and lose your staff.

If these challenges seem overwhelming, that is okay. It means you recognise that this is not a simple task. The solution is to find a professional who is strong in understanding and implementing these challenges. Seeking counsel from the outside is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign that you are aware of the unseen challenges and are committed to building a truly high-performing global team.