Hospitals such as Cleveland Clinic have opened campuses in both Toronto and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In January, Mayo Clinic signed an agreement with Hillhouse Capital Group to launch a company in Beijing. With the rise of hospitals and health systems expanding internationally, healthcare leaders must master the art of leading a global team.
Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, recently discussed five important behaviors for global team leaders, according to the Harvard Business Review.
1. Overcome social distance. Social distance, sometimes referred to as psychological distance, refers to a lack of connection between co-workers and is one of the greatest barriers to effective teamwork. "Overcoming social distance is more challenging in the context of global teams because when all of a team's members are nowhere near each other, it's all the more difficult for them to agree on how to coordinate their work," said Professor Neeley.
According to Professor Neeley, there are five key elements that cause social distance:
- Team structure
- Managing team interactions
- Language
- Identity
- Communications technology
2. Keep all team members in the loop
If one team member seems to be out of the loop, increase contact with that person via instant message, text, call or email. At group meetings, encourage him or her to speak up. "This demonstrates to the rest of the team that the person is valued and important," said Professor Neeley.
3. Formulate a strategy for dealing with fluency differences
Make sure your fluent speakers make room for less fluent speakers to communicate. Don't speak for weaker linguists or try to interpret them; instead, call on the weaker linguists when you feel their experience is relevant. "The good thing is that language imbalances are predictable," said Professor Neeley.
4. Develop trust
Team members experience high anxiety when their leader is remote. "A good way to build confidence in this highly charged atmosphere is to disclose some information about your vulnerabilities because that will lower the anxiety levels," said Professor Neeley. By opening up, you will not only gain the trust of your team members, you will also model the leadership behavior of trust and transparency for them to emulate.
5. Manage relationships
"You've got to constantly work on your relationship with every member of the team," said Professor Neeley. "At the same time you've got to manage your team members' relationships with each other." Consistent communication between all team members will make or break the global project.