Patterns of communication in global teams

When working in a remote or virtual team there are some patterns that can emerge related to how people are working together. This can be especially true in geographically dispersed remote teams. 

The following patterns are common in global teams:

• Patterns for how people miscommunicate and problem solve vary based on national and organizational culture.  Perhaps surprisingly, organizational culture is as significant as national.  
• People often don’t recognize important patterns of action and communication because they are so focused on day-to-day work goals.
• Miscommunication in international remote teams occurs at about the same rate as it does in non international remote teams.  However, it can be much harder to identify and resolve miscommunication in international contexts.
• Effective communication can be tricky in any situation: face-to-face, online, and intercultural.  People may feel more frustrated with online intercultural communication because they are less familiar with the context, are less sure of how to resolve issues, and often have to resolve issues in a nonnative language.  

An awareness of these patterns and helping employees see such patterns can help leaders better manage teams.