The role of reflection in virtual team effectiveness

Abstract

Purpose – Based on theoretical analysis and interview data, the aim is to reveal the impact of virtual team reflection on organisational collaboration. The authors identify the challenges faced by virtual teams and reveal the characteristics of the virtual team reflection process; Design/methodology/approach – the work uses methods of analysis of scientific literature and semi-structured interviews with managers, as well as comparative analysis. Findings – The use of more advanced communication technologies makes virtual teams more functional and flexible. Virtual teams face several challenges that have a negative impact on collaboration that arise in the team collaboration process: low trust, conflicts, lack of motivation of members, leadership/leadership difficulties and cultural diversity. It is therefore necessary for the virtual team to apply reflective practices in its activities. Successful reflection is determined by the creation of an open environment, psychological factors such as a sense of evaluation and security clear rules for meetings. Reflection strengthens the virtual team, increases the sense of community, and contributes to the development of each team member and the team as a whole. The study showed that reflection is used as a risk management tool in virtual teams to mitigate threats by preventing obstacles from becoming problems; Research limitations/implications – The study was carried out in the field of project management, which prevents the generalisation of the findings to other fields. Practical implications – Advances in information and communication technologies and globalisation have led to the emergence of new ways of organising work, such as virtual teams, teleworking, and others. With the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced many organisations to implement virtual teams in a rapid and sudden manner, this article will help practitioners to structure their knowledge about virtual teams and discover new ways to improve collaboration in such teams; Originality/Value – the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way work is organised, forcing teams to look for ways to collaborate effectively virtually and to cope with the challenges. This paper presents a tool for continuous reflection in virtual teams that will lead to better results in organisations;.