Virtual Teams For Dummies

Chapter 9

Managing Differences in Gender, Generation, and Culture

IN THIS CHAPTER

Leveraging gender differences on virtual teams

Navigating generational impacts

Cultivating cultural IQ

There is richness in diversity.

No statement is truer, whether it’s in schools, in communities, or on work teams. Savvy business leaders know that diversity on a team produces more innovative ideas, taps into a greater range of knowledge and experience, and ultimately develops better solutions. After you decide to go virtual, you have access to people from all walks of life who are potentially living anywhere in the world and coming to your team with differences that range from gender, ethnicity, culture, generation, experience, religion, language, education, geography, nationality, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, style, and personality type.

That’s a lot to consider, which is why having strategies for managing diversity and fostering inclusion on your team is important. The key to managing diversity is recognizing that it’s a constant evolution of understanding, education, and compassion for each team member, and the work of creating an inclusive virtual team environment is never ...