More and more companies today are relying on virtual teams to get things done. They may bring in an outside group to complete a specific task, coordinate departments for a short-term project or align people in remote offices for an ongoing project. In each of these situations, the virtual team is a group of people collaborating through technology to meet a client or organizational need.

The challenge is getting the individuals, oftentimes in different locations, to function as a cohesive unit. "You have different cultures working together," explains George Metes of Virtual Learning Systems, a Manchester, New Hampshire-based consulting and educational group that helps companies develop virtual work and learning processes. "Manufacturing and design are cultures, companies are cultures and there are national cultures. And every culture has its own set of principles, habits and norms," he says. Because virtual teams live on communication, a single set of assumptions about communication and what it means to say X and do Y is essential for successful virtual collaborations.

"I spend a lot more energy communicating now," says Lee Eichelberger of his role in a virtual team versus a traditional office environment. Eichelberger runs an Internet consulting firm, and he regularly forms virtual teams to work on Web development projects. "You develop better communication skills and discipline."

Clear project goals are another essential to a virtual team. Virtual teams spend more time on task mechanics and on planning what they're going to do compared with traditional office-based workgroups, explains Jennifer Verive, CEO of White Rabbit Virtual, a northern California firm that develops training and assessment programs for teleworkers. "You're more involved in the office, and the way every single bit of a project goes together is important. But when you're working on a virtual team, you just want to get your task done," she says. "You want a clear project plan and then go from there."

In order to function effectively as part of a virtual team, therefore, workers must be very proactive, says Metes. "You need to make everything explicit rather than implicit in terms of the information you need to do your work," he explains. "You need to be much more aggressive and communicate electronically with a lot of energy. You can't sit there and wait for information to come to you."

Verive explains that when you're on a team that is spread out over several locations and time zones, your decision-making changes a little. "Let's say you're in a crisis now. An individual in the main office will go around to team members and ask how to deal with the crisis, but as a virtual team member you will contact the one and best person for help." Individual contributors end up having more decision-making power within a virtual team.

Individual team members can consequently have a big impact on the final outcome of a project. "What's different about [a virtual team] versus a team inside a company is that we're all aware that we have the potential to be more than our individual contributions," explains Eichelberger. "I see a higher sense of desire to make a project work, and I want it to be successful for my team and for my clients at the same time."

The overall success of a virtual team depends largely on the team's leader, who needs to act as a personal leader, motivating people, relieving stresses and counseling them at a distance. "It's not so much telling people what to do, but motivating them," says Metes. "As the leader, you can't possibly make all the decisions. People with specific competencies will know more than you, so you have to empower them to make those decisions."