When I first came across this concept of ‘invisible team’, I instantly thought of the instance in Lord of the Rings when Aragorn has to go into battle with an immense army of ghosts. He does so wonderfully and they kick the behinds of some really bad looking creatures who want to destroy all nice life in Middle Earth.
Certainly, when we talk about virtual teams in the context of today’s corporate workplace we don’t refer to people who have moved to another dimension but to very real individuals who have to work in teams even if they are geographically separated and may have very diverse cultures and systems of beliefs.
Their leader, however, seems to be needing some of the fairy-tale characteristics of Tolkien’s majestic character in order to manage the team and deliver qualitative results, all the while respecting deadlines and company values.
Tags: Managers