Below are the top ten books that I recommend for leading and working in the global and virtual world. They are a mix of books with practical tips & tools and books that highlight theory and insights into the bigger picture of the new world of work.
All of them have greatly helped me personally. Let me know if you have any questions on them.
What are your favourite books on the topic? I’d love to hear from you.
Terence Brake – Where in the World is My Team?
A very nice and unusal book told from the perspective of a virtual team leader. Via this narrative format some practical tips and ideas are given.
Jaclyn Kostner – Virtual Leadership
A classic and one of the oldest books on this field. The author is telling the story of a fictitious remote leader who gets advice from an unusual source. The summary on the last pages alone are worth the purchase.
Jeanne C. Meister – The 2020 Workplace
A book that explores the work place of the future, including the mega trends like Gen Y, virtual work and more.
Mary Scannell et al. – The Big Book of Virtual Team Building Games
This book gives ideas and tools on virtual team building games and challenges. This will help you create some energizing 5-10 minute exercises as part of your virtual team interaction.
Timothy J. Koegel – The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual
Virtual team members have to give a lot of presentations via virtual channels, be it Telepresence or Microsoft Lync, Cisco WebEx and so forth. This book shows you how to create a great experience while doing this.
Scott Berkun – The Year without Pants. WordPress.com and the Future of Work
The only book on this list that I do not own yet as it is soon to be released. However, from the previews and knowing the work of Scott Berkun I am certain that it is worth owning. It highlights and focuses on alternatives to standard beliefs and highlights alternatives to e-mails.
Clay Shirky – Here Comes Everybody – How Change Happens When People Come Together
A book that covers more broader themes of digital work and the connected world. It hows how much has changed with the new technologies that have developed over the past 20 years.
Karen Sobel Lojeski – Uniting the Virtual Workforce
Focusing on the theory of virtual distance this book shows how to build and lead virtual teams from a management perspective. Recommended.
Mijnd Huijser – The Cultural Advantage – A New Model for Succeeding with Global Teams
Very often in global teams there are also inter-cultural differences that exacerbate communication & interaction challenges. Mijnd Huijser gives practical tools on how to navigate cultural divides.
David Sibbet – Visual Teams
This is a more unusual book as it covers a new approach. David Sibbet proposes to have visual approach to meetings, strategy work etc. It is not only a highly engaging way to conduct meetings but also possible to do over the distance. Visual meetings & coordination have additionally also been used to overcome cultural barriers and misunderstanding.
The above book links will point you to amazon.co.uk where you can directly order these books via amazon with free shipping also to continental Europe. They are affiliate links.
