Despite all of the attention and accolades that organizations place on teams, they are not always the most efficient way to meet a business challenge. It's expensive and time consuming to launch a team, and it's a full-time job to lead a team toward achieving organizational objectives. This guidebook was written to help managers determine if a team is the right tool for meeting a business goal, and explains potential obstacles and challenges to forming a team that can operate at its full potential.

Geographically dispersed teams are work groups with members separated by time and distance. Essential to the success of organizations in a global marketplace, these teams create unique challenges to effective task performance. This report summarizes what the important literature on GDTs has to say about how they should be formed, developed, and led. It is primarily for individuals charged with creating or leading GDTs, for designers who provide the technology for these teams, for trainers who are expected to help these teams develop and operate, and for organizational consultants called in to assist.

Team success doesn't start with results. It starts with the building of an effective team that can deliver on its promise. This book is for managers and leaders who have responsibility for the creation and success of teams. If you are a department head or project manager, or if you are the senior-level champion or sponsor of a proposed team, this guidebook will help you understand the five factors critical to building effective teams and show you how to use those factors to lay the groundwork for successful teams.

Dispersed teams have members in different countries, cultures, and time zones. Such teams share some important characteristics with local teams, but they also present unique challenges. Organizations need to prepare for and support them properly to realize their full potential.