Decoding Hidden Cultures—A Strategic Competence for Virtual Teams and Remote Management

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced businesses, governments and other organizations around the world to work through virtual teams, home offices, and remote management.
While the virtual team is nothing new, it has become much more dominant in recent years due to the rise of the Internet, low-cost communication and collaboration tools like WhatsApp or Skype, Slack or Zoom, and most recently through quarantine and lockdown policies during Corona that prompted cancellations of office work, conferences, and air travel. This article suggests that telecommuting and telepresence make the ability to stand in
the shoes of the other side not merely a nice-to-have diplomatic skill, but an essential strategic competence. The article offers a systematic methodology for decoding culture—understanding the value system of colleagues, customers and even competitors or enemies—in order to meet objectives effectively across silos and borders.