Online collaboration is not as easy for some teams. If you have recently formed a new team through an online platform, you may face some problems.
Some of the problems may include the alignment of the goals of various members, task allocation and responsibility sharing, and stagnation of activities from online discussions (I will just talk about these three across three posts).
Alignment of the goals of various members. It's difficult to get a sense of other members' alignments because honestly, you are not meeting them face-to-face. It's like agreeing on a contract with a stranger, but he isn't going to shake hands with you on it. Just doesn't feel right, does it?
That is not to say that they are not trustworthy! Everyone believes what they are saying. Though some new collaborators may not know to check each others' alignment with the team's goal, or some members may say what they think the team wants to hear.
The way to overcome this is to be sure about each others' goals. Be open about it, video chat if you need to. This will show the earnest need and your sincerity towards the rest of the team. It's useful to return to this too, especially when the team starts to be in danger of losing sight of what it is trying to achieve.
