HBR On Leadership When Leading a Global Team, Don’t Leave Connection to Chance
10 snips
Jan 21, 2026 
Tsedal Neeley, a Harvard Business School professor specializing in global teams and digital collaboration, dives into the complexities of leading across cultures and time zones. She highlights the critical importance of mutual adaptation and ongoing learning to bridge communication gaps. Neeley shares strategies to recreate face-to-face dynamics in virtual settings, like quick check-ins for spontaneous sharing. She also addresses the challenges faced by nonnative English speakers, stressing the need for inclusive communication to ensure all team members can contribute fully.
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Global Teams Create Hidden Blind Spots
- Globally distributed teams add layers like time zones, norms, language, and market differences that create blind spots.
- Teams must develop mutual adaptation to surface unseen misunderstandings and align decisions.
Constantly Teach And Learn
- Constantly teach and learn about your collaborators' context and processes.
- Suspend judgment and communicate frequently to understand others' temporal and cultural perspectives.
Structure Unstructured Time
- Recreate face-to-face elements virtually by structuring unstructured time into meetings.
- Build regular opportunities for spontaneous disclosure so teammates remember each other's constraints.
