Figure. 2.2 Virtual Team System of Principles Lipnack and Stamps , 1997 p49
Lipnack and Stamps propose the nine principles of people, purpose, and links forming a simple systems model of input, processes, and outputs to provide an
integrated framework for understanding and working in virtual teams, see Figure 2.2. They note “To start a virtual team, you need independent people, cooperative goals,
and multiple media. As the team goes through its life cycle development process, people share leadership, undertake interdependent tasks, and engage in myriad
boundary-crossing interactions. As the team’s life cycle unfolds, it produces concrete result, integrated levels of organisation, and, if the teaming is done with integrity,
trusting relationships ” Lipnack et al., 1997 p49. The nine principles of virtual team
will be described in the following section.
1.15.1. Independent Members
According to Lipnack and Stamps 1997, as a higher level of interdependence in roles is needed in virtual teams, they need higher levels of relative independence
and voluntary behaviour in each member. They also argue that independence is a quality that permeates from the personal level of people as members of teams, to
teams as member parts of larger organisations.
1.15.2. Shared Leadership
Lipnack and Stamps 1997, p.120 say Virtual teams that are highly self- motivated and self managed are leader-ful not leader-less”.
They then argue that in
order to deal with complex issues and problems, virtual teams have shared leadership regardless of the titles they use for convenient.
1.15.3. Integrated Levels
Lipnack and Stamps 1997 argue that a new team can be born through a collection of individuals who interact interdependently on a task over time. They
argue that the rule of about 5 is a good yardstick for team size. They then say As a team begins to plan and perform joint tasks with diverse specialities, typically
overlapping subgroups of a few people form so that they can pursue several strands of work concurrently
Lipnack et al., 1997 p.129.
1.15.4. Cooperative Goals
Lipnack and Stamps 1997 argue that success or failure of virtual team begins with the relation among people and goals. According to them, group tasks promote
cooperation and in return cooperation in performing tasks and reaching compatible goals brings the added benefits of helping others, feeling good, and storing goodwill
for the future.
1.15.5. Interdependent Tasks
According to Lipnack and Stamps 1997 the virtual team’s goal becomes real through task. They argue that group offer advantage for tasks in which there are no
obvious right or wrong answer, no convenient external authorities to validate decisions using impartial standard of truth. They say “complex tasks are the province
of teams, particularly where diverse information needs to be integrated. Groups are indispensable where tasks such as innovation depend on information sharing”
Lipnack et al., 1997 p.154. In virtual team, Lipnack and Stamps 1997 propose a strategy to open with
friendship then respond to opportunities with cooperation and challenges with competition. In the age of information the advantages of cooperation will grow and
the foundations that support competition are shifting dramatically, i.e. “from material scarcity to information plenty, from limited information to information access and
from anonymous players to trusted partners” Lipnack et al., 1997 p.157.
1.15.6. Concrete Results
