It is true that working effectively with someone not in physical proximity is not always easy. However, such collaboration is not impossible; you just need to use the tools you have correctly. That means using them to create real human communication with your team, according to the management-issues.com website.
Some leaders of project teams achieve exceptional results in a virtual environment while others really struggle with it, even though they all have the same tools at their disposal - phones, email, access to webinar tools, sometimes all-in-one, such as IBM Notes or Microsoft Lync.
The key difference is in the approach managers adopt towards these tools: the unsuccessful ones just constantly talk about the inevitable lack of human contact; however, the successful ones are able to use the very same tools to create and exploit proper human interaction.
How you use technology matters
This goes back to motivation and intent. For example, managers who are uncomfortable about delivering bad news may perceive e-mail as an easy way out of any unpleasant situation: you don't have to look anyone in the eye, you don’t hear any complaints and it's fast. Ultimately, however, this approach will damage the dynamics of your team. Even if you cannot fit everyone into a conference room, which is the ideal way to address unpleasant news, there are other alternatives. Don’t take the easy way out.
Leadership is always about communication
Choose your tools appropriately so you can communicate effectively with your virtual team. Therefore you should refrain from rejecting tools only because they are hard to use or for some reason you personally don’t like them. If you need to obtain input from other people and at the same time respond to their concerns, a one-way webinar or town hall conference call with limited interaction will not work for you. These platforms are okay in themselves but sometimes you have to give preference to more interactive sessions in order to help your team properly digest the news.
-jk-