Chapter 10 Leadership and Decision Making in Groups 297But is there a difference between face-to-face meetings and virtual meetings?
Research indicates that face-to-face teams perform better initially. However,
once the group is established, virtual teams actually do better at brainstorming,
whereas face-to-face teams perform better on tasks that require negotiation or
compromise (Alge, Wiethoff, & Klein, 2003; Salkever, 2003). Savvy team lead-
ers, then, will bring their teams together for face time early in the process, if
THINK
ABOUT
THIS❶ What advantage does
a mobile robot offer over
a simple phone call or a
video chat? Is it a tool or
a toy?
❷ What does the use of
a robot say about Libin’s
leadership style? Do you
think it’s effective?
❸ Does the idea of a
constant live video stream
between two offices seem
inviting or invasive to
you? Do you think such
a channel would
encourage competent
communication?
❹ What kinds of compa-
nies do you think are more
likely to be early adopters
of technology like robots
or virtual windows? Do
you think their employees
would be more receptive
than those in other sorts of
businesses? Do the same
factors affect the accept-
ability of removing former
technology, like phones?Leadership. With Lasers.
Hands-on managers usually like to make some kind of personal connection
with all their employees. But how can they do it when employees are spread
across several offices, in different cities, even in different countries?
Evernote CEO Phil Libin uses technology to bridge the gap. Huge video
monitors, along with webcams, are installed in high traffic areas of both the
corporate headquarters in Mountainview, California, and studio office in Aus-
tin, Texas. But the monitors are not there for videoconferencing. The idea was
to create, essentially, a window from one office to the other to connect the
two spaces in a way that would encourage casual chats between coworkers
in different places. The connection, Libin explains, helps to foster a cohesive
atmosphere between the main office and the satellite studio. “We very spe-
cifically wanted to avoid the feeling that if you’re not working at headquarters,
you’re in a second-place office” (Libin, quoted in Bryant, 2012, para 26).
But encouraging interconnectedness between his scattered employees
wasn’t quite enough for Libin. He wanted a way to be in both offices, even
when he couldn’t be in either one. And so, enter the robots: Libin can log into
“his anybot,” a six-foot-tall, mobile “telepresence” (think of a Segway with
an iPad on top) and take a virtual stroll around the office, carrying a live feed
from his webcam. The robot serves as his eyes and ears and allows him to
have casual conversations with employees he meets as he drives his robotic
avatar around. Libin also points out that the robot has a laser pointer. “You
can shoot lasers, which is just good design,” he explains. “You shouldn’t
build a robot without a laser” (quoted in Bryant, 2012, para. 28).
As a programmer turned CEO, it’s probably not surprising that Libin is so
eager to embrace technology. But just as he’s brought in some new electronic
wizardry, he’s also gotten rid of some conventional technology. Specifically,
employees at Evernote do not have phones on their desks. Because the work
they do generally does not involve phone calls, the company discourages
chatter in the work space; employees can chat on their company-provided
cell phones just by walking to a quiet area. “If you have a phone at your desk,
it’s just sitting there and you’re kind of encouraging people to talk on it.... If
you’re at your desk, you should be working. And that’s actually worked re-
ally well. I don’t think anyone misses phones. Even though it’s one big room,
it’s actually fairly quiet because no one is sitting there talking at their desk”
(quoted in Bryant, 2012, para. 12).WIREDFORCOMMUNICATION