GEC Scenario #7: Distant Collaboration

You are a junior R&D engineer based in California, working for a major multinational corporation in the information technology sector. You are paired with a senior engineer, Lily Chen, to lead a new project. Since she is located in Shanghai, your collaboration mainly occurs online. Lily usually looks tired during weekly videoconferences with your workgroup, and says very little even when important aspects of your project are discussed. Yet she frequently sends you e-mail messages the day after these meetings to explain why certain ideas won’t work or recommend alternate courses of action. Given her stature and expertise, you think Lily should take a more active role during the meetings. How would you handle this situation?

1. Request a change to the meeting schedule so Lily doesn’t have to get up too early or stay up so late.
2. Tell Lily that she should do something about her fatigue during the meeting and suggest that she could get a cup of coffee or something.
3. Arrange for Lily to visit your facility so she can get to know the rest of the group in person.
4. Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Lily to let her know your concerns and encourage her to speak up.
5. During each teleconference, ask the team leader to announce that constructive criticism is more than welcome, and everyone’s opinion is valued.
6. Try to schedule follow-up meetings with Lily after each videoconference so you can solicit her feedback.