Virtual work is desirable. It improves the quality of life and allows for work-life balance and autonomy. It cuts cost for both the employee and the employer and it increases employee satisfaction and retention, and broadens recruiting circles. The tools currently available and coming make virtual work more accessible to more people. The tools are getting better but a company's ability to provide inspiration and leadership to the virtual workplace varies.

Work is not what it used to be. The workplace of the present is not the workplace of even a few years ago. The workplace has experienced enormous change in expectations, structure, content and process. Work is more cognitively demanding, team based, virtual, dependent on technology, and less restricted by time and place. This affects the worker and the organization.

Clear expectations, benchmarks and accountability are important. Opportunities to improve the virtual environment will come about because of our ability to track and use data. There are excellent opportunities for companies to evolve the virtual workplace to an environment that optimizes performance for the individual and the organization.

Learn to:

--Manage the Invisible

--Listen Between the Lines

--Lose the Illusion of Control

--Connect using M2Y: FROG

--Use the X Factor

--Agree Upon Mutual Success

--Analyzing Virtual Performance