Elkhan Shabanov, CEO Americas at Digicode, brings over 20 years of experience to the forefront of IT outsourcing, global team coordination, and leadership strategies. With his deep knowledge of enterprise and cloud solutions, Mr Shabanov guides both emerging startups and global corporations through the challenges of managing teams across different regions.

Approaches to Managing Multinational Teams

In the IT industry, there are typically two main models for managing multinational teams. These models can be seen in most organizations and are outlined below:

• Specialized Teams with Defined Roles: In this approach, each regional team focuses on a specific aspect of the larger project. Every team is responsible for its particular part of the solution.
• Integrated Teams with Shared Responsibilities: In this model, team members from different regions work together on common tasks. The project’s code base is shared among all teams, and each member makes simultaneous changes.

In the first model, each team works within a specific area of expertise, while in the second model, responsibilities get shared across a multinational team. Each model requires its unique management approach.

Multinational teams face several common challenges, including diverse backgrounds, different time zones, and language barriers. Additionally, cultural differences may affect how team members interact and collaborate across borders.

Leadership Strategies for Multinational Teams

Leading a global team presents additional challenges compared to managing a local team. As a leader, it is crucial to understand and respect the various cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds within the team. Furthermore, a successful leader should ensure that their leadership style is impartial, even if they are located near one of the team’s regions. Favoritism must be avoided to maintain trust and morale.

A key aspect of leadership is balancing effectiveness with fairness. Understanding the legal nuances of each country where team members are based, as well as the circumstances that influence their work and daily lives, is essential for a leader to foster a positive working environment.
There are several leadership strategies that multinational teams can adopt to work effectively. One common method is to assign specific projects or areas of responsibility to each team, while another approach involves mixing teams across different locations and sharing responsibilities.

A simple example is the division of tasks between front-end and back-end development. One team may focus on the front end, while another handles the back end. Coordination is necessary to ensure that changes in one area, such as an API update in the back end, do not break functionality in the front end. Effective communication is crucial in this model, allowing each team to own its responsibilities fully.

The second approach, mixing teams, can also yield excellent results. It promotes better communication as team members learn one another’s roles and are more willing to collaborate and offer assistance. This model can enhance the team’s dynamic, but managing coordination across different time zones can become challenging.

In Summary

Successful management of multinational IT teams requires a strategic approach that considers various roles, time zone differences, and cultural factors. Organizations can overcome the complexities of managing diverse teams by understanding and implementing different team models and leadership strategies that encourage collaboration and unity. Rather than viewing challenges as obstacles, the goal is to turn the diverse nature of multinational teams into a strength that drives success.

Leaders can unlock their teams’ true potential by fostering an environment of clarity, cohesion, and mutual respect, driving innovation and achieving lasting success in global projects.