virtual team and high performance team

1:  How do you get a job done?  How do you get management to give you the resources you need?  You need some ‘political” power.  You need to work the issues, sometimes behind the scenes , to get the right people on your side, backing the direction you want to go in.  You need the people at the higher levels to back you and be on your side.  Of course, this is just for major issues and changes.  Most of the normal lower level decisions can be made without using all of this political capital 

2: I agree that showing yourself credible can help out tremendously when you are trying to move up. I also think that putting yourself out there and getting involved in company and events can help. It helps you to meet people outside of your particular circle. I mostly think the best way to do your job and do it well. Being honest and friendly and a great team player can put you in touch with people that are higher and your name starts to circulate that you are a good team player and worker.

3: Its essential, in todays business environment, to have the skills needed to successfully work on a team.  Almost everything we do is team based.  From contracts thru human resource, everyone works in the team environment.  Someone who is very skilled, but has no team building skills, will certainly be limited in their careers.  So as we move thru this semester, one of our primary goals should be to hone our team building skills.  How will you make sure your team building skills are the best they can be?

4: Do you believe a virtual team can be effective and a high performance team?  Please give me an example of how you would structure such a team.