How to Manage & Influence Your Virtual Team (Udemy.com)
Learn step-by-step tips that help you get things done with your virtual team by increasing trust and accountability
Created by: Hassan Osman
Last updated September 2024
Our take
Based on the ratings of 29,940 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in September 2024. No course pays to be reviewed.
Hassan Osman's course is a three-hour, 38-lecture crash course in leading people you rarely see in person. It runs through nine short sections: communication psychology, behavior change, persuasion tactics, meetings, choosing technology, trust, and email and phone technique. Each lecture ends with an action step, and there are downloadable scripts and templates. It is aimed at project managers, IT managers, team leaders, directors, and small business owners.
Reviewers mostly like it. They call it clear, well organized, and to the point, and one says the quiz checks help apply each section. Another thinks it should be required for new managers. The complaints are consistent too. The course was last updated in September 2024, and some students find it dated, with little on instant messaging or Zoom, and one says the phone and voicemail advice feels old. Others find the delivery dry, closer to slides with a voice over, and a few reviewers call the content obvious or manipulative.
The rating sits at 4.6 from nearly 30,000 reviews, and the breakdown leans hard toward four and five stars, with about 3,400 three-star ratings as the main drag. It is a paid course, but short enough to finish in a couple of evenings. We'd recommend it to new managers who want a starting framework. If you have led remote teams for years, check the preview first, since one reviewer with 15 years in management found little of use.
Pros
- Every lecture ends with an action step, plus copy-and-paste scripts and templates
- Nine short sections, none over 34 minutes, so it fits into a few evenings
- Reviewers call it clear, well organized, and easy to follow
- Cites studies on virtual work, and quiz checks reinforce each section
Cons
- Last updated September 2024; reviewers say instant messaging and Zoom get little coverage
- Delivery is slides with a voice over, and some reviewers find it dry or slow
- Some reviewers call parts obvious, and one found the tactics manipulative
Everything was laid out clearly with very clear actionable tasks to use with your team. Definitely recommend!
Listed for all levels. Audience runs from project managers to directors; the only requirement is interest in managing virtual teams.
Featured in our guide: The 10 Best Leadership and Management Courses on Udemy in 2026
What you will learn
- Manage a team that works from home
- Improve communication and collaboration with your virtual team
- Build trust with your team members
- Have more effective virtual meetings
- Increase accountability and engagement among the team
- Understand how to choose the right technology tools for effective collaboration
- Know exactly how to assign tasks to your team members to get things done
Course content
9 sections · 38 lectures · 3.2 hours of video 8 quizzes, 1 practice test, 1 article
- 1Introduction 2 free previews3 lectures · 7 min
- 2The Psychology of Communication in Virtual Teams 1 free preview4 lectures · 1 quiz · 34 min
- 3Principles of Behavior Change 2 free previews5 lectures · 1 quiz · 23 min
- 4Tactics of Influence & Persuasion 1 free preview6 lectures · 1 quiz · 33 min
- 5Managing Virtual Meetings Effectively 1 free preview5 lectures · 1 quiz · 22 min
- 6Choosing and Evaluating the Right Technology4 lectures · 1 quiz · 22 min
- 7Building Trust in Virtual Environments4 lectures · 1 quiz · 18 min
- 8Killer Email and Phone Techniques 2 free previews5 lectures · 1 quiz · 29 min
- 9Conclusion & Wrap Up 1 free preview2 lectures · 1 quiz · 5 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Professionals who manage virtual teams
- Project Managers
- IT Managers
- Virtual Team Leaders
- Directors
- Business Unit Leads
- Consultants
- Remote Team Facilitators
What you need before you start
- Interest in managing virtual teams more effectively
How it compares
Against the other 230 rated Udemy courses in Leadership & Management on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 69% of them
- Reviews29,940#6 of 231 by number of reviews
- Length3.2 hourslonger than 69% of them
- Last updatedSeptember 2024earlier than 66% of them
Course Description
**This course will give you all the tools & tactics you need to manage and lead your remote workers.**
** Over 70,000+ managers have taken this course with successful results**
Start managing your virtual team more effectively today.
This course is packed with step-by-step tactics that help you discover the psychological secrets of persuasion & communication that influence your virtual team members to do what you want them to do.
You'll also build trust and accountability without wasting time on useless technology tools, frustrating meetings or countless back & forth emails.
Remote teams are the future of work
Learning how to manage people you don't see face-to-face is an important skill that you need regardless of what industry you're in.
With "How to Manage & Influence Your Virtual Team" you will learn the psychological secrets of persuasion and communication that influence your virtual team members to do what you need them to do.
The course will also help you increase the level of trust and accountability among your team members while reducing the time you spend on frustrating meetings, useless technology tools, and back-and-forth emails.
At the end of each lecture in the course, you'll get specific, actionable steps that you can implement immediately.
In addition, you'll also get downloadable sample scripts and templates that you can simply copy & paste and use with your own virtual team.
The course contains the following sections:
The Psychology of Communication in Virtual Teams: Psychological strategies to effectively communicate with your team and reduce ambiguity and miscommunication
Principles of Behavior Change: Four strategic principles that will change your team's behavior to get things done
Tactics of Influence & Persuasion: Step-by-step tactics that influence your team members to do what you need them to do
Managing Virtual Meetings Effectively: How to have fewer meetings while increasing their effectiveness at the same time
Choosing and Evaluating the Right Technology: A simple framework to choose and evaluate the right technology tools to use with your virtual teams
Building Trust in Virtual Environments: A methodical blueprint to increase the level of trust among your virtual team
Killer Email and Phone Techniques: Powerful email and phone techniques that you can use to influence your virtual team members
What is different about this course?
There are many courses on managing virtual teams. Here are three reasons why this one is different
Reason #1: Tactics, not just strategies
Most courses about virtual teams focus on high-level strategies and theories.
Very few actually give you the tactics that you need to implement those strategies.
In this course, I'll show you how to apply the management tactics to your own situation. You'll get step-by-step techniques and scripts that will save you a lot of time in managing your virtual team.
In other words, you will get answers to both those questions:
-What do I need to do?
-How do I do it?
Moreover, every video also has a “Summary of Actions" slide at the end that summarizes the course lecture for you, and tells you exactly what you need to do as a next step. Basically, you'll learn everything about virtual team management in simple steps.
Reason #2: Proven Science-based Research
For the course, I did a ton of science-based research about powerful psychological and productivity studies in the areas of influence and management.
Some of the research references include studies from the Harvard Business School, Kelley School of Business, and McKinsey Global Institute.
I also reference studies from international bestselling books such as “Influence: The Science of Persuasion," “Made to Stick," and “The Tipping Point," among others.
I've tested the findings from those references myself and selected what works and what doesn't in virtual teams.
So you will get the absolute best of the best concepts that work for you and your team.
Reason #3: Practical insights that work (not just theory)
I've been managing virtual teams for over 15 years, both as an entrepreneur and as a program manager.
In fact, I still work as a remote leader, and my full-time job is to manage virtual teams across the world to deliver highly complex projects (note: I work for Cisco Systems, but all views are my own and not those of Cisco).
Unlike most courses that are taught by professors who have studied this space from a purely theoretical view, you'll be getting a unique perspective on how to manage people remotely from someone who does this for a living.
In short, the course will help you:
Communicate more effectively and build trust with your team
Stop worrying about being caught up in pointless day-to-day details
Save valuable time spent on useless meetings and back & forth emails
Choose the right technology tools and techniques for effective team collaboration
Influence your team to be accountable for getting tasks accomplished
NOTE for Project Management Professional (PMP) certification holders
This course qualifies for 3 Professional Development Units (PDUs) under the Project Management Institute's (PMI's) "Education" requirement. After you're done with the course, you will get a "Certificate of Completion" from Udemy, which you can use as evidence for PMI. All 3 hours can be claimed under the "Leadership" category.
Student Testimonials:
Instructor Details
- 4.6 Rating
29,940 Reviews
Hassan Osman
"Short courses for busy managers"
My name is Hassan Osman and I help busy business leaders and managers work more effectively with their teams.
My focus is on three main 'future of work' areas: managing in virtual & hybrid environments, using AI to improve productivity, and enhancing communication among team members.
I write about those topics in my free weekly newsletters, "Leadership 80/20" and "AI for Leaders."
A little about me:
Most recently, I was SVP of Professional Services at NWN Carousel (a $1B organization focused on enabling hybrid work), leading a team of 200+ project managers and engineers on delivering cloud communication services to our customers.
Previously, I was a Director at Cisco Systems, where I led project and program management teams on delivering complex projects for Cisco's customers.
Prior to Cisco, I was a manager at Ernst & Young, where I analyzed failing projects at Fortune 500 companies, and recommended solutions to fix them.
I was also a research assistant at Harvard University, where I studied issues related to virtual teams.
More courses by Hassan Osman
Write Better Emails: Tactics for Smarter Team Communication (2025)
4.6 (101,497 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 1.6h
$119.99
Better Virtual Meetings: How to Lead Effective Meetings (2024)
4.5 (19,515 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 48 mins
$12.99
Effective Delegation for New Managers (2024)
4.6 (11,568 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 36 mins
$11.99
Generative AI for Business Leaders: A Quick Overview (2024)
4.5 (8,480 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 1.2h
$11.99
Building Visibility in the Remote & Hybrid Workplace (2024)
4.6 (4,700 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 48 mins
$54.99
Project Management with ChatGPT (Traditional + Agile) (2024)
4.4 (3,980 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 54 mins
$10.99
More Leadership & Management courses
Inspirational Leadership: Motivation & Leadership Tips (2025)
4.9 (3,134 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 3.2h
$14.99
Overcome Difficult People - Assertiveness with Games Players (2025)
4.8 (1,258 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 2.4h
$74.99
Management - Leadership, Negotiating, Assertiveness, Sales (2026)
4.7 (5,247 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 2.2h
$13.99
Emotional Intelligence : Understand and Master your Emotions (2026)
4.7 (3,024 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.2h
$11.99
From Engineer to Technical Manager: A Survival Guide (2026)
4.7 (2,843 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 3.5h
$79.99
Workplace Mental Health: A Manager's Ultimate Guide (2025)
4.7 (2,357 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 2.8h
$84.99
Reviews
By Jacobina Kambonde on 1/10/2026
I am motivated by pursue this course in order to strengthen my knowledge and skills in both any new assign positions and to support my academic and professional goals and development.
By Kitt Leonard on 12/30/2025
This was a great course with many insightful concepts. The instructor and content was also very interesting citing many studies into the virtual workforce.
By Alyah Blake on 10/24/2025
THIS COURSE WAS PHENOMINAL. The sessions were to the point and easy to understand. Everything taught was relatable to my job concerning virtual teams. I will encourage anyone to listen & learn from this course. THANK YOU FOR THIS.
By Rahul Ajnoti on 9/26/2025
The course was well-structured, with clear topics and straightforward presentations that made the content easy to follow. However, the slides appeared somewhat outdated, with older references and examples. Updating these materials with more recent and relevant case studies would further enhance the learning experience
By Trevor Henderson on 9/26/2025
Overall an amazing course, though some content is a little dated. For instance, I have not had a work phone in a decade and have never left a voicemail in my career. Whereas instant messaging was kind of glossed over, but as a remote software developer, I live on teams and slack. Otherwise, really informative, well paced and helpful.
By Ajay Wadhia on 9/18/2025
It is good but as expected doesn't apply in all scenarios. e.g. email part has become less important in current times. Tools available today are much more sophisticated and integrate all features and needs in one place.
By Anonymized User on 12/30/2020
Thank you, Hassan Osman, for this informative course. There are a lot of good and practical strategies/techniques/tactics discussed, which are helpful in the discharge of my function in leading a group of 5 members, particularly in this time of Covid-19 pandemic wherein our office is implementing a blended physical and work-from-home arrangement.
By Barrett Osborn on 11/15/2020
Very helpful so far. I appreciate the content and approach
By Elizabeth Bahlmann on 11/15/2020
This is a better match for what I actually do and a few other courses that were assigned to me. Has relevant ideas and tasks I can put into place
By Charmaine Timothy on 11/8/2020
Great going so far, except link to it was a bit confusing so technically doing this session 4th time to be able to get to the quizzes....that were not showing up on the previous link until we "enroll"
By Nelson A Campos on 11/8/2020
Good tips about how to manage and influence virtual teams
By Arthur Franck on 11/8/2020
Some of these steps are too often taken for granted or assumed, but are so important and well reflected in this training course.
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 92 / 100












