Silence can mean many things, and that’s a problem in virtual teams. When you can see someone, you can go over and ask why they’re being silent. When you work with others that you can’t easily see or visit, it’s much harder to know what’s going on.

Are they being silent because they are traveling and out-of-the-loop?

Are they being silent because it is a public holiday where they are, and are thus not in the office (and they forgot to tell you and the others, thinking that you would “just know”)?

Are they being silent because they are offended and don’t want to talk to you or anyone else?

Are they being silent because they think that the work of the team is going in the wrong direction, and are feeling really annoyed at the lack of progress.

What Do I Need To Do?
Don’t stop talking about what you are doing, what’s coming up for you, when you are going to be out of the office, when you will be out-of-touch, how you are finding the work of the team, what you find difficult about the team work, and the ideas that you have for improving what’s being done. Be transparent yourself, and thus model for others how they can act within the team.

See A-Z of Virtual Teams: Summary for the complete list.