Effective Leadership in Virtual Workplace

According to Gibson (2012), Virtual Teams are defined as, “a team that relies on interactive technology to work together when separated by physical distance.” (p. 244) Ironically, I manage a virtual team and I wholeheartedly agree with best practices managing virtual teams. I have team members who support the same business unit, physically sit in an office but in various locations from Michigan to Florida. Most of my team I inherited but have done a decent job of following the best practices discussed by Gibson.

| Employees in geographically dispersed locations can work together in virtual teams using video, e-mail, and the Internet.

Is anyone out there? A Guide to Virtual Team Working and Leadership’.Training Reference, viewed October 2011

These groups rely on technology to communicate with one another and to accomplish the tasks allocated by the organization. One benefit of a virtual team is that they use technology and this can help increase efficiency and productivity of the members. The virtual teams also assist in the development of intellectual capital. The composition of the virtual groups helps improve quality as well as the outcome. The other benefit is the efficiency of communication. Some of the challenges include the distance between the members. The significant distance may dilute leadership, weaken human relations as well as amplify dysfunction. Virtual teams are hard to manage especially when it comes to goal setting, task distribution, coordination and member motivation. Virtual organizations rely on trust that the other members will fulfill their roles since it is not possible to monitor them closely (Hoppe, 2011). The virtual teams may face some internet challenges such as slow internet or disconnection. This problem can be handled through the use of alternative methods of communication such as mobile phones. While making a virtual team, the team members should address all challenges which may hinder communication by coming up with all possible substitutes of means of communication. These organizations rely heavily on the internet for video conferencing and sending emails. However, when the internet fails, they

1. #1Complete an online leadership and management style inventory to discover your leadership style or preference. There are multiple sites available and all are very similar. The free sites are adequate for this assignment. Give examples of situations in which you observed or experienced any of the various styles in clinical. In what ways have they been effective or ineffective for you or for those with whom you have worked? Which style may have been a better approach in the situation?

In today’s modern company virtual teams are interacting in different ways tan with traditional physical teams. Bock lists three ways virtual teams are getting their assigned activities accomplished, and what the company must provide for them to be successful.

The world is a growing and changing place, and in business we have seen many changes occur. Most of these changes are of a result of globalization and multiculturalism Diverse and virtual teams have developed in response. The work force has become more diverse and spread out, and it has forced managers to adjust and change their management styles to adapt to the new work force needs. This paper will address the risks, the benefits, and the ways managers plan to manage the new diverse and mobile teams.

Virtual teams are also referred to as far-flung teams, which are teams that are tasked towards meeting a particular goal yet they are located in very different geographical location and are not able to meet on regular basis to carry out the task. This distance between the members of the group is a big challenge that has to be overcome in order for the group to reach their goal.

A virtual team is the network of diverse individuals in multiple locations working in this evolving economy. Challenges the team faces include isolation feeling, lack of trust, unclear goals, direction and priorities, and lack of engagement all due to no face-to-face contact. Therefore, Associates may leave the company through attrition. In the Marketplace simulation our team will make effort to have face-to-face meetings. We will focus on input from each team member and ensure everyone feels they are contributing to the team.

Assignment 3 is a report concerning digital leadership and professional development. Prior to writing this assignment, the students are advised to explore 5-6 researches relating to the topics in order to acquire the essential information and comprehension to answer these two relevant questions: “What is digital leadership?” and “How to integrate the digital leadership concepts in teacher professional development ?”

Hertel, Guido, Susanne Geister, and Udo Konradt. 2005. “Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research.” Human Resource Management Review 15 (1): 69-95. doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2005.01.002.

The influence that management and leadership styles along with communication systems have on the development of leadership, trust, and accountability in a culturally diverse virtual team is unknown. The problem that this study will address is the lack of knowledge concerning management and leadership styles needed to effectively manage a virtual team with multiple cultural backgrounds and the lack of tools to develop each member’s leadership, trust, and accountability skills. A quantitative study will be used to understand the necessary management and leadership styles and communication systems to effectively manage a culturally diverse virtual team.

They’ve been feeling disconnected as well as feeling discomfort by team members as their two managers, Nazr and Ashok, don’t get along. There’s an underlying and perceived racism going on between the two teams as well. They were not able to focus on the problem at hand and understand one another since the trust and respect were not established among members. Another dysfunction this team is facing is lack of leadership. It is no doubt that Greg is well established and valuable employee of Sun Microsystems, Inc. with many notable accomplishments. However, he overlooked specific challenges of leading a virtual global team and the importance of his role as a leader. As Hill stresses, “it is essential to understand the role of leadership within teams to ensure team success and to avoid team failure” (Hill, 2010, p.242). Effective leadership is even more crucial with virtual teams and demands “50% more investment” (Dyer, Dyer, & Dyer, 2007, as cited in Hill, 2010, p.248). Greg failed to read all the “personal and contextual nuances” and potential conflicts among his team members (Hill, 2010, p.248). He failed to understand potential meaning of silence, misunderstandings, team process, and overlooked signs that have eventually led to discontentment and misunderstandings of his team members. Greg formed his team rather quickly, composed of seven members from France, Inida, UAE, and US. James hired them based on their credentials and impressive resumes, but he didn’t

The evolution of globalization and the advancement of communication technology have increased the amount of cross cultural, virtual teams in existence in today’s business world. Cross cultural, virtual teams can leverage on the diverse experiences of its members to achieve good results even without the members meeting face to face.

Case 14.1-“Can This Virtual Team Work?” addresses the concerns of a newly formed virtual information technology team that is led by Jim Towne. The team is made up of competent members who reside and work in Canada, the United States, Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia. Their task is to create and implement technology innovations for all global business units. To accomplish this task, the team collaborates via phone, videoconference, email, text, group decision-support software and has even met twice in a face-to-face setting to plan and set goals. Although the team seems to be enthused about the task as well as working together, the team is having difficulty finishing projects as a unit because they are all working on multiple projects individually and/or corporately. Another problem is that most team members travel to business sites at least two weeks each month which takes away time to work on projects. There is a part-time secretary responsible for organizing travel and meetings, but despite her efforts, the team feels overloaded because with each trip they fall farther behind on their tasks. So Jim is now under pressure to prove that this team can add value to the organization despite the challenges presented.