March has to deal with issues that a lot of businesses face when employing contractors that are not local. There tends to be a slight gap in the...

Dr. March has to deal with issues that a lot of businesses face when employing contractors that are not local.  There tends to be a slight gap in the leader team dynamic.  Team effectiveness is something Dr. Marsh has to incorporate.  Team effectiveness focuses on team excellence or the desired outcomes.  It has two critical functions: performance (task accomplishment) and development (unit maintenance). (Northouse, 2016, pg. 372)  Performance is a bit of work because Dr. Marsh’s team is abroad and it makes it harder for him to monitor their results, the fact that they are contractors makes it more of a challenge.  Development of the team is what the Dr. is trying to achieve; he wants the team to feel as if they are a part of the organization, even if they are all in different regions of the world.  He is trying to build cohesiveness amongst the team.  He wanted to figure out how to form a leadership structure where there were first line leaders that were in charge of sections or divisions of his department.

I think Munford, Zaccaro, and Harding (2000) would be good people to follow.  They believe that good problem solving involves creating solutions which are logical, efficient, and unique.  I think that is what Dr. Marsh had to do; he needed to be creative in how he put his team together.

I think I would have incorporated some virtual room like Wiggio.  It is designed to be easy and straightforward.  It allows you to have real-time meetings, work on projects as a team, create, edit, and upload files, creates groups and sub-groups all online.  (Wiggio, 2016) By having a virtual meeting room, you will be able to collaborate with each other as if you are in the same room.  It closes the gap between not being in the same location.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S. J., Harding, F. D., Jacobs, T.O., & Fleishman, E. A. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35