The page limit for the assignment is two pages (double spaced, 12pt font, 1” margins). You must answer the questions in your own words. You do not need to consult any work beyond the article cited
0 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Ab ST r ACT The purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of virtual team leadership occur - ring within existing virtual teams in a range of organizations. Qualitative data were collected through comprehensive interviews with nine virtual team leaders and members from six different organizations. A semi-structured interview format was used to elicit extensive information about effective and ineffective virtual team leadership behaviours. Content analysis was used to code the interview transcripts and detailed notes obtained from these interviews. Two independent raters categorized results into themes and sub-themes. These results provide real-world examples and recommendations above and beyond what can be learned from simulated laboratory experi - ments. The four most important overarching findings are described using the following headings:
1) Leadership critical in virtual teams, 2) Virtual team meeting effectiveness, 3) Personalizing virtual teamwork, and 4) Learning to effectively use different media. These findings represent the most significant and pertinent results from this qualitative data and provide direction for future research, as well as practical recommendations for leaders and members of virtual teams.
Keywords: dispersed teams; e-leadership; leadership; team leadership; virtual lead\ ership; virtual teams; virtual teamwork; virtual work; virtual work In T rodu CTI on Rapid technological advancements have led to a new paradigm of work — it can now be conducted anytime, anywhere, in real space or through technology (Cascio & Shurygailo, 2003). The virtual work - place is a reality, and all indications are that technology-mediated communications will become increasingly prevalent in the future (Martins, Gilson, & Maynard, 2004).
Leaders are finding themselves directing portions of, or even entire projects, solely through communication technologies (Avo - lio & Kahai, 2003). Virtual teams require Virtual Team Leadership: Perspectives From the Field Laura A. Hambley, University of Calgary, Canada Thomas A. O’Neill, University of Western Ontario, Canada Theresa J.B. Kline, University of Calgary, Canada IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING This paper appears in the publication, International Journal of e-Collaboration, Volume 3, Issue 1 edited by Ned Kock © 2007, Idea Group Inc.
701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITJ3498 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 1 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
new ways of working across boundaries through systems, processes, technology, and people (Duarte & Snyder, 1999), which require effective leadership. Despite the widespread increase in virtual teamwork, there has been relatively little focus on the role of leaders within these teams (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002). Descriptive field studies examining virtual team leadership have been recom - mended as valuable by Bell and Kozlowski (2002), as there is currently a paucity of such data. Most of the existing research on virtual team leadership consists of anecdotal case studies of virtual teams in single organizations (e.g., Kirkman, Rosen, Gibson, Tesluk, & McPherson, 2002) or laboratory studies using ad hoc student teams (e.g., Balthazard, Waldman, Howell, & Atwater, 2002; Kahai, Sosik, & Avolio, 2003). The purpose of this field study was to improve the current understanding of leadership within virtual teams in a range of organizations by interviewing virtual team leaders and members. The findings outline specific leadership behaviours involved in successful virtual teamwork, thereby providing tangible recommenda - tions for organizations implementing virtual teamwork and providing the basis for future theory development. Le A der S h IP r e S e A r C h Previous leadership theories have used trait, behavioural, and contingency-based approaches to describing leadership effects at the individual, team, and organizational level (Yukl, 2006). Recently, these theories have received less attention, as an alterna - tive paradigm has come to the forefront of leadership research. This paradigm has inspiration as a key tenet and the theories using the paradigm have been coined “the New Leadership theories” (Bryman, 1993).
One similarity among the new theories is that they provide a rationale to explain how leaders can increase organizational effec - tiveness, and inspire followers to achieve outstanding levels of motivation, admira - tion, respect, trust, and commitment. These outcomes are the result of an emphasis on symbolism and emotionally-based leader behaviours (e.g., visioning, role modeling, risk-taking), in addition to cognitively ori - ented leader behaviours (e.g., adaptation, versatility, intellectual stimulation) (House & Aditya, 1997). Of particular interest to the present study is the theory posited by Bass (1985) and later revised and updated by Bass and Avolio (1994, 1997). This theory, called the Full Range Leadership Theory (FRLT; Sivasubramaniam, Murray, Avolio, & Jung, 2002), was developed to integrate transfor - mational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles, and has been supported empirically (Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Lowe & Kroeck, 1996). It is widely accepted in the management and leadership literatures (Antonakis & House, 2002) and has served as the conceptual basis for many studies of virtual team leadership (e.g., Kahai & Avolio, 2006; Kahai, Sosik, & Avolio, 1997; 2003). How leadership works within the contexts of different communication me - dia, however, has received relatively little attention in the literature. Furthermore, the extant research that has considered possible interactions between leadership and communication media is comprised of mostly laboratory-based studies. The nature and results of these studies as well as the few relevant field studies on virtual team leadership are discussed next. 2 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Virtual Team Leadership r esearch Although some research on virtual team leadership styles exists, there is rela - tively little research on how leadership affects virtual team interaction and perfor - mance. Some idea about how leadership may affect virtual team interaction and performance is provided by laboratory studies of transactional, transformational, participative, and directive leadership in computer-mediated teams (e.g., Kahai & Avolio, 2006; Kahai, Sosik, & Avolio, 1997, 2003, and 2004; Sosik, Avolio, & Kahai, 1997; Sosik, Avolio, Kahai, & Jung, 1998). For example, Sosik et al. (1997) found that transformational leadership was associated with higher levels of group potency (the group’s belief that it can be effective) than transactional leadership in a Group Decision Support System setting, and that group potency was related to group effectiveness. More recent research found that teams of participants working with a confederate transformational leader made more arguments challenging the copying of “copyrighted” software compared to teams that were working with a trans - actional confederate (Kahai & Avolio, 2006). In contrast, the participants in the transactional condition were more likely to make arguments in support of copying the copyrighted materials. There also exist a small number of field studies on virtual team leadership.
For example, a field study involving 68 managers of global virtual teams from many countries compared the relation - ships between laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational leadership on team effectiveness and commitment (Davis et al., 2003). They found that team leaders displaying transformational leadership characteristics had more effective and committed teams. Kirkman et al. (2002) interviewed members and leaders of 65 virtual teams in a single organization, resulting in five broad challenges of virtual teams as op - posed to specific effective and ineffective virtual team leadership behaviours. Simi - larly, Furst, Reeves, Rosen, and Blackburn (2004) followed six virtual project teams within a single large organization to see how they developed and determine what factors contributed to performance. They make suggestions for managers at various stages in a virtual team’s development, but the major focus of their study was on virtual team development as opposed to leadership.
Other papers present some challenges and recommendations for leading virtual teams, but are not based on empirical data (e.g., Zaccaro & Bader, 2002; Zigurs, 2002). In sum, studies on leadership in virtual and computer-mediated teams, most of which are limited to temporary, ad hoc stu - dent groups in laboratory settings, suggest that leadership style does significantly im - pact various aspects of team performance.
Some researchers argue that the complex - ity of virtual teams cannot be adequately captured in the laboratory, yet most virtual team leadership research is laboratory- based (Martins et al., 2004). Those studies that are field-based tend to focus mainly on virtual teamwork as opposed to leadership, and do not examine virtual team leadership at a detailed, behavioral level. Clearly, more field research on specific leadership styles and behaviours within virtual teams is needed to fill this gap in the literature, which this study sought to address. Me T hod The method employed for this study entailed semi-structured interviews. An inductively-based qualitative approach was International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 3 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
used to gain a more detailed understanding of virtual team leadership. This was not a grounded study as our purpose was not to build theory but instead to uncover con - tent about specific virtual team leadership behaviours to guide future research and theory building.
Participants A sample of nine leaders and members of virtual teams from six organizations in Western Canada were interviewed for this study. These organizations represented the following industries: professional/consult - ing, oil and gas, financial services, govern - ment/public, IT, and legal. Participants consisted of seven males and two females.
In order to be included in this study, par - ticipants had to be: 1) involved in at least one virtual team that communicated at least 75% of the time virtually (i.e., through non- face-to-face (FTF) media), and 2) a virtual team member for at least three months. All participants met these criteria, with one having recently left her position but who could still respond as a subject matter expert to all of the questions.
Procedure Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling, which involves beginning with one or more contacts within a given population and asking participants to nominate others (Goldenberg, 1992). No more than two individuals were interviewed from any single organization, and an attempt was made to have representation from a range of industries. Those participants who met the criteria for inclusion were individually interviewed at their workplace. Seven of the nine inter - views were taped and transcribed. Detailed notes were taken for the other two inter - views, one of which was conducted via long distance telephone. All participants worked in two large, Canadian cities. The interview consisted of a series of semi-structured questions, including a combination of closed and open-ended questions, as well as probes to elicit further information (see Appendix). Each par - ticipant was asked this same set of items aimed at gaining a better understanding of current virtual team leadership practices.
The interviews lasted about an hour.
d ata Analyses Content analysis (Berg, 1989) was used to code the interview transcripts and detailed notes obtained from the interviews.
Two of the authors discussed an explicit rule set, or criteria of selection for how to handle the data, which is recommended in qualitative research before the data is analyzed. The unit of analysis for this data was at the “statement” or “phrase” level, meaning specific statements or phrases were analyzed as opposed to words. These will be referred to as “sub-themes.” When applicable, sub-themes were grouped into themes. The broadest level of analysis was by category under which the themes were organized. A category could be based on a single interview question or on two ques - tions that elicited similar information. Upon agreeing on a rule set, each researcher independently organized the sub-themes in each category into themes.
Some categories with only a few statements represented a single theme, while others were organized into several themes. The researchers also kept a quantitative record by tracking the number of participants who mentioned each sub-theme. According to content analysis (Berg, 1989), the process used to establish these themes and sub- themes was “inductive,” meaning they International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
were identified by immersing oneself in the data rather than pre-established according to existing theory. The researchers met to compare their coding schemes, discussing how to categorize and name each category, theme, and sub- theme. Where they disagreed they discussed the issue until they came to an agreement as to how the category, theme or sub-theme should be handled. Edits to sub-themes were made for the purposes of making them more succinct, but the content itself was not changed and every effort was made to preserve the original terminology. Due to the extensive number of decisions (hundreds of decisions ranging from minor wording changes to major reor - ganization), the rate of agreement between coders could not be accurately recorded. Full agreement was achieved, however, through discussion and collaboration throughout the coding process. reS u LTS Results are organized by categories stemming from one or more interview ques - tions. Due to the volume of these qualitative results, generally only the statements made by two or more participants will be described for each theme. (Note that the frequencies often add up to more than nine because each participant could give more than one response per question.) We used two as cut-off so that we could present and com - ment on as many unique themes as possible within the constraints of a single study. As we were not developing theory in this study per se , this approach satisfied the need for both parsimony and inclusiveness.
n ature of Participants’ Involvement in Virtual Teams This first category captured partici - pants’ responses to interview question 1: Theme Frequency Type of Virtual Team Ongoing virtual teams 6 Short-term project teams 5 Location of Virtual Team Members Various Countries 7 Different Canadian cities/ provinces 2 Virtual Team Size 7-10 members 4 10-15 members 2 4-7 members 2 2-5 members 1 Table 1. Nature of participants’ involvement in virtual teams Describe the virtual team(s) in which you are involved (number of members, activities the team engages in, roles of the members, where they are located, etc.) (see Table 1). Participants were almost equally as likely to be involved in ongoing virtual teams versus short-term project teams.
Teams were most commonly composed of members from various countries, and the most frequently reported size of a virtual team was 7-10 members, which is typical given that the mean of such teams has been found to be 7.7 members (Kinney & Panko, 1996).
Participants’ r oles in Virtual Teams Question 2 asked: Describe your role in the virtual team(s). Are you in a leadership position? Participants’ roles were evenly split between leading short-term ( n = 4) and ongoing ( n = 4) virtual teams. Three of the eight participants who had leadership roles were also virtual team members in International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
other virtual teams. One participant was solely in a member role on a virtual team, although this person had previously taken on leadership roles in virtual teams. Thus, all participants could speak to their experi - ences leading virtual teams.
Percent of FTF Communication in Participants’ Virtual Teams Question 3 asked participants the following: Approximately what percent of your virtual team’s communication is FTF?
The most common amount of FTF commu - nication mentioned was 5% ( n = 4). This translates to meeting FTF very rarely, such as once or twice per year for a team meet - ing. Three participants indicated that their virtual teams had no FTF contact, while two participants estimated having about 8% FTF contact (monthly meetings).
Importance of FTF Meetings in Virtual Teams Question 4 asked: Did your virtual team members meet FTF prior to working together virtually? If so, do you think this had any impact on how the team worked? If not, do you think that the members should have? If you were to work on other virtual teams would you want to meet the members FTF prior to working together virtually?
(see Table 2) Three themes emerged from this question. The first was that meeting FTF is important at the conception of a virtual team. In particular, most participants in - dicated that a FTF kick-off is important.
A second theme was that FTF meetings have important impacts, such as facili - tating the development of trust, comfort level, and rapport between team members more quickly than solely communicating virtually would allow. A third theme was the significance of meeting FTF, further Theme Frequency FTF Meeting at Virtual Team Conception FTF kick-off is very important 6 FTF meetings needed if members have not met 2 New team member always meets rest of team FTF 2 Impact of FTF meetings Trust develops faster if first meet FTF 2 Increased comfort level and rapport if first meet FTF 2 Significance of Meeting FTF Meet FTF if economically feasible 3 Nothing replaces FTF (a must) 2 Important for leader to meet team members FTF 1 supporting its importance for virtual teams.
For example, three participants noted that virtual teams should meet FTF periodically if economically feasible. b ehaviours of e ffective Virtual Team Leaders Question 5 asked: To be effective in a virtual setting, what does a team leader need to do? Similar information was also ob - tained through and question 6, which asked:
Describe examples of effective leadership in a virtual team. Table 3 combines the data obtained from both questions 5 and 6. The statements resulting from these two questions were organized into five major themes. The first theme of effective virtual team leadership was the ability to build a virtual team. In particular, many participants mentioned the importance of Table 2. Importance of FTF meetings in virtual teams International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theme Frequency b uilding a Virtual Team Provide role and expectation clarity 6 Encourage regular communication and establish various communication channels to support it 5 Set goals for the team 3 Establish a vision/mission for the team 2 Facilitate team members getting to know each other 2 Create team operating principles (e.g., appropriate behaviours, ground rules) 2 Help engage people to communicate effectively though different media 2 Pre-qualify people for their tolerance for isolation 1 Build trust in the team 1 Virtual Team Leadership Skills Obtain training to lead a virtual team 2 Lead by example (work alongside team when needed) 2 Manage to results (hold people accountable) 1 Strong facilitation skills 1 Try to simulate as if team was co-located (e.g., invest in technologies to do so) 1 Keep team members feeling connected to rest of team 1 Promote an information sharing environment 1 Theme Frequency Celebrate and reward successes 1 Make projects fun 1 Allow for and create opportunites for virtual workers to balance isolation with social (e.g., allow them time to network in community 1 Obtain coaching to work in a new medium 1 Leader-follower relationships Establish regular one-on- ones with followers 6 Invest time getting to know followers 2 Periodically visit followers FTF in their own environment 2 Respect people’s lives (e.g., personal responsibilities, holidays) Data needed Virtual Team Meetings Establish regular virtual team meetings (typically teleconference 4 Ensure meetings are well organized 3 “Share the pain” (rotate virtual meeting times to be convenient for different time zones) 2 Control side-bar conversations in virtual meetings 1 Make sure introverts get a chance to contribute 1 “Be here now” (leader needs to be 100% Focused during virtual team meetings) 1 Table 3. Behaviors of effective virtual team leaders International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 7 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
the leader providing role and expectation clarity for virtual team members. Also, par - ticipants emphasized that effective virtual leaders need to encourage regular commu - nication and establish various channels to support team communication, captured by the following interview quote:
Let your project team members know how important it is to communicate on a regular basis and encourage it and be a leading example of that. Setting goals for the team was also brought up as an important responsibility of the leader. The second major theme was that the virtual leader needs to possess a set of spe - cific virtual team leadership skills. Many of these are similar to skills important in lead - ing FTF teams, with a few being specific to virtual teams. The importance of the virtual leader obtaining training to lead a virtual team was also noted. Additionally, leading by example through working alongside the team when needed was emphasized as being important. The third major theme captured the importance of the virtual leader in estab - lishing and maintaining effective relation - ships with his/her followers. Participants emphasized that this requires the virtual leader to conduct regular one-on-one meet - ings; invest time getting to know his/her followers; and periodically visit followers in their own environments. The fourth theme was the virtual lead - er’s responsibility for ensuring that virtual team meetings are effective. This requires holding regular virtual team meetings, typi - cally done via teleconference, and ensuring these are well organized. Furthermore, effective virtual leaders “share the pain” amongst team members by rotating virtual meeting times to be convenient for different time zones. The following interview quote focuses on the importance of preparation for a virtual team meeting:
I’ve been in other conference calls over videoconferencing when no one was actu - ally taking control of the logistics of the meeting, and there are interruptions, there are silences, there is frustration. I think for virtual meetings there has to be much more preparation upfront. The final theme of effective virtual team leadership addressed the establish - ment of strong virtual team management.
This involves setting up processes and tools Theme Frequency Follow-up after virtual meetings to ensure understanding of participants 1 Be able to ad lib when technology fails (always have a Plane B 1 Virtual Team Management Have a strong, dedicated project manager 4 Tailor amount and type of communication to suit individual needs 1 Establish tools to track progress (e.g., project management software) 1 Regularly review issues and obstacles 1 Make effective virtual teamwork part of performance appraisals 1 Table 3. continued International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
to ensure that the team is well managed. For example, the virtual leader should ensure that the team has a skilled, dedicated proj - ect manager. The leader may fill this role, or alternatively delegate or hire a project manager. Regardless, strong project man - agement appears to be key to virtual team effectiveness.
h ow an e ffective Virtual Leader Impacts Team Interactions Participants were asked about how an effective virtual leader impacts a team’s in - teractions. These results were elicited from question 8 (see Table 4): In your experience, how has a virtual leader been able to impact his/her/your team’s interactions? The most commonly cited way that an effective virtual leader can impact a team’s interactions was by building a cohesive team. Participants described a cohesive vir - tual team as a “jelled” team that works very well together. Leaders can build cohesive virtual teams by demonstrating many of the behaviours of effective virtual leaders listed in Table 3.
b ehaviours of Ineffective Virtual Leaders Participants were asked about the behaviours of ineffective virtual leaders in two different questions. The second part of question 5 asked about ineffective virtual team leadership: To be effective in a virtual setting…are there things he/she should NOT do? Also, question 7 asked:
Describe examples of poor leadership in a virtual team (see Table 5). The behaviours of ineffective virtual leaders identified by participants were or - ganized into two themes. The first captured examples of ineffective virtual team lead - ership behaviours. The most frequently mentioned sub-theme was that ineffective virtual leaders, like their FTF counterparts, lack vision, strategy, and direction. Partici - pants also noted that the same leadership issues that co-located teams experience are amplified in a virtual setting. In other words, poor leadership behaviours are even more detrimental when communication is virtual. The second theme in the category of ineffective virtual team leadership be - haviours was virtual team meetings. This theme again emphasized that the leader plays an important role in the success of virtual team meetings, and ineffective be - haviours by the leader, such as cutting off conversation or dominating the meeting, can decrease success.
Challenges of Leading Virtually Although not included as a specific question, the challenges of leading virtually emerged as important when respondents were questioned about ineffective virtual team leadership. In particular, challenges were mentioned in response to question 7 (see Table 6): Describe examples of poor leadership in a virtual team. The most commonly mentioned chal - lenge faced by a virtual leader was working with followers in different time zones. This requires having to coordinate meetings to work for all team members, and to face the challenge of different energy levels across team members, and the logistics of different working hours, lunch breaks, etc.
Comparing e ffective Leadership in Virtual vs. FTF Settings Next, participants were queried about the differences between effective leadership in virtual versus FTF settings. Question 9 asked: Do you think team leadership differs in FTF, versus other forms of communica - tion? (see Table 7) International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theme Frequency Builds a cohesive team 3 Creates a team culture 1 Helps team members develop relationships and business contacts to share knowledge across geographical lines 1 Builds social connections between virtual team members 1 Prevents silos in different locations from forming 1 Will cause followers to mimic or pick up his/her behaviors 1 Table 4. How an effective virtual leader impacts team interactions Theme Frequency Ineffective virtual team leadership Lack of vision, strategy and direction 3 Same leadership issues experienced in co-located teams are amplified virtually 2 Many are the same ineffective leadership traits that happen in co-located teams 1 Keep people isolated (e.g., create barriers to keep them from collaborating with others; not acknowledging isolation is an issue 1 One-way communication (top-down) 1 Not responding to e-mails/ voice mails in a timely manner 1 Virtual team meetings Cutting off conversation (e.g., during delays in a VC) 1 Dominate the meeting 1 Assume that silence from team members means everything is fine 1 Table 5. Behaviours of ineffective virtual leaders Theme Frequency Working with different time zones 3 Cross-cultural differences 1 Establishing and maintaining self as a leader virtually 1 Lack of training for employees to be effective in a virtual environment 1 Making time to visit virtual team members at their locations 1 Greater potential for misunderstandings virtually than FTF 1 More time to accomplish tasks when communicating through technology than FTF 1 Table 6. Challenges of leading virtually 0 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
The responses to this question were or - ganized into two themes. The first captured the different process issues experienced when leading virtually versus FTF. Partici - pants emphasized that project management needs to be stronger in virtual than FTF teams. Further, a virtual leader needs to learn to read cues and behaviours specific to non-FTF communication. A second theme was the different social issues inherent when leading virtu - ally versus FTF. Participants mentioned the difficulty leaders face in establishing personal connections virtually, thus creat - ing the potential for losing the “human element” because of increased task focus. Theme Frequency Process Issues Project management needs to be stronger in virtual than FTF teams 2 Need to learn to read cues and behaviours specific to non-FTF communication 2 Effective virtual team leadership is more difficult than FTF leadership 1 Create rules and norms up front concerning how/when to use certain media 1 Leaders must exhibit a lot of patience when listening and waiting for feedback in virtual communications 1 FTF allows for impromptu and spontaneous discussions 1 Always try to model FTF though other media 1 Table 7. Comparing effective leadership in virtual vs. FTF settings Theme Frequency Social Issues Difficult to establish personal connections virtually, thus creating the potential for losing the “human element” because of increased task focus 2 Virtual team leadership requires conscious effort to encourage sharing of non-work information 2 Virtual leaders must watch for unhappy members and address problems promptly 1 Maintaining rapport is more important in virtual than FTF 1 Another sub-theme related to maintaining the human element was that virtual lead - ers needed to make a conscious effort to encourage the sharing of non-work related information. This tends to occur more naturally for leaders in a FTF setting, but must be more deliberately implemented in virtual teams.
e ffective Telephone u se in Virtual Teams Participants were asked how leader - ship differs when communicating FTF versus through various specific media. The first of these communication media is the telephone. Specifically, question 10a asked: International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 1 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theme Frequency Seek each member’s input rather than allowing the loudest voices to dominate (e.g., use checklists, ask specific people for input to ensure they are engaged) 4 Encourage the sharing of non- work related information so teleconference is not too task focused 2 Establish protocols and rules for teleconference sessions, and periodically revisit them 1 Be alert that team members may be tempted to disengage from the call (e.g., by checking e-mail) 1 Don’t put shy or introverted people on the spot (“are you ok with this” rather than “what do you think?”) 1 If some team members are co- located, it is important to make sure virtual members are equally included 1 Table 9. Effective teleconference use in virtual teams Theme Frequency Leaders must learn to “hear” body language (e.g., follow- up with silent members, read pauses, be aware of cues) 2 Useful for discussions that require substantial time (e.g., 20 minutes or more) 1 Effective in times of crisis 1 Helpful when conveying detailed information that is too complex for written media 1 Leader should regularly make use of the telephone to connect with each team member individually (to discuss issues that the team member may not have wanted to share with the team) 1 Table 8. Effective telephone use in virtual teams for the leader to use when regularly meeting individually with his/her followers.
e ffective Teleconference u se in Virtual Teams Another medium about which partici - pants were queried is the teleconference.
Specifically, question 10b asked: How does leadership differ between FTF and telecon - ference interactions? (see Table 9) The most commonly mentioned sub- theme was that the leader of the telecon - ference should seek each member’s input rather than allowing the loudest voices How does leadership differ between FTF and telephone interactions? (see Table 8) Participants mentioned how leaders must learn to “hear” body language through the telephone. For example, if a team member is silent, the virtual leader should follow-up with that individual to determine if he/she has any feedback. In addition, the virtual leader needs to read pauses through the telephone, such as recognizing whether the pause means a certain reaction and to be aware of the cues followers give (or do not give) through the telephone. The telephone was also mentioned as an important media 2 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
to dominate. What might be helpful in monitoring team members’ inclusion is using checklists and asking specific people for input to ensure that they are engaged.
Another sub-theme was that the leader should encourage the sharing of non-work related information so the teleconference is not entirely task focused. In other words, remaining solely task focused results in a teleconference that is depersonalized.
e ffective e -mail u se in Virtual Teams Another commonly used medium about which participants were queried is e-mail. Question 10c asked: How does leadership differ between FTF and e-mail interactions? Table 10 summarizes re - sponses to this question. Responses were organized into two themes, the first of these being the social aspects of e-mail use. As with teleconfer - ence, personalization was brought up in re - gards to e-mail. Participants recommended that the leader should take a moment to personalize e-mails, at least some of the time. For example, leaders should ask how the individual is doing or what they are doing for the weekend rather than solely addressing work. A second theme in regards to e-mail was protocol. The leader needs to establish acceptable ground rules for the use of e- mail. Examples of ground rules brought up by participants were keeping e-mails concise (e.g., maximum one thought or idea per e-mail) and only sending the e-mail to whom it directly relates (not “over-copy - ing”).
e ffective Videoconference (VC) u se in Virtual Teams Participants were also queried about the use of videoconference (VC). Question 10d asked: How does leadership differ between FTF and videoconference interac - tions? (see Table 11) Responses were organized into three themes. The first theme was boardroom videoconference, consisting of a VC system set-up in a meeting room with one camera that typically focuses on all participants. In some cases the camera is operated so that it Theme Frequency Social Aspects Take a moment to personalize the email (e.g., ask how they are doing) 2 Learn to read body language over e-mail 1 Never discuss emotional or sensitive issues through e-mail 1 E-mail can more easily seem rude and be misunderstood 1 e -mail Protocol Leader must establish acceptable ground rules for use of e-mail 1 e-mail is a poor media choice to show leadership 1 Leader an show recognition and praise though e-mail 1 Keep e-mails concise (e.g., maximum one thought or idea per e-mail 1 Only send the e-mail to whom it directly related to (don’t over-copy) 1 Useful for transferring documents and other information 1 Table 10. Effective e-mail use in virtual teams International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 3 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theme Frequency b oardroom Videoconference Boardroom VC is used less now because the lack of quality creates some problems (e.g., can’t capture entire room, delays, sideline conversations) 4 Boardroom VC must be carefully managed and facilitated 1 In boardroom VC, it is important for each person to say their name before speaking (allowing sufficient time for the camera to zoon in on them) 1 Zooming in is helpful to see expressions, but may make some people uncomfortable 1 d esktop Videoconference ( d VC) DVC would be fantastic for picking up on non-verbals and body language, but not yet affordable for many organizations 3 DVC may be more productive and flexible than boardroom VC(it is the future of VC) 2 VC would be more effective one-to-one 1 Most employees don’t have DVC 1 Table 11. Effective Videoconference (VC) use in virtual teams Theme Frequency u tility of Videoconference VC is appropriate when it is critical to see body language (e.g., strategic project meetings, not necessary for weekly meetings) 2 VC is better than telephone, but mostly just matches a face to a name and isn’t the best for reading nonverbal cues 2 Training is needed for team members to use VC/DVC effectively 1 separate conversations, to the exclusion of participants in the other location). The second theme was the use of Desktop Videoconference (DVC). This involves the VC being conducted from an individual’s PC, and is usually one-on-one, although multiple points can be connected to allow for team meetings with the appro - priate technology and bandwidth. Several participants commented that DVC would be fantastic for picking up on non-verbal cues and body language, but may not yet be affordable for many organizations.
Participants also mentioned that DVC may be more productive and flexible than boardroom VC, and therefore represents the future of videoconferencing. A third theme regarding the effective use of VC was its utility. This theme is ap - plicable to both boardroom VC and DVC.
Participants mentioned that VC is appropri - ate when it is critical to see body language zooms in on whoever is speaking. Several participants mentioned that boardroom VC is used less now because its lack of qual - ity created some challenges. For example, it often does not capture the entire room, there are delays, and sideline conversations are common (e.g., individuals engaged in International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theme Frequency Everything is recorded permitting easy consolidation of information 1 Chat is more efficient than e- mail because it allows work to be carried out in real time 1 Having a facilitator can help keep a chat session on track 1 Leader should monitor and encourage team member participation (because it may be tempting to stay silent when not seen) 1 Training should be provided for those unfamiliar with chat 1 Table 12. Effective use of chat in virtual teams Table 13. Effective use of instant messaging in virtual teams Theme Frequency Effective for quick messages/ requests, not for sharing lots of information 3 Very useful during negotiation or sales conference calls because it allows team members to “whisper” comments to each other during the call 2 Much more interactive than e- mail 2 Allow for personalized messages that help build virtual team rapport (e.g., “how are you doing?”) 1 Don’t use instant messaging because not secure and impossible to document 1 (e.g., strategic project meetings), but that it is not necessary for weekly virtual team meetings. Another sub-theme was that VC is better than telephone, but mostly just matches a face to a name and is not the best medium for reading nonverbal cues.
e ffective u se of Chat in Virtual Teams Another communication medium about which participants were queried is chat. Specifically, question 10e asked:
How does leadership differ between FTF and chat interactions? Table 12 summarizes responses to this question. Having a facilitator to help keep a chat session on track was mentioned as important. Also recommended was to have the leader monitor and encourage team member participation, as it may be tempt - ing for some members to stay silent when they are not seen. e ffective u se of Instant Messaging in Virtual Teams The final communication medium about which participants were asked was instant messaging (instant messaging differs from chat in that a history of com - munications is not typically maintained).
Specifically, question 10f asked: How does leadership differ between FTF and instant messaging interactions? Table 13 summa - rizes responses to this question. One commonly mentioned sub-theme was that instant messaging is most effec - tive for quick messages and requests (e.g., 30 second messages), but not for sharing more detailed information. Participants also mentioned its utility during negotiation or sales conference calls because it allows team members to “whisper” comments to each other during the call. Another sub- theme regarding instant messaging is that it is much more interactive than e-mail, and International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
therefore comes closer to approximating FTF communication than does asynchro - nous communication.
o ther Communication Media and Issues Participants were also asked about other communication media relevant to their work, in question 10g: How does leadership differ between FTF and other media interactions? (see Table 14) A few participants mentioned the utility of team collaboration tools to allow virtual teams to post documents, have online discussions, track project advancement, and record the history of the project (e.g., E-Rooms, share point, lotus notes, project forums, collaborative space). Participants also mentioned that web-conferencing is a useful tool (i.e., to demo software or applications). The importance of various communication media in virtual teamwork is captured by the following interview quote:
The end goal is to try to simulate the real environment as much as you can and you are always looking for tools that are coming closer and closer to simulating everyone being in the same office. dISC u SSI on The field interviews yielded an exten - sive amount of data, meeting the goal of increasing the understanding of leadership within existing virtual teams. Due to the descriptive nature of the findings, each of the categories presented in the Results will not be described. Rather, the most impor - tant findings transcending more than one category are discussed. Four overarching findings represent the most significant and pertinent learnings from this qualitative data and provide direction for future research and theory-building, as well as practical recom - mendations for virtual team leaders.
Leadership Critical in Virtual Teams The necessity for strong leadership of virtual teams was highlighted throughout the interview data. This corroborates a field study in which employees rated leadership as critical to the success of their virtual teams (Webster & Wong, 2003). Partici - pants provided numerous examples of effec - tive and ineffective virtual team leadership and were able to describe the behaviours that they believed exemplify strong leader - ship in virtual contexts. They emphasized the necessity of a leader to build the virtual team and the fact that he/she needs a certain set of virtual team leadership skills, some of which are qualitatively different from those used in FTF settings. Interviewees mentioned the leader’s role in providing Theme Frequency Team collaboration tolls allow virtual teams to post documents, have online discussions, track project advancement, and record the history of the project (e.g., e-rooms, share point, lotus notes, project forums, collaborative space) 3 Web-conferencing useful (i.e., demo software or application) 2 Photos of team members are a good compromise if video is not available 1 Tools help to create a sense of togetherness 1 Tools do not guarantee virtual team success 1 Table 14. Other communication media and issues International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
vision and direction as very important to virtual team success, supporting the findings of a recent field study by Staples, Wong, and Cameron (2004). Interestingly, participants noted how ineffective leadership is ampli - fied or compounded in virtual settings. This points to the importance of virtual leaders understanding the challenges associated with different communication media, and learning the behaviours and skills neces - sary to effectively lead virtual teams. Thus, leaders cannot simply lead the virtual team exactly the same as if it were FTF. Many of the leadership behaviours identified in this study can be linked to the transformational and transactional styles of the FRLT. For example, “set goals for the team” reflects the inspirational motiva - tion factor of transformational leadership (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Also, “establish regular one-on-ones with followers” and “periodically visit followers FTF in their own environment” reflect the individualized consideration factor of transformational leadership. Similarly, “provide role and expectation clarity” could fit with the contingent reward factor of transactional leadership. Through linking the themes identified in this study with the FRLT fac - tors, these findings can be framed within an existing theory. There are, however, some themes identified in this study that cannot be framed within the FRLT. For example, the find - ing that “leaders must learn to hear body language” and the many suggestions for leading through various communication media are qualitatively different from the skills needed to lead FTF. Perhaps these behaviours could be framed within a new “virtual team leadership” factor added to this existing theory. Alternatively, they could possibly be thought of as types of facilitation falling under the instrumental behaviours identified by Antonakis and House (2002) in their extension of FRLT. Virtual Team Meeting e ffectiveness Another recurring theme throughout the interviews was the importance of running effective virtual team meetings.
Given the frequent lack of FTF contact in virtual teams, meetings take on increased importance as a chance to collaborate, build relationships, and make sure everyone is on the “same page.” Participants emphasized the importance of the leader in establishing regular virtual team meetings and ensuring that these meetings are well organized.
Many specific recommendations were provided on exactly how virtual team meet - ings can be successfully conducted, many of which require skills above and beyond those needed to facilitate FTF meetings. For example, the leader needs to use specific techniques in dealing with aggressive and passive (e.g., introverted) team members in virtual meetings. These data indicate that one should not simply apply FTF meeting facilitation skills when conducting a virtual meeting.
Indeed, the importance of carefully or - chestrating conference calls was found to be important for virtual team success in a recent case study by Majchrzak, Malhotra, Stamps, and Lipnack (2004). Research - ers have recommended various aspects of facilitation that improve effectiveness of virtual team meetings (Rangarajan & Rohrbaugh, 2003). The leader would be wise to receive coaching or training on the techniques of facilitating virtual team meetings to maximize productivity.
Personalizing Virtual Teamwork Another recurring theme was that the virtual leader needs to ensure the team goes beyond solely focusing on the work itself International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 7 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
to personalizing virtual work relationships.
Participants noted that it is easy to become too task-focused, resulting in virtual work becoming depersonalized and lacking a “human element.” Personalizing the rela - tionships between the leader and his/her virtual followers, as well as between the team members, was deemed important.
This finding corroborates past research by Kimball and Eunice (1999) who found that virtual teams can more easily lose focus on relationship building. Moreover, Jarvenpaa and Tarniverdi (2002) noted that electronic communication methods coupled with compressed project deadlines may impair team member relationships. Leaders that personalize relationships, however, can increase virtual team trust. Interestingly, research on global virtual teams by Jar - venpaa and Leidner (1999) found that teams with higher levels of trust tended to engage in more personalized, social com - munications. Recommendations for the leader to build strong relationships with followers included conducting regular one-on-one meetings with followers, investing time getting to know followers, and periodically visiting followers in their own environ - ments if possible. These suggestions can help alleviate the challenge other research - ers have noted: that the spatial distance between team members and using non-FTF communication can impede the ability of the virtual leader to mentor and develop followers (e.g., Bell & Kozlowski, 2002).
Building relationships with team members reflects individualized consideration, a factor of transformational leadership, and enables the leader to better understand and accommodate individuals’ needs, abilities, and goals (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Participants recommended that the leader should also facilitate the building of social connections between virtual team members so that their relationships become personalized as well. Effective relationships between team members was mentioned by participants as a component of successful virtual teamwork that leads to team satis - faction, and the desire to continue working together (i.e., team cohesion). These ob - servations are in agreement with previous findings that leaders need to allocate more time for communication and be proactive in pursuing relationships (Hart & McLeod, 2002). Taken together, virtual team lead - ers that explicitly cultivate team member relationships will foster team member satisfaction, development, and trust.
Learning to e ffectively u se d ifferent Media The final recurring theme and major learning from the data was that virtual lead - ers and team members need to learn how to use different media effectively. Different communication media and technologies require certain rules and norms for use, and cues and behaviours occur differently through these media. One cannot assume that the skills to lead or work within a vir - tual team are the same as in a FTF team.
Virtual leaders and workers must learn how to “read” and “hear” body language through non-FTF media. Interview data indicated that different skills were required to effec - tively work FTF as compared to interacting via telephone, teleconference, e-mail, VC, chat, instant messaging, and other non-FTF media. Participants suggested that virtual leaders and team members should be trained on how to utilize these communication media effectively. In their field study of six virtual teams, Staples et al. (2004) also found that virtual team members need to find the best communication and IT tools for their needs, and receive the training International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
necessary to effectively use these systems.
Additionally, Hart and McLeod’s (2002) findings from a study of 126 virtual team member relationships suggested that the use of appropriate communication methods was key to developing effective work interac - tions. As described by Wakertin, Sayeed, and Hightower (1997), it is important for virtual teams to foster familiarity and profi - ciency with these new tools and techniques of social interaction. In addition to learning to effectively use various media, the leader needs to establish norms and ground rules for their use. Virtual leaders and team members need to learn that computer-mediated communication may be more beneficial for some tasks than for others (Wiggins & Horn, 2005). Disagreements should be discussed over the telephone or in a con - ference call rather than handled through text-based media (Majchrzak et al., 2004). The specific recommendations for each media are included in the Results tables, and provide useful suggestions for how virtual leaders and teams can make better use of each medium.
Contributions This study contributed to future devel - opment of theory on virtual team leadership through identifying behaviours, observa - tions, and insights from virtual leaders and members. These findings serve to highlight salient issues and learnings from the field, which provide directions for future theory- building and empirical research. This study contributes beyond exist - ing field studies of virtual team leadership by presenting more specific leadership behaviours that contribute to effective and ineffective virtual teamwork. These behaviours are organized into themes and categories, an approach not done in past virtual team leadership research. For example, the present study goes into more detailed behaviours than did the study of 65 virtual teams by Kirkman et al. (2002).
Although some of the lessons learned in that former study are corroborated by the present study, the four overarching themes in the present study were not directly discussed, and that study was not specific to virtual team leadership. The present study also contributes be - yond that of Furst et al. (2004), who studied six virtual project teams in a single organiza - tion to explore team development and what factors contribute to high performance. A few of their suggestions for managers are corroborated by the present study, but our study offers many more behaviours specific to leadership, and explores virtual team leadership at a much more detailed level.
Furthermore, the present study includes participants from six organizations and a variety of industries as opposed to single organizations used in these earlier field studies. Findings from the field interviews also provided many recommendations that can be practically helpful for virtual leaders and teams. The findings represent areas that virtual leaders should be aware of and focus upon, especially in the early stages of a virtual team’s development. Furthermore, the detailed information in the Results tables provides many specific recommendations that would be useful to virtual team leaders in developing and maintaining successful virtual teams.
Limitations and Future r esearch One limitation of this study was that the sample was relatively small ( n = 9), therefore only representing the viewpoints of a limited number of virtual team leaders and members. Thus, additional research is International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
needed to validate these findings with larger and more diverse samples. Although these participants represented a range of indus - tries, they by no means captured the large number of industries currently using virtual teamwork. Future research should explore similarities and differences in virtual team leadership across different industries. A second limitation of this study was that participants were all from two western Canadian cities. Despite working from only two cities, however, seven of the participants worked on global virtual teams (with members from various countries), and two participants worked on virtual teams with members from different Canadian cities/provinces. Thus, the perspectives of these participants were certainly not limited to one geographic region. Future research should continue exploring virtual teams from different cities and countries, and examining virtual team leadership across various cultures. For example, exploring whether virtual team leadership differs across individualistic versus collectivist cultures might provide some interesting findings. Another limitation of this study was that a comparison between responses from virtual leaders and their followers was not gathered, because typically only one person from an organization was interviewed. It will be important in future research to determine whether the issues and recom - mendations of followers corroborate those of their leaders and vice versa. This type of research would provide a better under - standing of the similarities and differences in their perceptions. A recommendation for future research is for quantitative studies to validate the themes found in this study. Such research could compare these themes across suc - cessful and unsuccessful virtual teams to determine which are most critical. Also, future research could focus on creating a modified measure of virtual team leader - ship, as current popular measures such as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ; Bass & Avolio, 1990) do not capture many of the behaviours specific to virtual team leadership as evidenced by this field data. The qualitative data presented in this study would provide useful material for generating potential items for a virtual team leadership measure. This study has demonstrated that virtual team leadership is indeed an im - portant component of virtual teamwork that definitely warrants future research.
Developing effective training programs for virtual leaders and team members, and testing their effects on team cohesion and performance is an important area to pursue.
Clearly, there are still many more questions than answers about virtual team leadership, and given the continued growth of virtual teams across industries, this exciting area of research is ripe with future potential. ACKnow L ed G e M en TS This research was funded by SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada). We would also like to thank the virtual team leaders who participated in this study for their time and input. re F eren C e S Antonakis, J., & House, R. J. (2002). The full-range leadership theory: The way forward. In B. J. Avolio & F. J.
Yammarino (Eds.). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (Vol. 2, p. 3-33). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Avolio, B. J., & Kahai, S. S. (2003). Adding 0 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
the “e” to e-leadership: How it may impact your leadership. Organiza - tional Dynamics, 31 (4), 325-338. Balthazard, P., Waldman, D. A., Howell, J., & Atwater, L. E. (August, 2002).
Modeling performance in teams: The effects of media type, shared leader - ship, interaction style, and cohesion. Paper presented at the meeting of the Academy of Management, Denver, Colorado. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. A. (1990). The multifactor leadership questionnaire . Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psycholo - gists Press. Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Trans - formational leadership: A response to critiques. In Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Directions (pp. 49-80). New York: Academic Press. Bell, B. S., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2002). A typology of virtual teams: Implica - tions for effective leadership. Group and Organization Management, 27 (1), 14- 49. Berg, B. L., (1989). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences . Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Bryman, A., (1993). Charismatic leadership in business organizations: Some ne - glected issues. Leadership Quarterly, 4, 289-304. Cascio, W. F., & Shurygailo, S. (2003). E- leadership and virtual teams. Organi - zational Dynamics, 31 (4), 362-376. Davis, D. D., Mihalescz, M., Bryant, J. L., Tedrow, L., Liu, Y., & Say, R. (2003, April). Leadership in global virtual teams. Paper presented at the meet - ing of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Orlando, Florida. Den Hartog, D. N., & Koopman, P. L. (2001). Leadership in organizations.
In N. Anderson, D. S. Ones, H. K.
Sinangil, & C. Viswesvaran (Eds.).
Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 2, p. 166-187). London, England: Sage. Duarte, D. L., & Snyder, N. T. (1999). Mas - tering virtual teams . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc. Furst, S. A., Reeves, M., Rosen, B., & Blackburn, R. S. (2004). Manag - ing the life cycle of virtual teams.
Academy of Management Executive, 18 (2), 6-20. Goldenberg, S., (1992). Thinking Meth - odologically. New York, NY: Harp - erCollins Publishers Inc. Hart, R. K., & McLeod, P. L. (2002). Re - thinking team building in geographi - cally dispersed teams: One message at a time. Orga - nizational Dynamics, 31, 352-361. House, R.J., & Aditya, R.T. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership:
Quo Vadis? Journal of Manage - ment, 23 , 409-473. Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Leidner, D. E. (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organizational Sci - ence, 10 (6), 791-815.
Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Tanriverdi, H. (2002). Leading virtual knowledge networks.
Organizational Dynamics, 31, 403- 412. Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Ap - plied Psychology, 89, 755-768. Kahai, S., & Avolio, B. (2006). Leadership Style, Anonymity, and the Discussion of an Ethical Issue in an Electronic International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 1 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Context. International Journal of e- Collaboration, 2 (2), 1-26. Kahai, S, Sosik, J., & Avolio, B. (1997). Effects of leadership style and prob - lem structure on work group process and outcomes in an electronic meet - ing system environment. Personnel Psychology, 50, 121-146. Kahai, S. S., Sosik, J. J., & Avolio, B. J. (2003). Effects of leadership style, anonymity, and rewards on creativ - ity-relevant processes and outcomes in an electronic meeting system con - text. Leadership Quarterly, 14 (4-5), 499-524. Kahai, S, Sosik, J, & Avolio, B. (2004). Effects of Participative and Directive Leadership in Electronic Groups. Groups & Organi - zation Management, 29 (1), 67-105. Kimball, L., & Eunice, A. (1999). The virtual team: Strategies to optimize performance. Health Forum Journal, 42 (3), 58-62. Kinney, S. T., & Panko, R. R. (1996). Project teams: Profiles and member perceptions - Implications for group support system research and products. Proceedings of the 29 th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 128-137. Kirkman, B. L., Rosen, B., Gibson, C. B., Tesluk, P. E., & McPherson, S. O.
(2002). Five challenges to virtual team success: Lessons from Sabre, Inc.
Academy of Management Executive, 16 (3), 67-79. Lowe, K. B., & Kroeck, K. (1996). Ef - fectiveness correlates of transforma - tional and transactional leadership:
A meta-analytic review of the MLQ literature. Leadership Quarterly, 7 (3), 385-426. Majchrzak, A., Malhotra, A., Stamps, J., & Lipnack, J. (2004). Can absence make a team grow stronger? Harvard Business Review, 82 (5), 131-137. Martins, L. L., Gilson, L. L., & Maynard, M. T. (2004). Virtual teams: What do we know and where do we go from here? Journal of Management, 30 (6), 805-835. Rangarajan, N., & Rohrbaugh, J. (2003). Multiple roles of online facilitation:
An example in any-time, any-place meetings. Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, 5, 26-36. Sivasubramaniam, N., Murray, W. D., Avolio, B. J., & Jung, D. L. (2002).
A longitudinal model of the effects of team leadership and group potency on group performance. Group and Orga - nization Management, 27 , 66-96. Sosik, J. J., Avolio, B. J., & Kahai, S. S. (1997). Effects of leadership style and anonymity on group potency and effectiveness in a group decision sup - port system environment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82 (1), 89-103. Sosik, J. J., Avolio, B. J., Kahai, S. S., & Jung, D. I. (1998). Computer- supported work group potency and effectiveness: The role of transfor - mational leadership, anonymity, and task interdependence. Computers in Human Behavior, 14 (3), 491-511. Staples, D.S., Wong, I. K., & Cameron, A. F. (2004). Best Practices for Virtual Team Effectiveness. In D. P a u l e e n (Ed.). Virtual teams: Projects, pro - tocols and processes (pp. 160-185). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publish - ing Wakertin, M. E., Sayeed, L., & Hightower, R. (1997). Virtual teams versus face- to-face teams: An exploratory study 2 International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
of a web-based conference system.
Decision Sciences, 28 (4), 975-996. Webster, J., & Wong, W. K. P. (2003, April). Comparing traditional and virtual group forms: Identity, communica - tion and trust in naturally occurring project teams. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Industrial/ Organizational Psychology, Orlando, Florida. Wiggins, B., & Horn, Z. N. J. (2005, April). Explaining effects of task complexity in computer-mediated communica - tion: A meta-analysis. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Indus - trial and Organizational Psychology, Los Angeles, CA. Yukl, G. A., (2006). Leadership in organi - zations (6 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Zaccaro, S. J., & Bader, P. (2002). E-lead - ership and the challenges of leading E-teams: Minimizing the bad and maximizing the good . Organizational Dynamics, 31 (4), 377-387. Zigurs, I., (2002). Leadership in virtual teams: Oxymoron or opportunity.
Organizational Dynamics, 31 (4), 339-351. A PP end IX A.
F I e L d In T er VI ew Que STI onS The following questions are meant to be used in a 1-1.5 hour individual interview with a leader or member of a virtual team. Participants interviewed should be involved in at least one virtual team that communicates at least 75% of the time virtually, for a minimum of three months.
d escription of Team and r ole 1.
Describe the virtual team(s) in which you are involved (number of members, ac - tivities the team engages in, roles of the members, where they are locat\ ed, etc.).
2. Describe your role in the virtual team(s). Are you in a leadership position?
3. Approximately what percent of your virtual team’s communication is FTF?
4. Did your virtual team members meet FTF prior to working together virtually? If so, do you think this had any impact on how the team worked? If not, do you think that the members should have? If you were to work on other virtual teams would you want to meet the members FTF prior to working together virtual\ ly? Virtual Team Leadership 5.
To be effective in a virtual setting, what does a team leader need to do? Are there things he/she should NOT do?
6. Describe examples of effective leadership in a virtual team (e.g., when your virtual team performed successfully, what behaviours did the leader demonstrate?) International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 3 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or\ electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
7. Describe examples of poor leadership in a virtual team (e.g., if/when your virtual team performed poorly, what behaviours did the leader demonstrate?) 8 In your experience, how has a virtual leader been able to impact his/her/your team’s interactions?
9. Do you think team leadership differs in FTF, versus other forms of communica - tion? Please explain.
10.
How does leadership differ between FTF and:
a.
Telephone b.
Teleconference c.
E-mail d.
Videoconference e.
Chat f.
Instant messaging g.
Other Thank you for participating Laura Hambley recently completed her PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on virtual leadership/teamwork and telework. She is interested in how virtual leaders can more effectively lead through different communication media. She also contributed to a major study on the drivers and barriers to telework adoption, and co-authored a book on this topic. She is further researching the personality traits that predict satisfied and high performing teleworkers/ virtual workers. In addition to her ongoing research, Laura is a consultant with expertise in leadership, teams, competency management, assessment and career management.
Tom O’Neill is currently a second year MSc candidate at the University of Western On - tario, Canada, where he is studying industrial/organizational psychology. He received his BA Honours in psychology from the University of Calgary, Canada. His current research interests involve the implications of using personality traits, particularly nar - row traits, for predicting team effectiveness. In addition, he is interested in exploring the possibility that individuals might have a “virtual” personality that might manifest itself differently than the more typical face-to-face personality. Finally, he hopes to work towards developing measures that can be used in selecting high-performing virtual lead - ers and team members for remote work. Tom O’Neill has published research in several conference proceedings including AOM, SIOP, CPA, and ASAC. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 3(1), 0- , January-March 2007 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Theresa J.B. Kline is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. She has an active research program in the area of team performance and her other research interests include psychometrics, organizational effectiveness, and work attitudes. Theresa has published two books on teams, Teams that Lead (2003) and Remaking Teams (1999), and one on psychometrics, Psychological Testing (2005), and has over 45 peer-reviewed articles appearing in Educational and Psychological Measure - ment , Journal for Specialists in Group Work, Human Factors , and Ergonomics . Theresa teaches statistics/methods and organizational psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has an active organizational consulting practice with projects ranging from individual and organizational assessment to strategic alignment.
