400 word forum response to classmate

I need a 400-word forum response to my peers post in this assignment. It should contain 1 internal reference (a reference to a textbook page - Northouse, P. G. (2015). (7th ed.) Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781483317533) and 1 external reference (a reference to a business journal/magazine article – either those that are posted on Blackboard or the articles of your choice). Per DBA, you will therefore have a total of 2 references.

It needs to be positive and not critical of my fellow student...

I feel that virtual leaders should possess all of the same traits and skills that a face-to-face leader does, but will be required to focus on some more than others. For example, virtual leaders need to have great interpersonal skills. Unlike a face-to-face leader, virtual leaders are not always accessible. They need to be able to effectively communicate so that tasks are easily and clearly understood prior to the meeting ending. They also need to be able to let go and not micromanage because it would be near impossible to keep accountability of the status of each team member between meetings. According to Dr. Penny Pullan, virtual leaders need to prepare more. Prior to each meeting they need to think about every possible scenario. They need to think through the different aspects, the needs of all people involved, and plan for all challenges that may arise and put a plan in place to bypass them (Saboe, 2017).

I personally think that the initiating structure behavior would be most beneficial for a virtual leader. Initiating structure behaviors are essentially task behaviors that include organizing work, giving structure to the work context, defining role responsibilities, and scheduling work activities (Northouse, p. 72). These skills are needed so the leader can make the most of what little time the group spends together and will essentially make the meetings more efficient.

The situational approach would also be essential for a virtual leader because the leader will need to be more adaptable to a variety of situations. Technology may make interactions and teamwork more available globally, but it has its downfalls. A virtual leader will need to be able to adapt to things that are out of their control such as the Internet crashing/lagging, the environment, and different work schedules. For example, when I was part of a virtual team project for school, we had a group project where the deadline was quickly approaching. We all planned on meeting online one last time to discuss last minute items, but half of the team was unable to participate due to severe weather throughout the Midwest. However, none of the other students realized this until after the fact because they didn’t live in the Midwest. According to Dr. Pullan, a virtual leader will need to be able to take into account things such as language barriers, organizational cultures throughout various corporations, time zones, different holidays and days off, etc (Saboe, 2017).

Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th Ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Saboe, D. (2017, April 4). MBA118 Virtual Leadership. Experienced, General Competencies Podcast. Podcast retrieved from http://masteringbusinessanalysis.com/mba118-virtual-leadership/