Abstract
Because of the increased use of virtual teams in businesses, particularly those that are globally based, focus has been directed at the particular leadership skills that are necessary to meet the challenges presented by their use. There are a number of benefits to the use of virtual teams, including possible increased productivity, the potential for lower costs, and the potential for better collaboration. However, in order for these benefits to be realized, the virtual team must be managed effectively. Otherwise the challenges of lack of face-to-face communication, lack of social interaction, lack of trust, culture clashes, and loss of team spirit can overwhelm the benefits that a virtual structure can offer. Research has indicated that there are very few leadership skills that are not stretched during the management of virtual teams. Some qualities that have been seen as particularly important include quality of communication, stimulation of information sharing, and ability to build effective relationships. Further, supportive rather than commanding leadership style has been shown more effective. As almost all areas of leadership are challenged, the management of a virtual team presents itself as both a business and personal challenge for industry leadership.
In a recent poll by the Society for Human Resource Management, 46% or almost
half the organizations questioned were using virtual teams as part of their approach to business. Within the survey, virtual teams were defined as “groups of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries and who interact primarily through electronic communications” (Minton-Eversole, 2012). The survey, and business literature in general, recognizes many benefits of having and leading virtual teams, including the possibility of increased productivity, the deliberateness and therefore effectiveness of the team’s communication, and the possibility of improved collaboration. Benefits are also imparted to the organization overall such as reduced travel costs, forming a more global approach within the company and its leadership, and the ability to fully use niche experts (Minton-Eversole, 2012).
However, there remain many challenges to leading virtual teams and using them effectively within the global business environment. Some specific problems facing business leadership within virtual teams include accommodating time differences, keeping work distributed appropriately, and finding solutions for cultural differences between team members (Minton-Eversole, 2012). These problems all flow from the lack of everyday, non-verbal, face-to-face communication, lack of social interaction, lack of trust, culture clashes, and loss of team spirit that can pervade virtual teams (Cascico, 2000). Meeting these challenges can require very specific leadership qualities to turn the team toward the success that is possible for virtual teams, given the inherent benefits.
This paper will begin by expanding upon the benefits to a leader supervising a virtual team, with specific examples of leadership and organizational gains by using this business approach. This will be followed by a discussion of the many challenges of leading in a virtual environment and possible strategies for overcoming such challenges. Finally, the paper will conclude with a numeration of specific leadership qualities that this discussion reveals as necessary to both reap the benefits and overcome the challenges of using virtual teams within the current global business environment.
There are several reasons cited for the possible improved productivity or better comparative performance of a virtual versus a face-to-face team. If achieved, better performance of the team can reflect toward the organization overall and be a benefit to the group’s leader in particular. A study by the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found four specific benefits in well-managed virtual teams. First, virtual teams are better at integrating diverse knowledge and skills. This drives innovation, results in better solutions to complex tasks, and provides higher quality decision-making (Mortensen, Caya, and Pinsonneault, 2009). Leadership of a team with better knowledge and skill resources is a definite advantage, given the high level of complexity facing many business project teams.
A second possible source of better performance is that virtual teams can cost less due to reduced overlapping functions, sharing of best practices, and reduced travel costs (Mortensen, Caya, and Pinsonneault, 2009). Certainly any time cost containment is a result, this is a benefit to the leader in these times of extreme attention to the bottom line. Thirdly, virtual teams drive a global approach and appreciation toward the project as various members will have first-hand knowledge of various products and markets (Mortensen, Caya, and Pinsonneault, 2009). As all markets become more globalized, having a broad worldview is an advantage for any leader. Finally, virtual teams can take advantage of their time zone locations and can approach a 24/7 productivity (Mortensen, Caya, and Pinsonneault, 2009). Having this level of productivity behind a project is a boon for the leadership, particularly in the fast paced, ever-changing business environment of almost all industries today.
Back in 2000, Cascico identified the five characteristics of virtual working that makes it more challenging to both team members and leaders. These five characteristics are certainly focuses of the technology and other solutions that have been developed to address these issues, but they remain incompletely addressed even after thirteen years and many hundreds of experience hours later. Primary among these issues is the lack of everyday, non-verbal, face-to-face communication within the virtual team (Cascico, 2000). This situation calls for high quality communication by all team members, and particular the leader. A further problem found by Cascico with virtual teams is the lack of social interaction (2000). This can be offset by more regular communication between team members and building in pre-arranged social time to share life updates.
The lack of trust between team members is a very common problem with virtual teams and one that was recognized early on in the development of this working style (Cascico, 2000). Stereotypes about those who work from home can be difficult to overcome, particularly when the teams are a mixture of office-based and home-based workers. Further complicating the situation is the distinct possibility of culture clashes in communication and work styles (Cascico, 2000). One suggested way to address this is to have team customs in communication, including maximum response time to e-mails or guidelines as to appropriate language use. The loss of team spirit is the final characteristic of virtual workers that can make success a very difficult thing to achieve. One suggested approach for this is to adopt a shared leadership approach where team members have more self-monitoring responsibilities than what may be usual in face-to-face teams (Shuffler, Wiese, Sala, and Burke, 2010).
Given the challenges present in the use and leadership of virtual teams, there
are particular leadership qualities that are at a higher premium in these situations. One way to examine this issue is to subdivide the various leadership qualities into three domains: task, task-relationship, and relationship. Using a survey, Zimmerman, Wit, and Gill found that as teams became more virtual, almost all of the leadership qualities surveyed were perceived as more important within a virtual environment as compared to a face-to-face environment, suggesting that stronger leadership skills in all three areas are seen as necessary for successful virtual teams (2008). However, some leadership qualities did stand out as particularly important within the survey. Some specific key leadership qualities identified were the task quality of “communicates clearly in writing” and task-relationship quality of “prevents misunderstandings in communications” (Zimmerman, Wit, and Gill, 2008). This is understandable given the reduced ability to explain what exactly is meant if the communication is not precise in computer-based communications.
A second area of particular leadership focus for virtual team members was the task-relationship responsibility of “stimulates information sharing among team members” and the task quality of “insures availability and accessibility of team members” (Zimmerman, Wit, and Gill, 2008). Again, this is likely reflective of the greater ability of computer-based communication to facilitate sharing of knowledge but the possible reduction in motivation by team members to take advantage of this technology due to the isolation or dispersed nature of a virtual team. Along these same lines, these researchers also noted a perceived increased need by virtual team members for the leadership relationship skills of “makes people feel part of a team” and “quickly builds and sustains effective relationships” (Zimmerman, Wit, and Gill, 2008). Both of these skills are likely valued given the high potential for feels of isolation or lack of engagement that can occur with virtual working because of the lack of socialization between team members. Later research has confirmed this need for strong one-on-one relationships within managers and virtual team members to balance the social impacts (Gajendran and Joshi, 2012).
Researchers have also examined four different leadership styles: commander, logical, inspirational, and supportive in the virtual context (Furumo, de Pillis, and Buxton, 2012). They found that the supportive leadership style, which is focused on well-being of the team and achieving consensus, appears better suited to success in virtual work environments, particularly when compared to the commander style. Furumo, de Pillis, and Butxon point to the higher levels of participation and trust that are achieved with leaders who adopt the supportive approach as the basis for its success (2012). In this way, it seems that members of a virtual team may look to their leaders to bridge gaps of trust or reduce the possibility of feelings of isolation that accompany working virtually.
Reflective of the wide range of strong leadership skills needed for an effective leader of virtual teams, Eidson provides a list of important considerations that is quite broad in application (2009). But it is still useful to review the suggestions provided, as they are very practical. Specifically, he suggests keeping all team members closely communicating, creating a collaborative approach for the team, having clear purpose and goals with transparent performance standards, using a strong coaching strategy to keep members engaged over the involved distances, and be sure to celebrate milestones and successes with the entire group (Eidson, 2009). Although arguably good advice for any leader of a team, Eidson states that these aspects of management are particularly important when dealing with virtual teams. The biggest advantage of these directions are they are highly tangible and although they do represent a significant amount of work and accountability on the part of the leader, the extra possible benefits that a well-managed virtual team can bring to a project justifies the additional focus and effort.
The rise of virtual teams within the business world can be attributed to many factors. The need for a global business approach, a desire to eliminate redundant positions over various locations, and improved communication technology have all increased the use of virtual teams. Research has shown that when well managed virtual teams actually have a greater potential for performance than a team that interacts primarily face-to-face. But the challenges inherent in virtual teams are many and often reflect fundamental issues such as the social role of the workplace, the need for trust and accountability between team members, and the difficulties in getting people of different cultures to work together effectively. Nevertheless, research has also shown that effective leadership skills can be used to overcome these challenges. Some of the areas of leadership focus include the ability to communication in writing, the ability to avoid misunderstandings in communication, the ability to stimulate information sharing across team members, and the ability to develop and sustain team relationships. By applying these skills effectively, there is a much greater likelihood that the virtual team will respond to the focus and attention of its leader and provide the business benefits that are possible with a team whose members are spread across space, time, and culture.
References
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http://ils.indiana.edu/faculty/hrosenba/www/l574/pdf/cascio_virtual-workplace.pdf
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Furumo, K., de Pillis, E., and Buxton, M. (2012 May 31). The impact of leadership on participation and trust in virtual teams. Association for Computing Machinery. Retrieved from
http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/the-impact-of-leadership-on-participation-and-trust-in-virtual-teams-VTL1kEgnG7
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http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/orgempdev/articles/Pages/VirtualTeamsUsedMostbyGlobalOrganizations,SurveySays.aspx
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http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/66257
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