In today’s global organizations, virtual teams have become the sine quo non of the workplace enabled by the advanced information technologies. Actually, recently for many, it is the only way of work due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Besides the advantages of virtual teams, team leaders face unique challenges caused by remote working (Cordery and Soo, 2008; Cascio, 2000; Zhang and Fjermestad, 2006). This study examines the leader’s expected qualifications for high performance both from the leader’s and the team members’ perspectives. The qualitative data is collected from five senior virtual team executives and five virtual team members from different organizations through online semi-structured interviews. Our findings suggest that effective communication, accessible technical infrastructure, team design as a supportive factor of team trust and predefined job descriptions are the main components of a performant virtual team. Furthermore, our study shows that facilitating role of the leader is significant in understanding the local conditions and harmonizing cross-cultural differences of the team members. The democratic and humanistic approach of a leader is highly appreciated in virtual teamwork.
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Business Administration |
Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 24, 2020 |
Submission Date | October 15, 2020 |
Published in Issue | Year 2020 Volume: 2 Issue: 3 |