Successful Leadership in VIrtual Teams

Abstract

Virtual teams are an emerging corporate trend in international companies worldwide. Heightened expectations of revenue gain, demanded quick reactions to market and geographically scattered clientele of companies have forced organizations to restructure their way of working and out of these needs, virtual teams are born. Virtual teams are teams that interact mainly by using technology-mediated communication devices and platforms. Employees operating in such a setting typically face geographical dispersion among team members, various time zones, different cultures and possibly a remote leader. Cost savings and enhanced efficiency, along with quick knowledge transfer and flexibility form the benefit base of virtual teams. On the other hand, issues are faced concerning communication, trust, technology usage, clarity of roles and processes, motivation and team spirit. Leading virtual teams is demanding, as these teams possess similar needs as conventional teams, but require additional efforts from the team head as face-to- face interaction with and among team members is rare. In this thesis I aim to find out the key aspects and qualities of successful virtual leaders by conducting an online survey for 18 current virtual team members and leaders from various backgrounds and industries.