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DQ 1

If companies continue to go virtual, how will the role of the leader change?

DQ 2

Think about what you have learned in your program up to and including this course. What have you learned that can be used in your dissertation work? Have you learned something that has made you change your topic or reinforced your topic choice?

The Virtual World and Organizational Structure

Introduction

The assumptions underlying traditional leadership theories were that leaders and followers were co-located, would communicate face-to-face on a regular basis, and shared cultural values. In the days of the scientific management approach until the late 20th century, a virtual workforce and e-business did not exist.

Many organizations today consist of a combination of co-located and virtual environments, with some e-businesses being entirely virtual. Leaders equipped with traditional leadership theories face challenges with leading in a new, virtual world with different structures and new methods of communicating. Technology enables this new reality and is central to leadership in the virtual organization. Just as leaders need to share vision and inspire followers in a co-located environment, they also need to find ways to share vision and inspire in a virtual environment.

Communication in the Virtual Environment

Effective and open communication is critical to success in co-located and virtual environments, although the ways in which this communication occurs are vastly different. Lojeski (2010) introduced the concept of techno-dexterity, in which leaders understand and are able to select the right technology to communicate a message most effectively. Leaders have many choices for virtual communication including emails, conference calls, teleconferencing, video conferencing, social networking, weblogs (blogs), and virtual worlds, such as secondlife.com.

Email is an essential communication tool for co-located and virtual environments. Although it is effective for sharing information, it has limitations. Whereas, past leaders and followers enjoyed a workday separate from private time, technology allows 24/7 communication, blurring this division of time and challenging the balance between work life and private life. In addition, when communicating information that may generate an emotional response, or when dealing with conflict it is more effective to communicate by telephone or face-to-face, when possible.

Conference calls are effective for sharing information and for a degree of collaboration. Without visual support, though, some people may not engage. They may split their attention between the conference call and other activities, such as email.
Teleconferencing has had limited success, largely due to early technological challenges and the availability of other, more effective technologies. Teleconferencing, though, can be effective in establishing a sense of connectedness and minimizing the distance that people feel between themselves and other members of the organization.

Video conferencing allows people to see each other and increases engagement and a sense of shared experience. It is effective in minimizing the sense of isolation and separation that members of a virtual organization experience. Video conferencing can also reduce travel time and expense.

Social Networking began in 1997 with Six Degrees.com (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Facebook and LinkedIn, introduced in 2003, are used by organizations to network, for special interest groups, and for communicating with people within network.
Weblogs are websites that are similar to a journal, to which people inside and outside of the organization can contribute ideas or feedback.

Virtual words look and act similar to video games although they allow people to create representations of themselves as avatars and interact in worlds that they create with their own imaginations. Organizations can use these for presentations, either professional or non-professional to support their purposes (Lojeski, 2010).

Managing Virtual Distance

Although there are electronic communication options, without co-location and face-to-face interaction, members of virtual organizations can feel isolated and disengaged. Successful leaders of virtual organizations leverage technology to the fullest for the benefit of the organization and its members. According to Lojeski (2010, p. 94) the concept of virtual distance, is a "consequence of widespread electronic communication" that results in leader ineffectiveness and apathy and lack of engagement for followers." Lojeski further described virtual distance as "the most significant change to the dynamics of social behavior in the last 100 years." (p. 111).

Virtual distance results from physical distance (geographic, time, and organizational), operational distance (gaps in understanding related to routine work issues), and affinity distance (emotional distance related to culture, social norms, lack of relationships and lack of interdependence). Lojeski (2010) presented a Virtual Distance Leadership Model to help leaders minimize virtual distance, establish relationships, and engage members of virtual organizations.

Virtual Distance Leadership Model (Lojeski, 2010, p. 95)

To minimize virtual distance, leaders need to:

1) create context;

2) build and cultivate communities; and

3) co-activate new leaders. (Lojeski, 2010) Lacking an actual physical context, leaders of virtual groups and organizations need to create context by:

1) continuously emphasizing the organization's vision, mission and goals to connect people to the organization and to create a sense of shared values;

2) being a constant anchor to members of the organization amidst the many changes that occur in a virtual environment;

3) having a broad focus and to share information in a context that includes all members of the organization; and

4) communicating the organization's mission with emotional energy that positively engages members of the virtual workforce.

Lacking natural societal ties, leaders of virtual organizations need to cultivate a sense of community. This sense of community promotes higher innovation, performance, and leader development throughout the virtual organization (Lojeski, 2010). To cultivate a sense of community within a virtual organization, a leader needs to:

1) foster co-operation in which members act on behalf of the organization for the good or the entire organization;

2) find constructive ways for members to contribute to the greater good of the organization;

3) establish a sense of coherence by retaining members over an extended period of time;

4) establish confluence in which members communicate mission and solutions; and

5) communicate a passion to bring groups together to work, live and inspire others so that followers share this passion and embrace the passion as their own.

To co-activate new leaders, leaders of virtual organizations need to mentor members of the organization, give them information and support them to shape their ideals and become leaders themselves (Lojeski, 2010). More specifically, to co-activate new leaders, leaders need to:

1) encourage leader development through global experience;

2) encourage cultural bonding through contact with people and cultures in which the organization's products or services will be offered;

3) embrace reverse mentoring by learning from younger generations,

4) engage in shared experiences so that new leaders can share vision and goals with others;

5) have 360- degree vision and understand how all stakeholders will be affected by decisions;

6) adapt communication style to stakeholder audience; and

7) understand that virtual team-members need to be self-activating to rise to leadership role.

To assist leaders of virtual organization to reduce virtual distance, Lojeski (2010) presented a "how" model that combines the contributors to virtual distance with the virtual distance leadership model and ways in which leaders can minimize virtual distance.

The "how" of Virtual Distance Leadership (Lojeski, 2010, p. 107)

Conclusion

An excellent virtual distance leader will practice techno-dexterity and glocalization, traverse boundaries, and be authentic and transparent (Lojeski, 2010). For techno-dexterity a leader needs to understand if an organization is culturally open to virtual communication. If a leader is sharing information or large amounts of data, an email with attachments may be appropriate, however if the leader's message requires a more personal approach, she may chose a face-to-face technology such as video-conferencing or video-mail. Glocalization refers to globalization and local diversity.

A glocalized leader recognizes that people are glocalized, living in their own geographical areas, however many organizations are also global. The leader will traverse boundaries by looking beyond organizational, geographic and cultural differences to unite people in a sense of community. Finally, an excellent leader needs to build trust through authenticity and honest communication.

References

Boyd, D.M. Y Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.

Lojeski, K. S. (2010). Leading the virtual workforce: How great leaders transform organizations in the 21st century. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.