Effective Leadership in Virtual Teams during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Agarwal, Shivani; Ferdousi, S; John, M.; Nalven, Alison; Stahl, Tyler

doi:10.23919/picmet53225.2022.9882606

Cited by 1 publication

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…A virtual team is a group of people working from different locations toward a common goal with the aid of technology (Agarwal et al, 2020;Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Virtual work arrangements existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but few service companies had established virtual team practices and standards (Bell, 2012).…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations experienced virtual work management through technology. As part of this experience, innovative business models, approaches, infrastructure, skill sets, knowledge, organisational structures and strategies were developed to adapt to the emergency remote and virtual 2 environment (Agarwal et al, 2020). Although the virtual arrangement was unprecedented and unexpected, lessons were learnt, with the emergence of new opportunities and ideas.…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The advent of the internet and communication technologies enabled enhanced flexibility in organisations. Workers could work from anywhere with the aid of information and communication technologies, resulting in the evolution of teams from proximal to blended and virtual (Agarwal et al, 2020;Contreras et al, 2020). From the 2000s, virtual work arrangements became more commonplace, allowing organisations to respond to the changing work environment influenced by globalisation, increasing competition, scarcity of skills, and the development of technologies (Wojcak et al, 2016).…”

Section: Background Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The speculation that virtual work arrangements will increase post-COVID-19 pandemic (Contreras et al, 2020) and the increasing online programme offerings by traditional universities (Dhawan, 2020) necessitates more empirical research on virtual teams and leadership in a higher education context. The COVID-19 pandemic provided the opportunity to explore leaders' experiences of leading from face-to-face to virtual on a large scale from a higher education perspective, as most institutional leaders had to lead their teams virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the national and international lockdown (Agarwal et al, 2020). Research on leaders' experience of leading in a virtual environment will guide policymakers and management of HEIs and other corporate companies on the support structures needed by virtual leaders to lead successfully.…”

Section: Justification For the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a lockdown that disrupted businesses, and organisations were required to develop disruptive strategies and approaches to continue working (World Health Organization, 2020). The lockdown restricted national and international mobility, with almost all individuals forced to work from home, resulting in the formation of unprecedented and unplanned virtual organisations (Agarwal et al,2020). The higher education sector was heavily affected, as most South African and global universities previously operated exclusively physical modes of delivery, except for a few open universities (Sioux, 2020).…”

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Leading from face-to-face to virtual: leaders' experiences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal during the pandemic.

Badru

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The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown disrupted the usual functioning of businesses and organisations had to operate remotely to continue working. This brought about a unique opportunity for organisations such as traditional Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), who would not have previously considered virtual work arrangements, to explore and experience the opportunities and possibilities of virtual work arrangements. Post-COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are now re-strategising and incorporating elements of virtualness in their operations, which require new structures and leadership beyond traditional face-to-face approaches. This increasing interest in virtual work arrangements and existing virtual leadership challenges necessitates further research to explore leaders' experiences of leading virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify successful approaches and their specific challenges. The study employed the qualitative research approach to explore leaders’ experiences of leading virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. A purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the study participants. Thirteen participants were interviewed, including academic leaders and directors of professional services. The interviews were recorded via Zoom and subsequently transcribed. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was undertaken using the NVIVO software. Codes and themes were generated from the analysis to answer the research questions. The study findings revealed that participants adopted and hardened their face-to-face leadership styles upon transitioning to virtual leadership. Amongst the attributes and behaviours exhibited by the leaders were trust, empathy, good communication, consultation, and self-confidence. Some of the challenges participants faced when leading virtually included a lack of participation by subordinates, slow response rates, exhaustion, balancing work and personal life, isolation, and load shedding. Generally, participants expressed both positive and negative feelings toward leading virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. All participants believed that the era of completely face-to-face work arrangements is over and that a hybrid working model should be adopted and institutionalised in the future. Based on the key findings of the study, a face-to-face-to virtual leadership transition conceptual framework was developed to illustrate the possible journey of face-to-face leaders to become virtual leaders.

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Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%