Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education
Universities are increasingly leveraging virtual teams into the organizational structure and strategic framework for many functions including academic administration and faculty leadership. One benefit of a virtual workforce is the ability to hire the most qualified individuals regardless of where...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Online Learning Consortium
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Online Learning |
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| Online Access: | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2113 |
| _version_ | 1827360346606665728 |
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| author | Erin Alward Yvonne Phelps |
| author_facet | Erin Alward Yvonne Phelps |
| author_sort | Erin Alward |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Universities are increasingly leveraging virtual teams into the organizational structure and strategic framework for many functions including academic administration and faculty leadership. One benefit of a virtual workforce is the ability to hire the most qualified individuals regardless of where they are physically located. As the virtual workforce expands, leaders may intuitively rely on traditional face-to-face approaches and strategies for employee oversight and motivation. These techniques may be ineffective or challenging to use in the virtual environment necessitating new approaches. Leaders of virtual teams need to understand the intricacies associated with these groups and be cognizant of factors that assist in creating cohesiveness, trust, and communication amongst virtual teams.
This qualitative phenomenological study explores leaders’ perceptions surrounding competencies needed to effectively lead virtual teams in online education. A decisive sampling method was used to identify 10 experienced academic leaders who supervise virtual teams. As a result of the interviews, seven major themes emerged: (a) training and development; (b) trust; (c) emotional intelligence; (d) communication/team building/technology; (e) employee recognition and motivation; (f) leadership styles; and (g) virtual leadership competencies unique to higher education. Based on these themes and further evaluation the need for specific soft skills and robust technology emerged. Specifically, organizational success partially hinges on comprehensive training for virtual leaders, the significance of trust, emotional intelligence, and effective, respectful communication.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:45:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03d947eea0af48daa1c36431d76887e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2472-5749 2472-5730 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:45:50Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Online Learning Consortium |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Online Learning |
| spelling | doaj.art-03d947eea0af48daa1c36431d76887e72024-02-03T07:55:53ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302019-09-0123310.24059/olj.v23i3.2113815Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher EducationErin Alward0Yvonne Phelps1University of PhoenixUniversity of Phoenix Universities are increasingly leveraging virtual teams into the organizational structure and strategic framework for many functions including academic administration and faculty leadership. One benefit of a virtual workforce is the ability to hire the most qualified individuals regardless of where they are physically located. As the virtual workforce expands, leaders may intuitively rely on traditional face-to-face approaches and strategies for employee oversight and motivation. These techniques may be ineffective or challenging to use in the virtual environment necessitating new approaches. Leaders of virtual teams need to understand the intricacies associated with these groups and be cognizant of factors that assist in creating cohesiveness, trust, and communication amongst virtual teams. This qualitative phenomenological study explores leaders’ perceptions surrounding competencies needed to effectively lead virtual teams in online education. A decisive sampling method was used to identify 10 experienced academic leaders who supervise virtual teams. As a result of the interviews, seven major themes emerged: (a) training and development; (b) trust; (c) emotional intelligence; (d) communication/team building/technology; (e) employee recognition and motivation; (f) leadership styles; and (g) virtual leadership competencies unique to higher education. Based on these themes and further evaluation the need for specific soft skills and robust technology emerged. Specifically, organizational success partially hinges on comprehensive training for virtual leaders, the significance of trust, emotional intelligence, and effective, respectful communication. https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2113Virtual leaderonline virtual leadershipvirtual higher educationeducational leadershipacademic leadershiphigher education |
| spellingShingle | Erin Alward Yvonne Phelps Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education Online Learning Virtual leader online virtual leadership virtual higher education educational leadership academic leadership higher education |
| title | Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education |
| title_full | Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education |
| title_fullStr | Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education |
| title_short | Impactful Leadership Traits of Virtual Leaders in Higher Education |
| title_sort | impactful leadership traits of virtual leaders in higher education |
| topic | Virtual leader online virtual leadership virtual higher education educational leadership academic leadership higher education |
| url | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/2113 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erinalward impactfulleadershiptraitsofvirtualleadersinhighereducation AT yvonnephelps impactfulleadershiptraitsofvirtualleadersinhighereducation |