In our previous group activity for LRNT 525, Christopher Rowe, Jonathan Carpenter, Mike MacKay, Cheryl-Haley Nix, and I were asked to rank twenty attributes in order of most to least important as part of being an effective leader (Rowe et al., 2021). As already discussed, it was not easy to come to a consensus on the rankings because of our different “interpretations of the context of a leader” (Rowe et al., 2021, para 2). Another difference which will influence our perceptions of a good leader is our past experiences of leaders.

Our group, during a synchronous meeting, discussed some of the reasons behind why we choose some of the attributes. A theme that emerged was how either our current boss or previous bosses were viewed by us as effective leaders. Christopher Rowe and I ranked ambition very low, because we both have had bosses which we felt were poor leaders mainly due to the fact they were overly ambitious, forward thinking and determined rather than being supportive and co-operative. Perhaps we felt our voices were not heard and our bosses did not respect our opinions when coming to decisions. In contrast, Cheryl Haley Nix, ranked ambitious as her number one choice, because of an experience with a past boss, which she feels was not ambitious and was performing poorly. Cheryl felt she needed to take more initiative and be more ambitious because she believed those leadership skills were lacking from her boss. A study by Amit et al. (2009) explains how important our past experiences are in determining what makes for an effective leader: “In addition to guiding behaviors and social perceptions, experience-based knowledge of leadership becomes over time inextricably integrated with the development of one’s self-concept as a leader” (p. 304).

After our synchronous meeting, we decided to rank the leadership attributes again, this time with the focus on what are the best qualities for a leader in an online environment. I found myself, when thinking of virtual teams, valuing independence more since group members would have less time face-to-face. As a team we came up with an additional 4 attributes to add to the list which most were ranked in the final top 5: adaptability, communication, credibility, and transparency. Adaptability becomes more important in an online environment, likely due to the rapid change in technologies used to make teams effective. Leaders need to be adaptable because “virtual teams require systems for monitoring behavior and should have accepted protocols for intervening early when technical or other problems arise” (Berry, 2011, p. 199). Communication and credibility are attributes that come up frequently in literature when discussing the effectiveness of virtual teams (Alsharo et al., 2017; Berry, 2011; Tseng & Yeh, 2013). According to Tseng and Yeh (2013), limitations on communication and personal interactions in an online environment can decrease potential for trust and because “trust is the foundation for high quality team atmosphere and team cohesion” (p. 8), and communication is key in teams and leadership. Transparency is also important for effective leadership. Malhotra et al. (2007) describe the importance of transparency by explaining the need for teams to meet regularly to “ensure through ‘check-ins’ that everyone is engaged and heard from” (p. 62). Berry (2011) explains leaders need transparency in the “the team development process by presenting organizational structure and goals and explaining how the team’s work aids these goals, keeping the team focused on task” (p. 199) otherwise the team will not be focused on the task and could affect the project’s completion.

I suspect, however, that when given a new situation to consider for ranking leadership attributes, and different people with different past experiences these rankings will change and our priorities may shift. In a recent post by Indeed (2020), they discuss 10 leadership styles, including coach, autocratic and transformational. Each style has its own set of leadership attributes that it focuses on, such as the coach style which focuses on being supportive, self-aware and encouraging. There is a video at the top of entry which provides a balanced description for each style, offering benefits and drawbacks to each style. What I like most about the video is its explanation that each style might be best suited for particular industries and contexts. For example, the autocratic leadership style is best used in organizations with strict guidelines such as military, manufacturing, law enforcement, and health care. Perhaps this just further stresses that there is not one single set of attributes for leaders that people will agree upon for all situations.

References

Alsharo, M., Gregg, D., & Ramirez, R. (2017). Virtual team effectiveness: The role of knowledge sharing and trust. Information & Management, 54(4), 479-490. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2016.10.005

Amit, K., Popper, M., Gal, R., Mamane‐Levy, T., & Lisak, A. (2009). Leadership‐shaping experiences: a comparative study of leaders and non‐leaders. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

Berry, G. R. (2011). Enhancing effectiveness on virtual teams: Understanding why traditional team skills are insufficient. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 48(2), 186-206.

Indeed. (December 2, 2020). 10 Common Leadership Styles (Plus Ways to Develop Your Own). Career Guide. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/10-common-leadership-styles?from=careeradvice-US

Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., & Rosen, B. (2007). Leading Virtual Teams. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 60-70. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2007.24286164

Rowe, C., Carpenter, J., Haley Nix, C., Guichon, P., & MacKay, M. (February 6, 2021). Admired leadership attributes. Christopher’s Blog. https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0162/admired-leadership-attributes/

Tseng, H. W., & Yeh, H.-T. (2013). Team members’ perceptions of online teamwork learning experiences and building teamwork trust: A qualitative study. Computers & Education, 63, 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.11.013

Featured Image: “Leader” by Oksana Latysheva, UA from the Noun Project