Leading From Behind the Screen: Business Leaders Adapting to Virtual Performance Management

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i2.20

Keywords:

Distributed work, team cohesion, transformational leadership, virtual performance management

Abstract

Leaders of financial organizations do not have sufficient competencies to lead virtual employees, which contributes to lower engagement and retention rates. This qualitative inquiry technique study explored eight financial leaders’ perspectives on the competencies required to effectively lead and engage a virtual team. Six themes emerged from the data: The importance of consistent, frequent communication to support engagement and collaboration in a virtual environment, the importance of leaders managing performance by holding employees accountable to achieve expectations while providing role clarity, clear priorities, and ensuring productivity, the importance of leaders getting to know their employees both personally and professionally, their goals and motivations, and encouraging and empowering employees to make decisions while providing development opportunities, the importance of having competence using technology effectively to communicate, enhance employee engagement, and be available to employees, the importance of leaders embracing new ways of work, changing technology, and different team dynamics while understanding and respecting work-life balance, and the importance of leaders recognizing the value each employee brings. Virtual leaders must adapt and improve their skills and methods in a remote setting to promote the success of their employees and achieve results.

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Author Biographies

Dr. Sara Ashwood

Dr. Sara Ashwood (Primary), DBA, CHRL, has worked in human resources in multiple industries over the past 20 years. Sara is currently a professor at Georgian College School of Business & Management in Ontario, Canada. Working with students is a passion for Sara, as she strives to inspire and promote thoughtful leaders while developing the confidence and skill needed to enact change and achieve their full potential. She also actively volunteers on the Board of Directors for Victim Services within her community. Ontario, Canada. sara_ashwood@hotmail.com 

Dr. Amanda Tanner, CORALS LLC

Amanda Tanner (Secondary), DBA, is a business consultant and a lifelong educator with an innate curiosity toward all trending technological gadgets. Her motto is “TEEching you to work smarter, not harder, since 1994”. A former business owner and retired vocational education teacher, Dr. Tanner is currently a professor at online universities, teaching business, information technology, and leadership courses at the master and doctoral levels to students worldwide. A SME and content developer for education and business, she enjoys creating and streamlining content and deliverables that meet the customer’s needs. She is a consultant for CORALS LLC and for the peer-reviewed scholarly journal C’JAR, as Associate Editor and Production Manager. Michigan. coralsjar@gmail.com

References

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Alexander, A., de Smet, A., & Mysore, M. (2021, March 1). Reimagining the postpandemic workforce. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/reimagining-the-postpandemic-workforce

Alward, E. (2018). Characteristics and leadership methods of efficacious virtual team leaders in higher education. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2029154105?parentSessionId=nDwxR7Zgo5ssklMyBe2IciyCtILJW7Y%2FJrxRIzkqkmk%3D&pq-origsite=summon&accountid=27965

Ashwood, S. (2022). Leading from behind the screen: Business leaders adapting to virtual performance management. [Doctoral Capstone, unpublished]. School of Business, Technology, and Health Care Administration, Capella University.

Bailey, S. (2013, March 5). How to beat the five killers of virtual working. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastianbailey/2013/03/05/how-to-overcome-the-five-major-disadvantages-of-virtual-working/?sh=644654a62734

Beheshti, N. (2019, September 27). 10 Timely statistics about the connection between employee engagement and wellness. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2019/01/16/10-timely-statistics-about-the-connection-between-employee-engagement-and-wellness/?sh=6f55fd6722a0

Published

05/17/2023 — Updated on 09/20/2023

Versions

How to Cite

Ashwood, S., & Tanner, A. (2023). Leading From Behind the Screen: Business Leaders Adapting to Virtual Performance Management. CORALS’ Journal of Applied Research, 1(2), 24. https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i2.20 (Original work published May 17, 2023)