Distant Leadership: Is it Effective Today?

Distant Leadership: Is it Effective Today?

Taylor Bilko

Fordham University

04/07/2010

Effective leadership is at the forefront of success. It has the ability to impact individuals in a number of ways. Leadership has been researched for over a century. Important aspects of effective leadership consist of trust, competency, and authenticity. When a leader is visible, they have the ability to communicate through means of face-to-face interaction. Individuals can easy comprehend one another in such a setting. More than one half of the nonverbal aspects of communication are understood during an interaction (Mckay, Davis & Fanning, 1995). Several purposes such as emotion and direction are missed when nonverbal communication moves out of the picture. In today’s market, businesses and institutions are much more mobile. This allows for individuals from all over the world to be reached through technological means. How does this influence leadership when face-to-face communication becomes nonexistent? Facial expressions serve as a major impact when it comes to communication. What serves as a substitute when leaders communicate virtually? The purpose of this paper is to determine whether leadership in a virtual world can be just as effective as it would in a traditional setting.

With the rise in technology, many institutions and organizations are investing in virtual networks. Facilitation through virtual means is becoming more and more popular through virtual teams, virtual learning communities, and training webinars. Leadership has to take on an entirely different role within a virtual environment. Predictors of effective leadership within a face-to-face environment consist of multiple factors (Kruger, 2009). There are many schools of thought that believe effective leadership can come from personality, behavior, or situational traits. In the end effective leadership comes from the power to influence others. The ability to influence occurs through the practice of clarifying values, inspiring a vision, challenging others, facilitating collaboration, and sustaining recognition (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). Success in leading encourages relationship building and engaging followers to work towards a common vision. I believe that great leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. had this ability, however, would they be just as successful in a virtual environment?

These leaders are known for their genuine ability to inspire those around them. I believe their speeches best exemplify this characteristic. Speeches such as I Had a Dream and the Gettysburg Address are some of the best known monologues in United States history. These speeches gave a sense of inspiration through verbal and nonverbal communication. Such body language allowed followers to become influenced through the emotion of the leader (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). The portrayal of these emotions allowed leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. to develop relationships with others. When it comes to distant communication, the ability to comprehend language through nonverbal communication becomes eliminated when virtual means such as email are used (McKay et al., 1995). How does this affect the ability to influence others?

The ability to influence begins with trust. One of the biggest drawbacks of virtual communication comes from the setback of being able to develop trust within the virtual environment (DeRosa, Hantula, Kock, and D’Arcy, 2004). Communication becomes even more difficult when factors such as time, culture, and language serve as barriers. Issues of confusion, isolation, and distrust can easily erupt. Even the most innovative advancements cannot take away the value of a face-to-face interaction. These individuals who communicate with one another through virtual means are said to be less likely to disclose personal experiences than in a face-to-face setting. This comes from the inability to visualize a personal and safe environment for followers to participate in. Such development takes time to construct.

So how can effective leaders create an environment that is positive and can sustain effective relationship building? The best way to create a safe environment that encourages participation is attempt to create an online presence (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). Creating a “human” connection or online presence with individuals can come from an introductory forum. An introductory forum opens up the technological arena within a safe environment. Online learners are able to briefly talk about themselves, their values, and reason for learning. It is up for the leader to provide positive feedback and encourage such e-collaboration. The initial completion of these tasks helps begin to build the relationship building process. The only way to begin to know someone within a virtual environment is through their traces of dialogue (DeRosa et al., 2004). With that being said, the distant leader must ensure participation and feedback is being provided throughout the course of development. When the leader takes the time to ensure personal connections are being developed, trust can effectively occur (Erskine, 2009).

According to an online survey, close to 75% of the respondents believe in five years social skills will be more essential over technological skills when it comes to effective business management (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). This states the importance of the people running the business rather than the technology being used. The value of effective leadership begins with communication. In my opinion, leadership faces many challenges within a virtual environment; however, effective management can still occur without the impact of nonverbal communication. I believe that if effective leadership can occur within the environments established during the era of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., then it can occur within any setting. In this case, effective distant leadership occurs through the completion of tasks and consistent participation being provided. Whether this is within an organization or institutional environment, an online presence has to become established. I think investing in virtual resources is a valuable aspect today. It allows adult learners to develop new ways of thinking through means of cohesion. The ability to collaborate with individuals all over the world is at our fingertips. We need to value the growing interest of technology. Adults today have the instinctual need to want to become prepared with the latest trends. Technology is one trend that is here to stay (Palloff & Pratt, 1999).

References

DeRosa, D.M., Hantula, D.A., Kock, N. & D’Arcy, J. (2004). Trust and leadership in virtual teamwork: A media Naturalness perspective. Human Resources Management, 43, 219-232.

Erskine, L. (2009). A question of leadership: What does effective leadership look like in a virtual work environment, and can Web-based leadership operate the same way that face-to-face leadership does? Leadership in Action, 28, 12-13.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (3^rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kruger, M. (2009). The big five of school leadership competencies in the Netherlands. School Leadership and Management, 29, 109-127.

McKay, M., Davis, M. & Fanning, P. (1995). Messages: The Communication Skills Book (2^nd

ed.). Oakland: New Harbinger

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom (The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series) (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.