Beyond Formal Roles: A Balanced Leadership Approach to Leadership in Virtual Teams

Abstract

are becoming more complex such that they are beginning to branch out beyond the traditional top-down structures. Regardless of the structure of an organization, leadership seems to be a constant force that drives it to achieve set goals. However, varying structures of organizations suggest that leadership is likely taking a new dimension such that it is adapting to the new structures which are not compatible with top-down leadership processes. Hence, this study examines how leadership is enacted beyond formal roles in virtual teams, a structure that is different from the traditional structure. The research was conducted qualitatively to gather in-depth information on the perception of leadership in virtual teams, structure of virtual teams, and the challenges faced in virtual teams through 16 semi-structured interviews and 2 virtual meeting observations. The analyses of these findings, through a complexity leadership theory, revealed that virtual teams face internally and externally induced challenges that result in the emergence of new situations and organizational leaders have to use their roles to enable adaptability. Therefore, this research argues for a balanced leadership approach to leadership in contemporary organizations with hierarchical leaders whose managerial leadership functions often intertwine with generating new situations to enable adaptability.