Leadership Attributes for the Virtual Environment: A Qualitative Study

The emergence and growth of virtual and hybrid organizations has significantly changed the environment in which many leaders operate. A growing number of organizations are functioning in the cloud, and the need for effective leadership in virtual organizations is great. Researchers suggest new prototypes need to be formed to characterize the behaviors, skills, and attributes of a successful leader in an online setting. The study addressed the problem that outdated leadership skills may negatively impact organizations, and new leadership models may be able to construct a successful virtual environment. The study endeavored to add knowledge to the field by identifying leadership attributes used by successful leaders in virtual organizations. The purpose of the qualitative study was to describe leadership attributes displayed by effective leaders in virtual organizations. Fifty-one project management leaders with at least three years’ experience were asked to describe the behaviors, skills, and attributes they believe are most effective when leading in a virtual or hybrid environment. The study found strong evidence of bundles of characteristics that comprise leadership attributes displayed by effective project management and team leaders in virtual organizations. Overlapping themes include technology, communication, emotional intelligence, and collaboration. Key Search Words: Behaviors, Skills, attributes, characteristics, business environment, business field, business operations, cloud computing, collaboration, communication, construct, effective leaders, effective leadership, Effective leading, Effective project management, emergence, emotional intelligence, hybrid organizations, knowledge, leaders, leadership attributes, leadership models, Leadership skills, online setting, organizational impact, Project management, management leaders, prototypes, qualitative study, Research, evidence, successful leader, successful virtual environment., Team leaders, technology, virtual organizations HashTags: #Behaviors, #Skills, #attributes, #characteristics, #businessenvironment, #businessfield, #businessoperations, #cloudcomputing, #collaboration, #communication, #construct, #effectiveleaders, #effectiveleadership, #Effectiveleading, #Effectiveprojectmanagement, #emergence, #emotional intelligence, #hybridorganizations, #knowledge, #leaders, #leadershipattributes, #leadershipmodels, #Leadershipskills, #onlinesetting, #organizationalimpact, #Projectmanagement, #managementleaders, #prototypes, #qualitativestudy, #Research, #evidence, #successfulleader, #successfulvirtualenvironment., #Teamleaders, #technology, #virtualorganizations