With changes introduced to the work environment since the COVID-19 pandemic, an ever-increasing amount of interest has been focused on virtual leadership. This chapter researches the topic of virtual leadership and focuses on investigating business students' perceptions of skills relevant to virtual leadership positions. The chapter presents an empirical exploratory research study conducted through four focus groups with 20 undergraduate business students. The findings reveal business students have a relevant understanding of the differences between traditional and virtual work environments. Socialization and isolation are among the most dominant themes regarding the differences in work modes. The findings also show that business students understand the challenges associated with leading in virtual and remote work settings, and they prefer traditional future leadership positions to avoid such challenges. The study highlights several relevant leadership skills needed according to business students such as communication, the ability to engage, and technological competencies.
TopThe Changing Context
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many employees are working. In the post-COVID environment, 61% of employees who have a workplace outside of their home are choosing to work from home compared to 36% choosing to work from home during the pandemic (Parker et al., 2022). More employees choosing to work from home has created a new challenge related to managing remote and on-site employees. Gupta (2020) outlines the importance of those responsible for making policy (both private and public) to “embrace a remote working future to drive growth” (p. 1). Furthermore, the increasing use of virtual team in business organizations requires business educators to adopt instructional practice that helps students gain skillsets needed in virtual work environments. This qualitative empirical study examines undergraduate business students’ perceptions of leadership skills relevant to the virtual and remote-work business environment, especially as it relates to team management. To provide context for this study’s research question, trends related to current shifts in required leadership skills are addressed. This discussion leads to the study’s aim, purpose, and significance. Further, a review of relevant literature highlights the paucity of similar studies. The chapter then presents and discusses the research methodology and results.
With this voluntary shift towards remote work, more individuals are choosing to work from home through available online channels such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Several factors have contributed to this including convenience, time, cost saving, and effectiveness (Caligiuri & De Crieri, 2021). One significant issue to highlight is the overall shift of attitudes regarding the relevance and effectiveness of the remote work modality (Yener, 2022). During the early stages of the pandemic, employers tended to have negative attitudes towards remote work (Pokojski et al., 2022), however, this attitude has become more positive due to the considerable costs savings for employers in terms of space, equipment, costs, and compensation (Licite-Kurbe & Leonovica, 2021).
Leading a team remotely has its challenges and requires relevant skills. According to Mehtab et al. (2017), “It is very difficult for a team leader to control directly every team member’s activity due to different geographical location” (p. 184). It is believed that considering current changes and the shift towards acceptable remote work mode, there is an urgent necessity to review and develop theories on leadership. The literature highlights several skills a leader should possess to be successful. Among these are problem-solving (Mumford et al., 2007), decision-making (Ejimabo, 2015), negotiation (Zohar, 2015), and critical thinking (Flores et al., 2012). The literature highlights relevant remote leadership skills, some of which are evident in remote and face-to-face modalities including communication and team-building skills. Nonetheless, it is argued that the significance and relevance of these skills are different between both modes.