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Re-Imagining Teams and Leadership
Dramatic changes in the way we work-globalization, outsourcing, increased reliance on mobile information and communication technologies-have led to people being widely dispersed and spending more time with their computers than with their colleagues. The ties that bound traditional teams together have become undone and isolated work often prevents people from forming bonds. "Our teams are not really dysfunctional," say Lojeski and Reilly. "We are simply not really teams." Without the benefit of shared identities and goals a "black hole" has been created for many people in the virtual workforce.
The authors have a new conception of today's teams-they call them "virtual ensembles"-which operate as temporary group formations. It's like a jazz ensemble whose members excel individually and in a group. The musicians work independently but come together to jam, rehearse or perform. Likewise, virtual teams work alone but get together to innovate, work out problems and produce a deliverable.
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And if the team is re-imagined as an ensemble, then the person who leads these teams must also be re-engineered. The traditional view of a leader is a manager who monitors, controls and rewards or punishes behavior. This is a transactional style of leadership. But today's virtual ensembles that are globally distributed and digitally connected require a new style of leadership that the authors call "ambassadorial leadership."
Ambassadorial leaders must be able to span geographic, cultural and organizational boundaries and create trust between disparate groups of people. There are seven specific behaviors that are needed, according to the authors, including:
1. Communication clarity—articulate a clear vision and communicate it clearly.
2. Cultural sensitivity—demonstrate sensitivity and openness to other cultures and communicate this to followers.
3. Context sensitivity—understand context in terms of individual team members and help others understand the needs of others in the team.
4. Boundary spanning—help virtual workers build relationships so the group can form a collective identity, build relationships between other teams or organizations.
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5. Advocacy—represent the virtual team to senior management to make sure the team is recognized and rewarded.
6. Shared leadership—create attaches in each location (trusted members that you can share sensitive information with) and rely on them to be leaders.
7. Leader intent—communicate your vision, strategy and tactics to your attaches
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