Virtual group dynamics,
leadership and network
building
L 1A
Ing. Jiří Šnajdar
2016
Learning Outcomes
1.
Understanding group dynamics in
(virtual) teams and how to optimise your
(virtual) group
2.
Exercising shared leadership
3.
Network building
Suggested Outputs
1.
Hard: an A4 sheet with your group Code
of Conduct
(norms and rules established for the performance of the
group);
2.
Soft: effective group work
1. Group dynamics
The rationale for the growth of (virtual) teams
Demanding factors:
Complexity of the environment locations
New colleagues
A (Virtual) Team is....
Made up of people working on interdependent
tasks; they interact mainly face to face and
(sometimes exclusively) through
communication technologies to accomplish a
common goal without concerns of time and
space.
Cultural/personal differences..
Consider...
People are all the same, what changes is
their habits/attitudes/behaviour/ personalities
Look for commonalities/complementarities
instead of differences
It is more important what unites than what
separates us i.e. the whole is greater ...
Optimizing performance of your virtual team
Develop trust and liking
Trust: refers to an expectancy held by an
individual or a group that the word, promise,
or verbal or written statement of another
individual or group can be relied upon
Optimizing performance of your virtual team
Develop trust and liking
Trust:
refers to the knowledge that what I can do for
you, you will do for me;
it is a two-way construct: trust implies
trustworthiness
Optimizing performance of your virtual team
Develop norms, rules and establish routines:
Task-related rules;
Communication-related rules.
Task-related rules:
Do not stall
Juggle
Set deadlines and stick to them
Optimizing performance of your virtual team
Communication/related rules
Keep a frequent flow of communication
Promply acknowlege you read
others`messages
Promptly and explicitly inform what you
are thinking and doing
Leadership in Virtual Teams
To be effective, virtual teams must be:
Deliberately managed towards sharing and
being very aware of common objectives at all
times
Leadership refers to..
“.. the influence processes involving
determination of the group’s objectives,
motivating task behaviour in pursuit of those
objectives and influencing group maintenance
and culture”.
.. Shared leadership is..
1. “.. a dynamic, interactive influence
process among individuals in groups for
which the objective is to lead one another
to the achievement of group goals”;
2.
the concept that best fits the nature of
virtual teams such as CVT
Creative Venture Teams
Why shared leadership?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cross-functionality
Role-switching
Different combinations of unique knowledge
Dynamic exchange of lateral influence among
peers
Antecedents of shared leadership
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Emergent leadership;
Participative decision making;
Empowerment;
Shared cognition in teams;
Self-managed teams
Exercising shared leadership
1. Any individual within the group may take the
initiative to lead the group from one step to
another towards the common goal;
2. Take rescue in lower-level processes:
Establish a Code of Conduct with norms and
rules and integrate them into routines
Shared leadership requires..
A strong sense of individual commitment,
that is:
1. A member‘s strong belief in the goals of the
group;
2. A strong desire to maintain membership in
the group;
3. Willingness to work on behalf of the group.
Tips..
•
•
•
•
Talk nicely
Talk tough
Reflect
Generate
Likely hurdles..
Obstacles
People do not like the idea of sharing leadership
Perceived status differences
Preconceived ideas on what leadership is and is not
Facilitators
Your task requires role differentiation but not status
differentiation;
You must engage in multiple relationship exchanges
You need everyone to do a good job
Building networks
A network refers to a group of people who are
connected together by a socially meaningful
set of relationships
The virtual group network model
members
links
purpose
Characteristics of networks
•
•
•
•
•
Density
Tightness
Diversity
Accessibility
Value
Strong ties and weak ties:
You need both
Strong ties are:
Frequent, Reciprocal, Companionable,
Supportive, Multiple, they get the work
done..
Weak ties are:
Casual, Reciprocal or not,
but:
Are useful for new, ad-hoc information
Expect to make friends!