3.3 – Developing Virtual Leadership

In order to be most effective, groups or teams need a sense of community. A community can be defined as a physical or virtual space where people seeking interaction and shared interests come together to pursue their mutual goals, objectives, and shared values. Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. For our purposes, the setting or space can be anywhere, at any time, but includes group or team members and, as you might have guessed, a leader. The need for clear expectations is key to an effective community, and it is never more true than in an online environment where asynchronous communication is the norm and physical interaction is limited or non-existent. Increasingly we manage teams from a distance, outsource services to professionals across the country, and interact across video and voice chats on a daily basis. The effective leader understands this and leverages the tools and technology to maximize group and team performance.

Through interaction in groups and teams, we meet many of our basic human needs, including the need to feel included, and the need for love and appreciation. Shutz, W. (1966). The Interpersonal Underworld. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books, pp. 13–20. From the opening post, welcome letter, or virtual meeting, the need to perceive acknowledgment and belonging is present, and the degree to which we can reinforce these messages will contribute to higher levels of interaction, better engagement across the project, retention throughout the mission, and successful completion of the goal or task. Online communities can have a positive effect by reducing the group member’s feelings of isolation by extending leader-to-team member and team member-to-team member interaction. Fostering and developing a positive group sense of community is a challenge, but the effective leader recognizes it as an important, if not critical, element of success.

Given the diversity of our teams and groups, there are many ways to design and implement task-oriented communities. Across this diversity, communication and the importance of positive interactions in each group is common ground. The following are five “best practices” for developing an effective online community as part of a support and interaction system for your team or group:

1. Clear expectations — The plan is the central guiding document for your project. It outlines the project information, expectations, deadlines, and often how communication will occur in the group. Much like a syllabus guides a course, a plan of action, from a business plan to a marketing plan, can serve as an important map for group or team members. With key benchmarks, quality standards, and proactive words of caution on anticipated challenges, the plan of action can be an important resource that contributes to team success.
2. Effective organization — Organization may first bring to mind the tasks, roles, and job assignments and their respective directions but consider: Where do we interact? What are the resources available? When do we collaborate? All these questions should be clearly spelled out to help team members know when and where to communicate.
3. Prompt and meaningful responses — Effective leaders are prompt. They understand that when Germans are waking up, the Chinese are tucking their children into bed. They know when people will be available and juggle time zones and contact information with ease. Same-day responses to team members are often the norm, and if you anticipate long periods of time before responding, consider a brief email or text to that effect. The online community is fragile and requires a leader to help facilitate effective communication.
4. A positive tone in interaction and feedback — Constructive criticism will no doubt be a part of your communication with team members, but by demonstrating respect, offering praise as well as criticism, and by communicating in a positive tone, you’ll be contributing to a positive community. One simple rule of thumb is to offer two (2) comments of praise for every one (1) comment of criticism. Of course, you may adapt your message for your own needs, but as we’ve discussed previously, trust is the foundation of the relationship and the student needs to perceive you are supportive of their success.

How Do I Build an Effective Online Team?

In order for people to perceive a sense of community or feel like they belong to a team, they need group socialization. Group socialization is the development of interpersonal relationships within a group context. Group success is built on the foundation of the relationships that form as a part of group development. You can emphasize activities and environments that create a supportive group climate, paying attention to relationship messages as well as content messages. Palloff and Pratt, Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. recommend seven steps for building a successful team.

• Clearly define the purpose of the community
• Create a clear, distinct place for the group to gather
• Promote effective leadership from within the community
• Define norms and a clear code of conduct
• Allow for a range of member roles
• Allow for leadership and facilitating of subgroups
• Allow members to resolve their own disputes while adhering to class-established norms

Palloff and Pratt, Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. caution that it is possible to develop a community that has strong social connections between the team members but where very little performance actually takes place. Here is where the leader plays a central role. The leader needs to be visibly present and actively engaged in the process, encouraging learners to focus their energies on the social aspect to the detriment of the learning goals of the project and the community. Palloff and Pratt, Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. suggest:

• Engaging team members with the subject matter and related resources
• Visibly accounting for attendance and participation
• Working individually with team members who are struggling
• Understanding the signs that indicate that a team member is in trouble
• Building online communities that accommodate personal interaction

Palloff and Pratt, Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. further indicate that a leader can tell if the community is working when the following emerge:

• Active interaction
• Sharing of resources among team members rather than from team member to leader
• Collaborative learning is evidenced by comments directed primarily from team member to team member
• Socially constructed meaning is evidenced by agreement or questioning with the intent to achieve agreement on issues of meaning in order to achieve group goals or results
• Expression of support and encouragement exchanged between team members as well as willingness to critically evaluate the work of others

It is not easy to create and manage a team online, but recognizing a sense of community as well as the signs of positive interaction and productivity will help contribute to team success.

In this section, we discussed how to become a leader from the election process, appointment, or emergence, and ways to develop our leadership skills. We discussed how leadership starts with the self and self-discipline. Group or team members will naturally turn to leaders who can both solve their own problems and contribute to group members’ success. When team members see that a leader can help them get their job done right the first time, it only makes sense that they will be more likely to turn to them time and time again. Leadership is a dynamic process, and change is a constant. Developing yourself as a leader requires time and effort, and recognizing that team members want a sense of community, appreciate a proactive plan, and sometimes need reinforcement or recognition, can go a long way toward your goal.