The Virtual Leadership Challenge

This post follows on from our previous ones that explored the part played by staff in collaborative enterprises.

People in an organization rely on their managers for clear direction as to where they fit, what they have to do, what targets they have to meet and for active support. This becomes even more important when the company is part of an alliance where the ‘joint organization’ spans boundaries which might well be international. Day to day interactions will rely upon specialized communication networks that increase the supervision challenge for leaders. For example, an onsite joint build team made policy decisions without reference to their remote HQ design and commercial departments. This becomes even more difficult when communications are mostly virtual as is likely in a large alliance. We have seen very successful companies whose business is totally virtual and have developed a supporting culture.

We see the current controversy between home and office working – environmental, quality of life, greater individual control, less interference, etc versus control, communication and trust arguments. However, if leaders don’t make the effort to put in place the essential management structure necessary to get the best out of their staff it makes no difference where they are located. This situation will have a direct bearing on whether or not strategic collaborative relationships prosper. If managers are unable to manage their own reports remotely, how will they manage when outcomes are not totally under their control?