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.Cross-functionality 2.Role-switching 3.Different combinations of unique knowledge 4.Dynamic exchange of lateral influence among peers

Antecedents of shared leadership 1.Emergent leadership; 2.Participative decision making; 3.Empowerment; 4.Shared cognition in teams; 5.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!