Decoding leadership to leverage employee engagement in virtual teams

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prapti Mutha ◽  
Manjari Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Leadership Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Idealized Influence ◽  
Leadership Behaviour ◽  
Inspirational Motivation ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Virtual teams are characterized by short social exchanges and a lack of para-verbal and non-verbal communication. This poses several challenges to virtual leaders. This study aims to decode the role of leadership and understand its impact on engaging geographically dispersed teams. This research offers a comprehensive view of idealized influence and inspirational motivation – the two sub-factors of transformational leadership which defines the charisma of a leader in leveraging engagement of virtual employees. It also studies the impact of effective leadership communication and trust between team members in engaging employees working in virtual teams. Design/methodology/approach This research is a mixed method study. Phase I of qualitative study (10 FGD) facilitated phase II of quantitative study. A questionnaire was developed to reflect themes that emerged from qualitative phase. The focus of the qualitative study was to understand the role of leaders viewed by virtual employees in the context of engagement. A cross-sectional data of 300 respondents from eight different industries was gathered using a survey questionnaire. Purposive non-probability sampling technique was used. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling, SmartPLS 3 software. Findings Results showed that leaders play a significant role in engaging virtual employees. The transformational leadership behaviour with a purview of idealized influence and inspirational motivation positively engages employees in virtual teams. The findings emphasize that trust between team members impacts engagement, and trust mediates the relationship between leadership communication effectiveness and engagement of virtual employees. Practical implications Positive leadership behaviour such as transformational leadership helps create an environment of trust and engagement that is experienced by a team working distantly. Leader plays a critical role to foster an engaging environment that boosts the potential of every employee. Organizations invest a lot of money, time and resources in leadership and communication training. This study could help organizations in training their managers/leaders for adapting their leadership style that suits the virtual work environment. Organizations can also pay attention to the required skill sets of people while hiring and/or promoting leaders who have to lead virtual employees. Originality/value The exponential increase in virtual working has necessitated decoding essential leadership skills to engage the virtual workforce. Working virtually is psychologically a different experience and hence requires a separate study. The lack of proximity and face-to-face conversations in virtual teams increases the complexity of leading and thus alters the engagement equation. This paper explores the impact of leaders in enhancing employee engagement and that is presented in a condensed manner.

Transformational leadership and employee knowledge sharing: explore the mediating roles of psychological safety and team efficacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jielin Yin ◽  
Zhenzhong Ma ◽  
Haiyun Yu ◽  
Muxiao Jia ◽  
Ganli Liao
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Psychological Safety ◽  
Intellectual Stimulation ◽  
International Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Efficacy ◽  
Inspirational Motivation ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims—based on past research works which have shown that transformational leadership has positive impact on knowledge sharing—to explore the impact of different leadership dimensions of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing and further to explore the mechanism through which transformational leadership affects employee knowledge sharing in China. Design/methodology/approach Based on the transformational leadership theory and the team learning theory, it is proposed that all four dimensions of transformational leadership, including intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence, have unique impact on employee knowledge sharing. It is further proposed that psychology safety and team efficacy mediate these relationships. Then data were collected from over 400 employees from knowledge-based companies in China to empirically test the proposed relationships with the method of structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that psychological safety fully mediated the impact of intellectual stimulation on knowledge sharing, and team efficacy fully mediated the impact of inspirational motivation on knowledge sharing. Both factors also mediated the impact of individualized consideration on knowledge sharing. The results thus provide empirical support for the impact of transformational leadership on employee knowledge sharing in an international context. Originality/value The past years have seen increasing interest in leadership and knowledge sharing in emerging markets, yet the mechanism through which leadership affects employee knowledge sharing remains understudied. This study explores the impact of different dimensions of transformational leadership on employee knowledge sharing, and further shows that psychological safety and team efficacy mediate these relationships in a collectivistic society where knowledge sharing is consistent with cultural norms. The findings help develop more robust knowledge sharing theories in the international context and provide insightful suggestions for management practitioners in emerging markets.

Transformational leadership – an academic case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 150-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Rao
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Visionary Leadership ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Intellectual Stimulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Idealized Influence ◽  
Academic Leader ◽  
Inspirational Motivation

Purpose – The purpose is to present a case study on transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach – It adopts the 4 I's of Bernard M. Bass, the leadership researcher – individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence. Findings – It emphasizes that leaders have to act according to the situation, with more emphasis on transformational leadership, for motivating their people and institutions to achieve their goals and objectives. Practical implications – It stresses the importance of accepting feedback and making bold decisions, to ensure the longevity of an academic institution and achieve academic excellence. Social implications – It provides an example of a passionate academic leader who leads from the front through his visionary leadership. Originality/value – It describes how to turn around an educational institution through academic leadership.

Exploring remote and onsite employees’ preferred appreciation languages prior to COVID-19 and during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul White
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Work Setting ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Remote Employees ◽  
Internal Characteristic ◽  
Age Range ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Communicating appreciation to employees has been shown to be an important factor in contributing to employee engagement and making workplaces more effective. Research has shown that employees differ in how they desire to be shown appreciation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how working remotely (vs onsite), the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and employees’ age group impacted the ways employees want to be shown appreciation at work. Design/methodology/approach Using the five Languages of Appreciation as a framework (Chapman and White, 2019), over 200,000 individuals’ results from the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory were compared across various groups. The dependent variable: (Primary Language of Appreciation) was examined in light of three independent variables: work setting (onsite vs remote), timeframe (pre-COVID-19 vs during COVID-19) and age range of the employee. Findings Preferences for how to be shown appreciation were quite stable across work setting, timeframe and age range, suggesting that one’s preferred ways of being shown appreciation is largely an internal characteristic that is only mildly influenced by external factors. Minor trends were found when comparing various age groups and remote vs onsite employees. Originality/value Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees’ desires for appreciation is critical for organizational leaders. With vast numbers of new remote employees in the workforce, understanding how they are similar to and vary from onsite employees is paramount for addressing the needs of all team members. This study provides valuable information on both topics, as well as differences across age groups.

scholarly journals Enhancing Black Belts via academic mastery

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 909-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M Savage ◽  
Sampath Kumar Sreevathsan
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Business School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Participant Observer ◽  
Strategic Quality Management ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – In May 2010, a new collaborative initiative was launched between the Portsmouth Business School and Hewlett Packard, wherein trained Black Belts (BB) were enabled to pursue an MSc in strategic quality management. Five years on from its commencement, the purpose of this paper is to explore the development and impact of this initiative. Design/methodology/approach – Inductive, exploratory, multi-viewpoint participant-observer case study that triangulates the academic, student and employer reactions to the programme. Findings – The paper evaluates how the academic dimension provided by the MSc has impacted on candidates’ work as BB. Practical implications – Employee engagement and enthusiasm has been increased, as has the depth and breadth of the knowledge base among the participating BB, who are then applying these new skills in their improvement projects to make them more sustainable as well as financially valuable. They have been able to transfer knowledge to team members. Originality/value – This approach provides a model for accelerated development of groups of quality professionals within larger organisations. There is evidence that the community spirit that grows within and across cohorts has a multiplying effect that enhances the impact for the sponsoring organisation beyond the simple sum of the performance and skills improvement on a student by student basis.

The role of perceived high-performance HR practices and transformational leadership on employee engagement and citizenship behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 513-526
Author(s):  
Shenyang Hai ◽  
Kai Wu ◽  
In-Jo Park ◽  
Yongxin Li ◽  
Quan Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hr Practices ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of high-performance (HP) human resource (HR) practices on employee job engagement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the moderating effects of transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 268 employees from the US and a sample of 288 employees from South Korea (SK) were used for examining the hypotheses.FindingsThe results illustrated that high-performance HR practices (HPHRP) significantly predicted employee job engagement and OCB in SK. Transformational leadership was found to moderate the associations of HPHRP with employee job engagement and OCB in SK, while in the US, transformational leadership only moderated the relationship between HPHRP and OCB.Practical implicationsTransformational leaders reinforce the quality of the employee–organization relationship and strengthen the impact of HPHRP on employees' positive work-related behaviors.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding of employees' organizational behavior as exploring the relationships of HPHRP, transformational leadership, job engagement and OCB.

Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership in virtual teams: lessons from MMOGs

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Mysirlaki ◽  
Fotini Paraskeva
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Team Effectiveness ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAs business is becoming more global, virtual teams are getting increasingly prevalent. The purpose of this paper is to examine virtual team effectiveness by taking a deeper look at the Virtual World Teams (VWTs) of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs).Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the effects of leaders’ emotional intelligence and transformational leadership on virtual team effectiveness, including three sub-factors of team effectiveness: team performance, viability and team member satisfaction. In addition, the indirect effect of emotional intelligence on team effectiveness via transformational leadership was examined. In total, 500 MMOG players that belonged in virtual world teams participated in the study. Hypotheses were tested through a series of multiple linear regression analyses, and one-way ANOVA tests were used to explore the impact of gender on the key factors of team effectiveness.FindingsThe analysis revealed a significant predictive relationship between perceived leader emotional intelligence and virtual team effectiveness sub-factors, mediated by transformational leadership behavior. Further analysis revealed gender differences in players’ perceptions of their leader emotional intelligence, transformational leadership and virtual team effectiveness.Practical implicationsThis paper adds to the literature by revealing important predictors of virtual team effectiveness. These findings suggest implications for research and practice in the fields of Human Resources (HR), Human Resource Development (HRD) and training programs for e-leaders. The results of the analysis based on gender differences also have theoretical and managerial implications.Originality/valueThe study provides evidence that transformational leadership mediates the relationship between leaders’ emotional intelligence and team effectiveness in a virtual team.

scholarly journals The Impact of Transformational Leadership Factors on Project Progress and which Factor has Significant Influence and Great Contribution towards Project Success

Webology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (Special Issue 04) ◽  
pp. 1389-1412
Author(s):  
Al Mokhtar Mohammad Al Shanqaiti ◽  
Dr. Mazen Mohammed Farea
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Project Success ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Intellectual Stimulation ◽  
Idealized Influence ◽  
Inspirational Motivation ◽  
Project Failures ◽  
The Impact

Projects are essential drivers for business growth and success. The project’s aim is analyzing the effect of transformational leadership factors on succeeding the projects. The study will investigate transformational leadership factors (Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation & Individualized Consideration) and their direct influence on project success. Examining the impact of each factor will support project leaders and project resources to influence project progress for delivering and achieving project success and eliminating potential project losses and unnecessary project failures. Data from 216 project members working in Saudi Arabia for managing and executing projects were gathered and screened before being analyzed and empirically tested using the Structural Equation Model. The findings are supported for hypotheses suggested and showed that transformational leadership as well as 3 factors (idealized influence, intellectual stimulation and individual based consideration) have a significant relationship influencing progress and ultimately impacting project success. The study concludes that inspirational motivation has insignificant effect on project success. The results are inviting project leaders to adopt transformational leadership and raise the awareness, which stimulates the employees to express their ideas, effective feedback, and concerns to create a situation for the employee to deliver best performance levels. The most significant contribution is recognizing the positive effect of at the transformational leadership on study progress and ultimately help project managers to secure the success.

scholarly journals The Impact of Transformational Leadership Style on Organizational Performance: Evidence from Jordan

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq Ghaleb Abu Orabi
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Intellectual Stimulation ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Idealized Influence ◽  
Inspirational Motivation ◽  
Individual Consideration ◽  
Transformational Leadership Style ◽  
The Impact

Transformational leadership has garnered considerable attention in the literature because of its potential implications for the performance of the organization. Research indicates that this type of leadership can collectively impact employee behavior and commitment leading to improvements in the work climate and knowledge sharing. When combined these changes can positively influence the performance of the organization. Using this as a foundation for investigation the current research considers the role of transformational leadership and its four components—idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration—and their influence on organizational performance in three banks operating in Jordan. A total of 249 surveys were distributed with 213 retuned and 171 eligible for use. The data was analyzed using multiple regression with a significance level of p < 0.05. The results indicate that while transformational leadership and three of its components—inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration—did contribute to 81.6 percent of the variance in organizational performance; idealized influence was not a significant factor contributing to this outcome. Leaders may need to focus on these elements of transformational leadership to improve outcomes for organizational performance.

Work and non-work identities in global virtual teams

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farheen Fathima Shaik ◽  
Upam Pushpak Makhecha ◽  
Sirish Kumar Gouda
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Global Virtual Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
Unique Framework ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Increasing digitization has transformed ways of work in modern age. Organizations are increasingly relying on global virtual teams (GVTs) as new forms of working. However, the challenges of configuration of GVTs have been reported to reduce the levels of employee engagement, especially so in multicultural GVTs. Extant research indicates cultural intelligence as one of the drivers of employee engagement in GVTs, though the nature of this relationship has remained unclear. As there is scarce literature on the nature of this relationship, the purpose of this paper is to examine the linkages between cultural intelligence and employee engagement and the authors explain the findings using the identity lens. Design/methodology/approach This study is an ethnographic inquiry to understand the nature of the relationship between cultural intelligence and employee engagement. Findings The results of the study indicate that the inclusionary pressures of non-work identities (national culture) are high in context of GVTs owing to their configuration. However, preferences (alignment or misalignment) of team members either initiate gain cycles or loss cycles, thus effecting the levels of employee engagement. Further, it was found that individual preferences may dynamically change from misalignment toward alignment with improved levels of cultural intelligence among team members of GVTs. The relationship between cultural intelligence and employee engagement has been found to be mediated by trust among team members in GVTs. Originality/value This is one of the first papers to understand the dynamics of this relationship in an organizational GVT context. The authors also propose a unique framework combining cultural intelligence, trust and employee engagement in the context of GVTs.

scholarly journals The Impact of Transformational Leadership Factors on Public Service Innovation Outcomes: An Evidence from Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 189-201
Author(s):  
Mst. Shumshunnahar
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Service Innovation ◽  
Intellectual Stimulation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Idealized Influence ◽  
Inspirational Motivation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation Outcomes

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of the factors of Transformational leadership on public service innovation outcomes. Survey data collected from 500 innovation officers of field level administration of Bangladesh. Results from the multiple regression analysis using SPSS indicated that there was a positive impact of Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation and Individualized Consideration on public service innovation outcomes. The finding also implies that the policy makers should build a strong strategy to put more concentration and heighten transformational leadership to enhance public service innovation outcomes.

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