Leadership of Integrated Teams in Virtual Environments

Abstract

This chapter introduces a process reference model of leadership for integrated teams operating in virtual environments. Geographically dispersed integrated project teams collaborating in virtual environments face many challenges in successfully completing projects, particularly if the teams are non-homogenous. These challenges have driven the development of more powerful and efficient collaborative technologies, that enable participants to better communicate. The need to support and develop leadership in the online setting is one of these challenges, representing a socio-technical gap between how integrated virtual teams use leadership and how technology supports it. The leadership model proposed here will be useful both to individuals desiring to lead in such online settings and those wishing to develop online systems that support leadership.