Effective Leadership of Virtual Integrated Teams

Abstract

Complex, geographically dispersed teams collaborating in virtual environments face many challenges in the successful completion of projects, particularly when the teams are nonhomogenous. It has driven the development of more powerful and efficient collaborative technologies and ways of using them that enable participants to interact almost as though they are face-to-face. But beyond these technological challenges lies the challenge, at a human level, of building functional social networks that operate efficiently in virtual environments. This is the challenge facing the project leader. This paper introduces a model for the leadership of integrated teams operating in virtual environments.