Editing Virtual management (section)

== Management factors ==
For the team to reap the benefits mentioned above, the manager considers the following factors.

=== Trust and Leader Effectiveness ===
A virtual team leader must ensure a feeling of trust among all team members—something all team members have an influence on and must be aware of. However, the team leader is responsible for this in the first place. Team leaders must ensure a sense of psychological safety within a team by allowing all members to speak honestly and directly, but respectfully, to each other.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Han|first1=Soo Jeoung|last2=Chae|first2=Chungil|last3=Macko|first3=Patricia|last4=Park|first4=Woongbae|last5=Beyerlein|first5=Michael|date=2017-04-03|title=How virtual team leaders cope with creativity challenges|journal=European Journal of Training and Development|volume=41|issue=3|pages=261–276|doi=10.1108/EJTD-10-2016-0073|issn=2046-9012}}</ref>

For a team to succeed, the manager must schedule meetings to ensure participation. This carries over to the realm of virtual teams, but in this case these meetings are also virtual. Due to the difficulties of communicating in a virtual team, it is imperative that team members attend meetings. The first team meeting is crucial and establishes lasting precedents for the team.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cascio |first=Wayne, F |year=2000 | title=Managing a Virtual Workplace. Themes:Structure and Decision Making |journal=The Academy of Management Executive|publisher=Academy of Management |volume=14}}</ref> Furthermore, there are numerous features of a virtual team environment that may impact on the development of follower trust. The team members have to trust that the leader is allocating work fairly and evaluating team members equally.<ref>{{cite conference|author1=Jury, A. W.|author2=Bordia, P.|author3=Krebs, S. A.|name-list-style=amp|year=2005|title=Transformational leadership within virtual teams: Examining the mediating influence of trust and role clarity for performance and knowledge sharing|conference=6th Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference, 30 June – 3 July 2005|pages=132|location=Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort, Gold Coast, QLD}}</ref>

An extensive study conducted over 8 years<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Jury, A. W.|year=2008|title=Leadership Effectiveness within Virtual Teams: Investigating Mediating and Moderating Mechanisms|type=PhD Thesis|publisher=School of Psychology, The University of Queensland}}</ref> examined what factors increase leader effectiveness in virtual teams. One such factor is that virtual team leaders need to spend more time than conventional team counterparts being explicit about expectations. This is due to the patterns of behavior and dynamics of interaction which are unfamiliar. Moreover, even in information rich virtual teams using video conferencing, it is hard to replicate the rapid exchange of information and cues available in face-to-face discussions. To develop role clarity within virtual teams, leaders should focus on developing: (a) clear objectives and goals for tasks; (b) comprehensive milestones for deliverables; and (c) communication channels for seeking feedback on unclear role guidance.

When determining an effective way of leadership for a culturally diverse team there are various ways: directive (from directive to participatory), transactional (rewarding) or transformational influence. Leadership must ensure effective communication and understanding, clear and shared plans and task assignments and collective sense of belonging in team. Further, the role of a team leader is to coordinate tasks and activities, motivate team members, facilitate collaboration and solve conflicts when needed. This proofs that a team leader's role in effective virtual team management and creating knowledge sharing environment is crucial.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Zakaria|first1=Norhayati|last2=Amelinckx|first2=Andrea|last3=Wilemon|first3=David|date=March 2004|title=Working Together Apart? Building a Knowledge-Sharing Culture for Global Virtual Teams|journal=Creativity and Innovation Management|volume=13|issue=1|pages=15–29|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8691.2004.00290.x|issn=0963-1690}}</ref>

=== Presence and Instruction ===
Virtual team leaders must become virtually present so they can closely monitor team members and note changes that might affect their ability to undertake their tasks. Due to the distributed nature of virtual teams, team members have less awareness of the wider situation of the team or dynamics of the overall team environment. Consequently, as situations change in a virtual team environment, such as adjustments to task requirements, modification of milestones, or changes to the goals of the team, it is important that leaders monitor followers to ensure they are aware of these changes and make amendments as required.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.hubstaff.com/5-steps-to-becoming-a-better-virtual-employee-an-employers-perspective/|title=5 steps to becoming a better virtual employee – An Employer's perspective|last=Nevogt|first=Dave|date=21 August 2013|publisher=[[Hubstaff]]|access-date=24 September 2013|archive-date=28 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928002459/http://blog.hubstaff.com/5-steps-to-becoming-a-better-virtual-employee-an-employers-perspective/|url-status=live}}</ref> The leaders of virtual teams do not possess the same powers of physical observation, and have to be creative in setting up structures and processes so that variations from expectations can be observed well virtually (for instance, virtual team leaders have to sense when "electronic" silence means acquiescence rather than inattention). At the same time, leaders of virtual teams cannot assume that members are prepared for virtual meetings and also have to ensure that the unique knowledge of each distributed person on the virtual team is fully utilized.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Malhotra|first1=Arvind|last2=Benson|first2=Ann & Rosen|year=2007|title=Leading Virtual Teams|journal=Academy of Management Perspectives|volume=21|pages=60–70|doi=10.5465/amp.2007.24286164|s2cid=154076074}}</ref> Virtual team leaders should be aware that [[information overload]] may result in situations when a leader has provided too much information to a team member.<ref>{{cite journal|year=2008|title=Key themes for effective virtual team leaders|journal=Illuminations|publisher=Australian Psychological Society|pages=5–7|author=Jury, A. W.}}</ref>

=== Virtuality ===
Finally, when examining virtual teams, it is crucial to consider that they differ in terms of their virtuality. Virtuality refers to a continuum of how "virtual" a team is.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Kirkman, B. L.|author2=Rosen, B.|author3=Gibson, C. B.|author4=Tesluk, P. E.|author5=McPherson, S. O.|name-list-style=amp|year=2002|title=Five challenges to virtual team success: Lessons from Sabre Inc.|journal=Academy of Management Executive|volume=16|issue=3|pages=67–79|doi=10.5465/AME.2002.8540322|s2cid=154998682 }}</ref> There are three predominant factors that contribute to virtuality, namely: (a) the richness of communication media; (b) distance between team members, both in time zones and geographical dispersion; and (c) organizational and cultural diversity.

=== Detriments ===
In the field of managing virtual research and development (R&D) teams there have arisen certain detriments to the management decisions made when leading a team.<ref name=":2">Gassmann, O., & Zedtwitz, M. (2003). Trends and determinants of managing virtual R&D teams. R&D Management, 33(3), 243-262.</ref> The first of these detriments is the lack of potential for radical innovation, this is brought about by the lack of affinity with certain technologies or processes. This causes a decrease in certainty about the feasibility of the execution. As a result, virtual R&D teams focus on incremental innovations. The second detriment is the nature of the project may need to change. Depending on how interdependent each step is, the ability for a virtual team to successfully complete the project varies at each step. Thirdly,  the sharing of knowledge, which was identified above as an important ingredient in managing a virtual team, becomes even more important albeit difficult. There is some knowledge and information that is simple and easy to explain and share, but there is other knowledge that may be more content or domain specific that is not so easy to explain. In a face to face group this can be done by walking a team member through the topic slowly during a lunch break, but in a virtual team this is no longer possible and the information is at risk of being misunderstood leading to set backs in the project. Finally, the distribution and bundling of resources is also very much altered by the move from collocation to virtual space. Where once the team was all in one place and the resources could be split there as needed, now the team can be anywhere, and the same resources still need to get to the correct people. This takes time, effort, and coordination to avoid potential setbacks or conflicts.<ref name=":2" />