Interventions for Effectively Leading in a Virtual Setting by Alanah Mitchell - Case Study Example

Dispersed Team Dynamics: Case Study Brief ‘Interventions for effectively leading in a virtual setting’ is research paper written by Alanah Mitchell. The importance of effectively executing interventions in teams increased over the last decade due to several significant changes occurred in the global business environment. As Mitchell (2012) points out, with the advancements in collaboration technologies, the way teams integrate their work and face challenges in relation to technology and collaboration has changed notably. Due to these changes, it has become vital for leaders to focus on interventions and think how those interventions can be technology-driven ones (p.432). Since advanced technology-driven interventions can have a significant positive effect on virtual project management and online education, it is essential for virtual team leaders to identify the role of interventions in improving technology choice in a virtual setting. In this article, the Mitchell argues that both proactive and reactive interventions can be used to manage virtual team challenges while considering the technology choice (p.433). Critical Discussion of the Causes In a virtual team environment, leaders are forced to use interventions in order to proactively and reactively address various workplace issues that may arise during the course of task performance (Mitchell, abstract). In addition, they are required to sense the need for technology change timely for executing the interventions effectively. The need for addressing the organizational change, technology change, and conflict management has been influencing leaders to use interventions in virtual groups (Mitchell p.432). Therefore, the use of interventions in a virtual group setting is of great strategic importance in the modern days. There are two types of interventions such as proactive and reactive interventions used to address a discrepant event. Proactive interventions are based on previous experiences and best practices that keep virtual team members informed of the strategies that could prevent certain challenges. In contrast, reactive interventions would address discrepant events that arise while team members work together to achieve their shared objectives. Although these interventions may foster learning in the virtual team setting, there are several factors such as cultural diversity, language barriers, and communication difficulties that can hinder the effectiveness of the interventions. Hence, team leaders have the additional responsibility to ensure that the interventions employed are capable of influencing the overall team behavior and deliver greater team productivity. Finally, it is necessary for the team leader to properly identify which type of intervention would address a particular problematic scenario. In short, planning and executing interventions in virtual teams is a complex task that requires strategic responses of an experienced team leader. Possible Solutions Considering the tremendous improvements in the technological landscape, it is advisable for virtual team leaders to rely on technology-driven interventions that are more potential to communicate the message to team members clearly and appropriately. Today a wide range of technologies are available for virtual team leaders to execute interventions effectively at affordable costs. As Godar and Ferris (2004) point out, E-mail based intervention can be an effective strategy for virtual team leaders to teach or train their followers and achieve the shared objectives of the team in a timely manner (p. 205). Under this technique, the team leader can send suggestions and directions to team members using e-mails. The most attractive feature of this intervention technique is that it can be employed for absolutely free of cost. Similarly, team leaders may depend on the instant messaging Apps like WhatsApp or Yahoo Messenger to communicate messages to team members and thereby get the desired change implemented. It is easy and inexpensive for team members to create an account in such Apps and use them conveniently with the support of their smartphones. Like e-mail based intervention, this technique also does not require high level technological expertise, and therefore, it is not necessary to train team members specifically to adapt to this technology. In the case scenario given, the Mitchell suggests that the use of online intervention videos can really assist team leaders to execute the planned intervention (Mitchell p.438). The major feature of this intervention tactic is that such videos can be presented in a number of ways to the audience to make the training program universally available; and it will contribute significantly to the use and adoption of online intervention videos. Recommendation Among the three solutions identified, it is strongly recommendable for the virtual team managers to adopt online intervention videos to execute the proposed change in the virtual team environment. From the given study, the author observes that videos that are short and very relevant might improve the viewership although a few people would like to watch longer videos (Mitchell, p.438). One of the notable advantages of online intervention videos is that they are really effective to use in culturally diverse teams where language could be a potential obstacle to communication. When illustrations are presented in a video format, team members from culturally diverse backgrounds can understand the message despite their language differences. Finally, it is recommendable for team leaders to rely more on proactive intervention videos because viewers are relatively less responsive to reactive intervention videos. Implications of the Recommended Solution The recommended solution appears to be beneficial for virtual team managers to execute interventions in team effectively and inexpensively. On the strength of recent technological advancements, these intervention videos can be presented on a variety of devices, and this potential feature adds to the universality of this team intervention strategy. According to Nunnington, Middleton, Verrill and James (n.d.), in a virtual team environment, a video intervention can be more interactive as compared to telephone or text based intervention. An effective video presentation can greatly influence the mental representations and cognitive processes of team members. Personal Conclusions This case study was beneficial for me to identify the importance of executive interventions in a virtual team setting timely and appropriately. Proactive and reactive intervention may be used by a team leader to address a particular issue or to implement a specific change. It is identified that use of online intervention videos can better influence a virtual team environment when compared to text or telephone based interventions. Video intervention technique is more interactive and it can deliver enhanced outcomes despite cross cultural difficulties including language barriers. References Godar, S. H & Ferris, S. P. (2004). Virtual and collaborative teams. Process, technologies and practice. Idea Group Publishing. Mitchell, A. (2012). Interventions for effectively leading in a virtual setting. Business Horizons, 55, 431-439. Nunnington, N., Middleton, A., Verrill, M & James, M. (n.d.). Enriching virtual learning environments to enhance the student experience: A simple, practical methodology. Research Paper. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/p1_nick_nunnington.pdf Read More