Where\u27s The Boss? The Influences Of Emergent Team Leadership Structures On Team Outcomes In Virtual And Distributed Environments

The influence of leadership on team success has been noted extensively in research and practice. However, as organizations move to flatter team based structures with workers communicating virtually across space and time, our conceptualization of team leadership must change to meet these new workplace demands. Given this need, the current study aims to begin untangling the effects of distribution and virtuality on team leadership structure and subsequent team outcomes that may be affected by differences in conceptualizing such structures. Specifically, the goals of this study were threefold. First, this study investigated how the physical distribution of members may impact perceptions of team leadership structure, depending on virtual tool type utilized for communicating. Second, this study explored how different indices of team leadership structure may have different influences on team outcomes, specifically in terms of conceptualizing the degree to which multiple members are perceived as collectively enacting particular leadership behaviors via a network density metric, and conceptualizing team leadership in regards to the specialization of members into particular behavioral roles, as captured via role distance and role variety indices. Finally, this study expanded on current research regarding team leadership structure by examining how the collective enactment of particular leadership (i.e., structuring/planning, problem solving, supporting social climate) behaviors may facilitate specific teamwork processes (i.e., transition, action, interpersonal), leading to enhanced team performance, as well as how leadership role specialization may impact overall teamwork and team performance. Findings from a laboratory study of 188 teams participating in a simulated decision making task reveal a significant interaction for the influences of physical distribution and iv virtuality on perceptions of leadership structure, such that less distributed teams (i.e., those with fewer isolated members) were more likely to perceive their distributed members as participating in the collective enactment of necessary leadership responsibilities when communicating via richer media (i.e., videoconferencing, teleconferencing) than less rich media (i.e., instant messaging). However, virtuality and distribution did not impact the degree to which members were perceived as specializing in a particular leadership role, or the overall variety of leadership roles being performed. In terms of team outcomes, the perceived collective enactment of leadership emanating from distributed team members significantly predicted teamwork, while the perceived collective leadership of collocated members did not have a significant impact. Specifically, greater distributed team member involvement in the collective enactment of structuring/planning leadership positively impacted team transition processes, while the collective enactment of supporting the social climate positively predicted team interpersonal processes. Although the relationship between perceived leadership role specialization, in terms of role distance and role variety, and team performance was mediated by overall teamwork processes as expected, leadership role specialization had a negative impact on overall teamwork. Finally, while team action processes did not serve to mediate the relationship between perceived problem solving network density and team performance, team transition processes mediated the relationships between the collective enactment of structuring/planning for distributed members and team performance. The collective enactment of supporting the social climate by distributed team members and its relationship to team performance was also mediated by interpersonal teamwork processes. Together, these results reveal the importance in considering context, specifically virtuality and physical distribution, when designing, developing v and maintaining effective team leadership, teamwork, and team performance. Furthermore, they provide unique insight regarding how different configurations of leadership may be possible in teams. Study limitations, practical implications, and recommendations for future research and practice are further discussed

Do We Really Need Another Meeting? The Science of Workplace Meetings

Meetings are routine in organizations, but their value is often questioned by the employees who must sit through them daily. The science of meetings that has emerged as of late provides necessary direction toward improving meetings, but an evaluation of the current state of the science is much needed. In this review, we examine current directions for the psychological science of workplace meetings, with a focus on applying scientific findings about the activities that occur before, during, and after meetings that facilitate success. We conclude with concrete recommendations and a checklist for promoting good meetings, as well as some thoughts on the future of the science of workplace meetings

Leading After-Action Reviews among Emergency Responder Teams: how Perceptions of Leader Behaviors Relate to Proximal and Distal Outcomes

Safety concerns are a critical issue for individuals and teams in high reliability organizations (HROs). As HROs with positive safety climates often have fewer accidents and injuries, understanding which approaches can improve safety climate is paramount. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how leaders’ behavior in after-action reviews (AARs) relates to AAR quality, perceptions of team safety climate, and perceptions of organizational safety climate. We used a sample (N = 89) of firefighters to test the mediation model. Results indicated that AAR leader behaviors focusing on consideration and learning promote positive perceptions of team and organizational safety climate through AAR meeting quality

Can cross-disciplinary conferences improve perceived productivity?

As the number of agritourism operations and support professionals grows around the world, and the diversity of research into the subject expands, international collaborations have become more prominent among both academics and practitioners. However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed a weakness in international collaboration: the reliance on in-person academic conferences as a primary opportunity for scientists to network and collaborate. A transdisciplinary, conference was hosted for the agritourism sector in 2022. In order to better understand how this emerging network might become more productive, or not, researchers surveyed attendees on their intended productivity. Results indicate that attendees were productive as a result of the conference and that there are differences across professional roles in the resulting productivity

A historiometric analysis of leadership in mission critical multiteam environments

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Perhaps nowhere are leaders more pivotal than in the extreme contexts of responding to the aftermath of natural disasters or orchestrating post-war stability, support, transition, and reconstruction efforts. In the current study, historiometric methods were employed in order to elucidate the aspects of leadership essential in these extreme contexts. These contexts were chosen for two reasons: (1) they capture the external networking required of many complex organizational tasks and (2) they are mission critical -the outcomes of leadership in these contexts are of great importance. One hundred and ten critical incidents were written describing instances of effective and ineffective interaction within these systems, and 55 of them were classified as primarily describing leadership issues. Critical incidents were then sorted, translated, and retranslated in order to inductively derive a set of leader functions essential for orchestrating effort in mission critical multiteam contexts

Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling Mechanisms

Agile methods are increasingly used in large development projects, with multiple development teams. A central question is then what is needed to coordinate feature teams efficiently. This study exam- ines three mechanisms for coordination: Shared mental models, commu- nication and trust in a large-scale development project with 12 feature teams running over a four-year period. We analyse the findings in rela- tion to suggested frameworks for large-scale agile development and a theory on coordination, and provide new recommendations for practice and theory.Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling MechanismspublishedVersio

Teams in the Military

Teams have long been considered critical to the organizational structure of the military. The complex nature of military missions requires knowledge, skills, and abilities beyond those of a single individual, thus requiring the use of teams. Furthermore, the study of teams in the military environment is constantly evolving as the needs of the military and its missions change and adapt to new global circumstances. Psychology as a discipline has been particularly influential in addressing these needs, developing what is known regarding teams, their processes, training, and success in the military. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to review the science of teams and their effectiveness, extrapolate critical lessons learned, and highlight several future challenges critical for military psychology to address in order to prepare future military teams for success

Teams In The Military: A Review And Emerging Challenges

Teams have long been considered critical to the organizational structure of the military. The complex nature of military missions requires knowledge, skills, and abilities beyond those of a single individual, thus requiring the use of teams. Furthermore, the study of teams in the military environment is constantly evolving as the needs of the military and its missions change and adapt to new global circumstances. Psychology as a discipline has been particularly influential in addressing these needs, developing what is known regarding teams, their processes, training, and success in the military. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to review the science of teams and their effectiveness, extrapolate critical lessons learned, and highlight several future challenges critical for military psychology to address in order to prepare future military teams for success

Leading Distributed Teams: The Communicative Constitution Of Leadership

A key aspect of leadership effectiveness across geographical distance is communication. However, researchers are only beginning to empirically explore the communicative aspects and constitution of military units and leadership in these contexts. This article highlights communicative features and processes in studies of distributed military units, particularly in those that examine leadership. We discuss aspects of military leadership that are in particular need of a communicative lens, including the communication of command intent, sensemaking, and leading across multiple cultures. We present future research directions that will further advance our understanding of the inextricable relationship between leadership and communication in distributed contexts. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC