Why Leaders Resist Empowering Virtual Teams
Many remote leaders who feel constrained, drained, and isolated are just getting in their own way.
Image courtesy of Gary Waters/theispot.com
For Indira, a midlevel manager in the financial services industry, leading a virtual team has been stressful.1 Now that everyone no longer works in the same office space, opportunities for spontaneous check-ins are limited, so it’s tough to know exactly how or when people are having trouble doing their jobs. As a result, Indira worries that she can’t effectively support her team. She also says her “real work” begins after a long day of video meetings. By the time she’s able to focus on her independent tasks and bigger-picture thinking, she’s burned out, and it’s difficult to be productive.
Indira is not alone. We’ve heard many stories like hers over the past few years in our interviews with hundreds of remote leaders in a range of roles and industries. And studies show that such leaders associate a host of problems (both real and perceived) with all-virtual interactions. For instance, they cite technical difficulties, constrained access to information and resources, distractions at home, social isolation, and ever-blurrier work-life boundaries.2 These issues won’t simply disappear after the global COVID-19 pandemic dies down, because for many businesses and employees, remote work isn’t going away. According to recent surveys, over 80% of business leaders plan to keep at least a partial work-from-home arrangement in place, and executives expect a 30% reduction in physical office space.3
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One viable solution to some of the challenges leaders face is to adopt an empowering leadership style. This involves delegating authority and decision-making to team members, coaching employees rather than directing them, and regularly seeking their input to solve problems.4 When leaders allow employees to have an ownership stake in their day-to-day work, people can show what they’re capable of doing, which leads to more trust and less micromanaging. That means soul-crushing “task master” meetings (all the more draining online) can be replaced with more meaningful, energizing conversations about strategy and talent development, fueling performance and growth while allowing leaders to build deeper connections with team members. Empowering leadership has many positive effects on employees, too. It’s linked to increased job satisfaction, commitment, self-efficacy, creativity, and performance, as well as decreased intentions to quit.5
One of the most important benefits is greater knowledge sharing among colleagues, a vital source of competitive advantage.
References
1. Names have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.
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4. P.N. Sharma and B.L. Kirkman, “Leveraging Leaders: A Literature Review and Future Lines of Inquiry for Empowering Leadership Research,” Group and Organization Management 40, no. 2 (April 2015): 193-237.
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12. A. Tsuchiya, H. Ora, Q. Hao, et al., “Body Movement Synchrony Predicts Degrees of Information Exchange in a Natural Conversation,” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (April 2020): 1-10; and N.S. Hill and K.M. Bartol, “Five Ways to Improve Communication in Virtual Teams,” MIT Sloan Management Review 60, no. 1 (fall 2018): 18-22.
13. J.B. Rodell, H. Breitsohl, M. Schroder, et al., “Employee Volunteering: A Review and Framework for Future Research,” Journal of Management 42, no. 1 (January 2016): 55-84; and A. Shantz and K. Dempsey-Brench, “How Volunteerism Enhances Workplace Skills,” MIT Sloan Management Review 62, no. 4 (summer 2021): 79-83.
14. R.C. Ford and M.D. Fottler, “Empowerment: A Matter of Degree,” Academy of Management Executive 9, no. 3 (August 1995): 21-29.