The Relative Importance of Leadership Behaviours in Virtual and Face-to-Face Communication Settings

Abstract

How does the degree of virtualness in team members' daily work affect the perceived importance of various leadership behaviours in virtual and face-to-face communication settings? A survey of 419 technical engineers working as members of teams at Shell Global Solutions International suggests that, with a few exceptions, most task-oriented as well as relationship-oriented leadership behaviours are considered to be more important in virtual settings than in face-to-face settings. The relative importance of many leadership behaviours increases the higher the degree of virtualness in team members' daily work. Team members working at a very high level of virtualness, however, consider some task-and-relationship-oriented leadership behaviours about equally important in virtual as in face-to-face settings. The applied implications are discussed as well as theoretical questions that need to be answered in future research.