Leading the virtual workforce : how great leaders transform organizations in the 21st century

192 Pages·2010·2.192 MB·English

by  Karen Sobel Lojeski, Richard R Reilly

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o . us / . can
je LEADING
Th e virtual workforce is a relatively new phenomenon. s
k
Th e Virtual Distance Model provides the quantitative Praise for
i LEADING
data and predictive power needed to understand how
LEADING
THE
new behaviors, born out of the Digital Age, impact
performance, innovation, and other critical success factors. VIRTUAL WORKFORCE THE VIRTUAL
L
THE
And now the time has come to reshape leadership models
E WORKFORCE
to best serve worldwide organizations in the twenty-fi rst
A
century. Leading the Virtual Workforce does just that—
VIR TUAL
“Strong leadership in the best of times is diffi cult to achieve, but in today’s rapidly
paving the way for future leaders to create unmatched D
changing business environment, leaders are tested in many new ways. Once again,
competitive advantage and performance improvements World markets are unsteady, unemployment is on
in the growing world of virtual work. Lojeski has a fresh take on what it takes to lead today’s widely dispersed workforce.” I the rise, housing foreclosures are up, asset values
N
are down, and the political landscape is shifting. Under
—Ellen Pearlman, former editor-in-chief, CIO Insight magazine
such tumultuous conditions, people often look to leaders
G WORKFORCE
to soothe battered nerves. But in today’s rough and tumble
KAREN SOBEL LOJESKI, PHD, is a environment, there are reportedly few leaders the average
T
Professor at Stony Brook University “Karen Lojeski has distilled the essence of the leader’s role in ‘managing’ virtual teams. person relies upon.
H
in the Department of Technology Her very relevant case stories illustrate that to be successful, the authentic leader must
E Over 80 percent of Americans believe that we are in the
and Society, author, and founder of be able to create context and a collaborative lexicon for virtual knowledge sharing and
midst of a major leadership crisis. And over 75 percent of
Virtual Distance International (VDI), V
must work diligently to build the social capital that is so vital to the success of virtual executives from around the world are seriously concerned
an advisory fi rm specializing in virtual
work groups. Karen’s key contribution in this and her previous book, Uniting the Virtual I about whether businesses can develop good leaders for
H O W G R E A T L E A D E R S
teams, leadership, innovation and learning in the new R
Workforce, is the ‘discovery’ and clear articulation of her theory of the Virtual Distance the future. And yet not one leadership book squarely
millennium. Prior to launching VDI and joining Stony
Index, which leaders can use to measure and manage the process of virtual teamwork.” T T R A N S F O R M O R G A N I Z A T I O N S addresses the issue of the changed workforce, the virtual
Brook, Karen spent eighteen years in corporate America.
workforce, and why old leadership models just don’t
She held leadership positions at Chase Manhattan Bank U
—Dave Davison, Chairman, Virtual Visuals Inc. I N T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y work—until now.
N.A., Mercer Consulting Group, and Stratus Computer,
A
Inc. She was Chief Operating Offi cer for Prolifi cs, a Leading the Virtual Workforce builds off the ground-
L
JYACC company, and Vice President of North America breaking concept of Virtual Distance introduced in Sobel
for Xansa. She is a popular speaker on Virtual Distance “I agree entirely with Karen when she says that today, more than ever, eff ective W Karen Sobel Lojeski Lojeski’s seminal fi rst book, Uniting the Virtual Workforce.
and other unintended consequences of technology in the leaders are desperately needed. She skillfully defi nes the dislocation and demarcation of And in never-before-published interviews, leaders from
wired workplace, school systems, families, and society as leaders from followers through the ‘Virtual Distance,’ and yet paradoxically calls leaders O IBM, Merck, Western Union, Alcatel-Lucent, HP,
a whole. to ‘stoke the fl ames of innovation and cooperation in a complex, interwoven world.’ Th is AT&T, and more share detailed case studies about what’s
gives rise to her exploration of the Virtual Distance Leader. As Karen points out, the R diff erent about leadership today and how to become
a great leader in the Digital Age. Leading the Virtual
twenty-fi rst-century leader must, amidst the conditions of pressure, change, and K
Workforce covers:
transformation, bring human endeavor and action to value and meaning for others.”
F
• Th e most common myths about leadership for
O
—Adrian Machon, Director, Executive & Leadership Development, GlaxoSmithKline today’s virtual workforce
R • Why old leadership models need to be reshaped
for a new era
Jacket Photograph: Louie Psihoyos/CORBIS C
• What great leaders do diff erently to thrive in the
Cover Design: David Riedy
E globally connected enterprise
• A new leadership model custom-built for today’s
workforce realities
• Advice from the greats for those looking to
advance their leadership and management
eff ectiveness for the virtual workforce
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Leading the
Virtual Workforce

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Leading the
Virtual Workforce
How Great Leaders
Transform Organizations
in the 21st Century
Karen Sobel Lojeski

with Richard R. Reilly
JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.
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Copyright(cid:1)C 2010byKarenSobelLojeski.Allrightsreserved.
PublishedbyJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,NewJersey.
PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
SobelLojeski,Karen.
Leadingthevirtualworkforce:howgreatleaderstransformorganizationsinthe21stcentury/Karen
SobelLojeski,RichardR.Reilly.
p.cm.–(Microsoftexecutiveleadershipseries;14)
Includesindex.
Summary:“Howtounderstandandattaintheattributesandskillsrequiredtobeasuccessfulleaderin
thenewdigitalage.Rapidlyevolvingchangesinthewaythatweworkhaveledtotheneedforanew
modelofleadership.Motivatingandinspiringemployeeswhoaregeographically,culturally,and
functionallydispersedrequiresnewsetsofskillsanddifferentkindsofbehaviors.Thisvisionarybook
usesreal-lifemodelsofworld-classleaderswhohavedemonstratedtheirabilitytoleadtheirvirtual

workforcethroughthecombineduseoftechnologyandpersonalstyles.Itpresentsanewmodelof
leadershipthatincorporatesthekeyattributesofthesesuccessfulleadersandpresentstoolsand
techniquesforbecomingasuccessfulleaderinthedigitalage.KarenSobelLojeski,PhD(PortJefferson,
NY),isProfessorintheDepartmentofTechnologyandSocietyintheCollegeofEngineeringand
AppliedSciencesattheStateUniversityofNewYorkatStonyBrook.KarenisalsotheCEOofVirtual
DistanceInternational,anadvisoryfirmspecializinginleadershipandinnovationinthenewmillenium
virtualworkplace.RichardR.Reilly,PhD(BaskingRidge,NJ),isEmeritusProfessorofTechnology
ManagementatStevensInstituteofTechnology”–Providedbypublisher.
ISBN978-0-470-42280-9
1.Leadership. 2.Computers–Socialaspects. I.Reilly,RichardR. II.Title.
HD57.7.S69252010
658.4(cid:2)092–dc22
2009025055
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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For Edward Friedman and A.J. Lederman

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Contents
Microsoft Executive Leadership Series: Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
About the Interviewees xxi
Acknowledgments xxxiii
Chapter 1............................................................................... 1
A Whole New World
Chapter 2...............................................................................17
A Brief History of Leadership
Chapter 3...............................................................................33
Creating Context
Chapter 4...............................................................................49
Cultivating Communities

Chapter 5...............................................................................61
Co-Activating New Leaders
Chapter 6...............................................................................77
Techno-Dexterity
Chapter 7...............................................................................93
The Virtual Distance Leadership Model
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viii CONTENTS
Chapter 8...............................................................................113
The Future of Leadership As We Know it
Chapter 9...............................................................................123
A Different View of Leadership Altogether
Appendix A.............................................................................141
The Virtual Distance Model
Index 151