Virtual Leadership in the Post-Pandemic World

Background

The 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic almost overnight transformed how organisations operate. For several years, remote working became the norm across certain (but not all) industries. This change meant leaders and managers had to develop virtual leadership skills and capabilities to accommodate this instantly. At the Institute of Project Management, we have tracked these shifts closely and support professionals in adapting to them.

While many organisations are now moving back to a more hybrid working arrangement (with shared remote and office working), the number of people working remotely is still significant. These recently developed virtual leadership skills and capabilities are still very much needed.

Since COVID-19 hit the world in early 2020, a large amount has been written about virtual leadership and how this is a completely new phenomenon that has changed leadership and management forever. Our project management blog has covered many of these developments in depth.

While there is some truth in this viewpoint, it is important not to get consumed by all the hype and media headlines. Virtual leadership has been around for many years, and certainly long before COVID-19 appeared. Many organisations have had to manage staff, teams, customers and suppliers across multiple offices, locations and time zones for decades.

The change is that post-COVID-19, this geographic spread has become more mainstream and effectively the norm for many industries in the Post-Pandemic world.

What Skills and Capabilities are Needed for Virtual Leadership?

Again, it is important not to think of virtual leadership skills and capabilities as something new that has only appeared since 2020. I would look at virtual leadership as a sub-set or an ‘add-in’ to the more traditional or baseline toolkit of leadership capabilities, skill sets, and approaches that have existed since time began. Want to become a better leader? Take a look at our Project Leadership and Management Diploma.

Therefore, what are the traditional leadership skills?

Going back to basics, leadership is the ability to guide, inspire, and influence individuals or groups to achieve a common goal while fostering a positive and productive environment.

This means that good leaders not only focus on outcomes, but also, very importantly, on the human aspects of their team members.

• Visionary Thinking: A good leader sets a clear and compelling vision for the future, aligns team goals with the broader mission and inspires others to work toward achieving them.
• Empathy: They have a real understanding of their team(s) and prioritise their needs, concerns, and aspirations. In other words, they build strong relationships and foster a supportive environment.
• Effective Communication: Good leaders communicate clearly, listen actively, and ensure transparency (as much as possible). They understand that their communication style must suit different audiences and situations.
• Integrity and Accountability: Good leaders act with integrity, act ethically, lead by example, and hold themselves accountable for their actions. This creates a culture of trust by being consistent and honest.
• Adaptability: They are flexible and can navigate change and uncertainty.
• Encouraging: They encourage their teams to innovate and embrace new challenges.
• Decision-Making Skills: Good leaders make informed, timely decisions while considering the input of others. This means they will balance logic and intuition to solve problems.
• Empowerment: They delegate effectively, trust their team, and empower individuals to take ownership.
• Staff Development: They invest in their team’s growth by providing guidance, resources, and opportunities for development.
• Resilience: They remain calm and composed under pressure, setting a positive example for their team.

What Extra Skills and Capabilities are Needed for Virtual Leadership?

If the above is followed, then it should give any manager a solid foundation for leadership, but further capabilities are needed to cope with the post-pandemic world.

Again, the focus of these extra skills is on the human nature of management and leadership.

These skills can be summarised as follows:

• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Managers need to recognise and address the challenges of remote working, such as isolation, family issues or a poor work-life imbalance. This means managers need to be flexible in both accommodating individual needs and being able to ‘read between the lines’ to understand team morale so they can intervene when necessary.
• Effective Communication: All communication must be clear and concise to avoid misunderstandings, where managers (a) must pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues during video calls or written messages. (b) must become proficient in communication tools (e.g., instant messaging and emails) and (c) provide consistent and regular updates on team objectives, goals and progress (or lack of it). Depending on individual circumstances, different communication methods may be needed. For example, some people prefer emails, whilst others would prefer instant messaging.
• Trust and Transparency: This must be developed to ensure staff are comfortable sharing concerns. Also, all promises must be managed and delivered. Finally, all managers need to be accessible and as supportive as possible.
• Conflict Management: Managers will need a ‘third eye’ to identify conflicts so they can be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible. Unmanaged conflict could fester easily into something very unpleasant. Once any conflict is discovered, managers will require (virtual) arbitration and negotiation skills to identify their causes so they can be addressed rapidly.
• Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusion: Managers need to identify, understand and respect diverse backgrounds and perspectives to create a collaborative and inclusive environment. This could mean that managers may need to allow different working arrangements for other staff to reflect this. For example, time zones, childcare or career arrangements.
• Time Management and Flexibility: Managers need to be able to support different working styles and arrangements, so expectations around working hours, deadlines and deliverables need to be clearly defined. This means managers may need to be proactive to ensure their team focus on the high-priority activities.
• Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork: Because of the dispersed nature of remote work, managers will need to encourage engagement and collaboration. This could be done by holding regular check-in calls, end-of-week virtual drinks, quizzes and other remote social events.
• Technology Expertise: As all communication and interaction will be via technology, all team members will need to be happy with the tools selected. Otherwise, it could breed resentment. As well as being pleased with the tools, all team members need to be fully trained on them to make the best use of the functionality they offer. Professionals looking to build formal credentials in this space may find the PMP Passport a practical next step.
• Feedback and Continuous Leading: As remote work is still relevant and new to many organisations, there is always room for improvement. Therefore, leaders must ensure that they and their teams constantly review how well or badly things are working and not be afraid to try to improve things.

Wrap-up and Summary

While virtual leadership has been around for a while, it has become mainstream for many organisations since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Therefore, managers need skills and capabilities to manage this change in working practices.

However, it is essential to understand that virtual leadership skills should not be looked at in isolation, but as part of the manager’s general ‘toolkit’ of capabilities and skills.

However, with the diverse nature of remote working, managers need to be even more focused on the human side of leadership to ensure their staff are looked after and managed as individual people. Those wanting to stay ahead of the curve may also benefit from exploring the IPM AI Project Professional course, which addresses emerging leadership challenges in an increasingly technology-driven environment.