The Surprising Traits of Good Remote Leaders (bbc.com) 37
New data shows that "the confidence, intelligence and extroversion that have long propelled ambitious workers into the executive suite are not enough online because they simply don't translate into virtual leadership," writes Arianna Cohen via the BBC. "Instead, workers who are organized, dependable and productive take the reins of virtual teams." From the report: The study, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, tracked 220 US-based teams to see which team members emerged as leaders across in-person, virtual and hybrid groups. The researchers conducted a series of in-lab experiments with 86 four-person teams, and also traced the communications and experiences of 134 teams doing a semester-long project in a university class (students are commonly used as proxy for workers in leadership research). The study was carried out pre-pandemic, focusing on emergent leaders: those perceived as leaders, and whose influence is willingly accepted.
As expected, the face-to-face teams chose leaders with the same confident, magnetic, smart-seeming extroverted traits that we often see in organizational leaders. But those chosen as remote leaders were doers, who tended towards planning, connecting teammates with help and resources, keeping an eye on upcoming tasks and, most importantly, getting things done. These leaders were goal-focused, productive, dependable and helpful. In other words, virtually, the emphasis shifts from saying to doing. This discovery is timely, as most of our workplace in-person teams are now all or partially digital operations in the wake of the pandemic.
As expected, the face-to-face teams chose leaders with the same confident, magnetic, smart-seeming extroverted traits that we often see in organizational leaders. But those chosen as remote leaders were doers, who tended towards planning, connecting teammates with help and resources, keeping an eye on upcoming tasks and, most importantly, getting things done. These leaders were goal-focused, productive, dependable and helpful. In other words, virtually, the emphasis shifts from saying to doing. This discovery is timely, as most of our workplace in-person teams are now all or partially digital operations in the wake of the pandemic.
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Funny! As a Republican, all I see in Trump is his MOUTH.
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I never knew trolls had such a strong sense of irony.
Introverts in charge! (Score:5, Informative)
The COVID lock downs and social distancing seem to be a boon to highly technical, competent people who heretofore missed out on leadership opportunities due to their introvert tendencies. Their careers may be on the rise! Woot!
How frustrating is it when a highly extroverted but otherwise incompetent person is awarded a tech lead or management position? I've seen many teams and organizations crash and burn because of this. Strangely, the one in charge rarely takes the fall. Blame-throwing is surprisingly successful.
Re:Introverts in charge! (Score:5, Insightful)
There is more to it than that. Online leaves a complete track record of everything going on. For many a psychopath, that excludes them politically gaming the system. The psychopath, blaming other people for the mistake of the psychopath and of course the psychopath taking credit for other peoples work and finally no chance for the psychopath to jam their nose up the bosses butt so far, they can smell what the boss is smelling before the boss does. Corporate politics is crippled by the online record of who did what when. The psychopaths with leave to go to more exploitable shores because they are screwed relying on their own crap work and ideas.
Re: Introverts in charge! (Score:2)
I have felt your pain my friend!
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I'm hoping useless and obstructive types will get forced out of companies and won't be able to pass interviews anywhere in the western world. They can go apply for the Indian equivalent of a H1(B) visa and stop damaging our workplaces and our economy.
Making that work for us (Score:3)
> How frustrating is it when a highly extroverted but otherwise incompetent person is awarded a tech lead or management position? I've seen many teams and organizations crash and burn because of this
Your comment reminded of two jobs I had where a co-worker wasn't all that good technically. They were, however, good at keeping track of what needs to be done, following up, emailing vendors, etc. I encouraged them to ripen those skills, to learn more about project management, etc. I also publicly and repeat
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I also was reminded of a Co-Worker at a place where I worked. She was a programmer. Not a particularly good one, but I noticed that during code reviews she was very conscientious about listening to recommendations and following through.
I left that job, but maybe a year or two later I talked to some people who were still there. They said she became a manager, I think something like a project manager, and they said she was really good at it.
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Excellent strategy, and it does work wonders. The first rule of leadership for me is: treat your people like experts. Tell them they are the experts in for your team; ask them for advice in those areas, allow them to make decisions in those areas. Give them responsibility, and let them know that you and the rest of the team are counting on them. It's worked wonderfully for me in the past; people will work their asses off to become the expert you are treating them as, and the positive culture within the tea
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I'd love to work somewhere that had a management style like that just once before I check out of the work force in twenty or thirty more years. Most places I've worked seem to adhere to the old adage, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."
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> I'd love to work somewhere that had a management style like that just ... Most places I've worked seem to adhere to the old adage, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."
I don't recall what field you're in, but if you're on Slashdot there is a good chance you could pay a little bit more attention to where you choose to work.
If you're going to be working 20+ more years, you could DEFINITELY choose 2-3 companies you want to work for, check out their job listings, and make a pla
Re: Making that work for us (Score:3)
I've certainly seen non-technical or marginally effective technical people evolve and eventually succeed in leadership roles. Without exception, everyone of them was thoughtful, genuine, and eager to foster the advancement of their subordinates. Interestingly, I don't think that I classify any of them as extroverted. Instead, I'd characterize their leadership styles as friendly, confident, and competent.
The folks described above are not the ones that I referenced/described in my original post. Personally, d
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What you're describing is a narcissistic personality (probably a psychopathic one).
Monkeys can't tell who has the biggest banana... (Score:3)
... over the phone. So they have to use different measures about who'll be the best monkey king. Sad thing is that they never figure out they're still monkeys. Poor monkeys...
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Somehow this reminds me of Aesop's fable about the Frogs and Their King.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frogs_Who_Desired_a_King [wikipedia.org]
So, bullsh*t is no longer enough (Score:5, Insightful)
One has to actually produce. In other words, a meritocracy which is the way things should be. No, 6'2" alpha male blowhard, you can't bully your way to the top anymore. This would also explain why the CEO of Netflix, arguably a alpha male blowhard, wants employees to come back to the office ASAP. Can't have stockholders thinking he's useless.
Green Screen (Score:2)
In no small part due to this whole working from home thing, and live video, I'm gonna set up a green screen background and add a little zest to otherwise dull conference calls. Skydiving, scuba, sex, whatever. Should provoke some interest...
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Posting about what you're going to do is a perfect example of what this study is talking about - talking about what you would like to do, rather than doing it.
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You can do virtual backgrounds in zoom, You don't need a green screen. It works great and it's fun.
One of the surprising traits... (Score:2, Interesting)
Radio to television. (Score:2)
We saw something similar when reporting went from radio to television. People who only heard the politician made a different choice to the people who saw the politician speak.
While society may value things like affability, reliability, civility, hygiene, employment, wealth and beauty, on an individual level, we vote for the person that we like. That means a person who makes us feel valuable and claims to be just like us.
These leaders were goal-focused ...
Take-away the in-person human connection and we judge a person using objectivity.
"Surprising Traits"? (Score:2)
What were they expecting? Paranoid, disorganized, hostile? Incoherent, incompetent, introverted?
I'm somehow not surprised by how inane and useless this article is.
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Though personally I never found mere confidence and extroversion to translate all that well to good leadership. It helps you chair meetings, but the other stuff
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...but the other stuff mentioned in the article like being good at planning, organizing, and getting things done are more important in face-to-face teams as well.
That's probably why there are so many offices where everyone knows the big boss's executive assistant is the one that really runs things. The actual executive just acts as a figurehead and collects the big bux.
That may also explain why there are so many companies where in the middle of a HUGE expansion of productivity they can't afford to hire more people and pay them well.
surprising omissions (Score:2)
I'm not sure how they measured leadership but 'getting things done' is just one arm of leadership.
Setting and communicating a vision is another, motivating people and managing their morale is one, shielding teams from corporate silliness matters..
Someone else touched on treating their people as experts. A great leader - on or offline - will achieve good outcomes without needing to 'do' a single thing. I've had projects where I've done 80% of the work and I've had projects where I've done none of it. They al
They were never good enough (Score:3)
New data shows that "the confidence, intelligence and extroversion that have long propelled ambitious workers into the executive suite are not enough online because they simply don't translate into virtual leadership,"
They weren't enough offline, either. Confidence, intelligence, and extroversion are only some of the traits of an effective manager. They have ALWAYS needed all the same stuff that this article is claiming they need online. Most of them have never been good at anything other than making themselves look like hot shit, though, which is why so many people suffer under ineffectual management.
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Very much so. Suddenly, it counts what they actually can do instead of what kind of shod they can provide.
But Covid-19 is not the only thing that is moving in on the fakers. There is a newer discipline called "evidence-based management", which basically does away with the show, the dominance and the "mine is bigger" dysfunctionality. Instead it looks at what approaches actually work. Should put more people with a clue into management.