Leading Distributed Teams: The Communicative Constitution of Leadership

Mapping leadership, communication and collaboration in short-term distributed teams across various contexts: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Increased globalisation and technological advancements have led to the emergence of distributed teams in various sectors, including healthcare. However, our understanding of how leadership, communication and collaboration influence distributed healthcare teams remains limited.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to map knowledge on leadership, communication and collaboration in short-term distributed teams across various fields to gain insights that could benefit healthcare.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

DATA SOURCE

A database search of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and PsycINFO was conducted in May 2021 and updated in February 2023 and May 2024.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Articles were eligible if they involved leadership, communication or collaboration in distributed short-term teams supported by synchronised audio-visual communication technology. Two researchers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts for inclusion.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Extracted data on leadership, communication and collaboration were synthesised narratively and reported in terms of patterns, advances, gaps, evidence for practice and research recommendations.

RESULTS

Among 6591 articles, 55 met the eligibility criteria, spanning military, engineering, business, industrial and healthcare contexts. The research focus has shifted over time from adverse effects to solutions for overcoming challenges in distributed teams. Inclusive leadership is vital for engaging all team members. 'Team opacity', the absence of non-verbal cues and reduced awareness of team members' actions, can occur in distributed teams relying on technology. Clear communication is crucial for avoiding misunderstandings and fostering collaboration and adaptability. Developing shared mental models and trust is more challenging, leading to uncertainty and reduced information sharing. There is a lack of studies examining how to apply this knowledge to health professionals' education.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the importance of implementing strategies in healthcare to enhance inclusive leadership and improve communication in distributed healthcare settings. More empirical research is needed to understand the intricacy of distributed healthcare settings and identify effective ways to train distributed healthcare teams.

A New Multiteam System (MTS) Effectiveness Model

Team effectiveness models in the literature are primarily concentrated on traditional teams, with few involving the multiteam system (MTS) level of analysis in the model. Teams achieve their goals by managing both teamwork (e.g., interpersonal, effective, motivational, cognitive) and taskwork (e.g., strategy, goal setting, project management) activities. When MTSs are involved, multiple teams manage their own teamwork and taskwork activities, while leadership must be in place to coordinate these activities within and between teams in order to achieve the organization’s goal (the MTS’s goal). This research study conducted a systematic review of current team effectiveness frameworks and models. A narrative-based method for theorizing was utilized to develop a new MTS team effectiveness framework. This research contributes to the MTS literature by providing a new formula for team effectiveness at both the team level (team effectiveness formula) and the MTS level (MTS team effectiveness formula). This research aids managers, practitioners, and researchers by providing a tool that accounts for all levels and temporal processes.

Making Sense When It Matters Most: An Exploratory Study of Leadership In Extremis

Leading in in extremis situations, when lives are in peril, remains one of the least addressed areas of leadership research. Little is known about how leaders make sense in these dangerous situations and communicate these contexts to others. Because most of the literature on in extremis is theoretical, we sought empirical evidence of how sensemaking proceeds in practice. A qualitative study was conducted based on interviews with 30 Army leaders who had recently led teams in combat. Our findings suggest that during these life-threatening situations, sensemaking and sensegiving are actually occurring simultaneously, the type of training leaders receive is critical, and a sense of duty can influence a person’s role as a leader. Our findings have implications for both theory and practice since crisis leadership is now a coveted executive quality for leadership competency.