Assessment of characteristics and competences required for e-leaders and challenges in working with a virtual team

Abstract

The idea of this paper is based on the need to analyse what virtual teams are in general, how they work and collaborate, how to lead them and what are the requirements for leaders of virtual teams, what are the personal qualities and additional competences needed to lead a virtual team, what are the problems and challenges that e-leaders face. It is not easy to build and manage a team in a virtual space, so a scientific study of the challenges of e-leaders in working with a virtual team and the personal qualities and competences needed to overcome them is relevant. The aim of the study is to identify what personal qualities an e-leader needs to be an effective leader and what problems and challenges an e-leader faces in the organization to ensure the smooth running of the team. In order to investigate what qualities and competences an e-leader needs and what challenges they face, it was chosen to carry out an expert evaluation (6 experts) using a questionnaire survey method. A research questionnaire was developed on the basis of the literature analysis. Kendall’s concordance coefficients (W) were calculated for the consistency of the experts’ opinions, and a multi-criteria evaluation method (SAW) was chosen for the processing of results. The results showed that the most important personal qualities and competences of an e-leader are communication and time management. The least demanding qualities for an e-leader are emotional intelligence and empathy, while the main challenge for an e-leader is teamwork effectiveness. The applicability of the results is relevant for companies with teams working remotely, for recruiting new e-leaders, or for selecting in-house training for existing employees.