View of E-LEADERSHIP- THE NEW NORMAL

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VOLUME: 08, SPECIAL ISSUE 05, (IC-MTSBEMET-2021), Paper id-IJIERM-VIII-V, July 2021

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E-LEADERSHIP- THE NEW NORMAL

Shilpa Sandhu¹

Assistant Professor, University School of Business (USB), Chandigarh University Medha Gupta²

Assistant Professor, University School of Business (USB), Chandigarh University

Abstract:- Leaders face unforeseen possibilities as well as obstacles as they strive to achieve their goals in a globalized world marked by critical technological advancements. The latest technological advancements, such as the internet an de-commerce, have altered the way businesses operate. As a result, in the contemporary corporate environment, new forms of organizations (virtual companies) and a modern & innovative leadership form (e- leadership) are emerging. The purpose of this study is to look into the present qualities for example, mobility and e-communication abilities and obstacles of E-leaders in businesses, as well as to emphasize the study‟s recommendations. As a result, i twas established that e leadership is emerging as a new concept for the era, and that it is evolving as a result of recent technological advancement.

Keywords: E-leadership, Virtual organizations, virtual teams, Information and communication technologies, IC

1-INTRODUCTION

Because of digitalization, automation, and individualization, the present working environment is continually evolving. Fixed working hours and locations are being dissolved as digital information and communication technologies (ICT) become more widely employed.(Gurr, 2004). As a result, "New Ways of Working" are surfacing. As a result of new developments, particularly technological advancements, a distinct style of leadership has emerged as a means of adjusting to changing economic conditions; this adaptation is known as Virtual Organization (VO). Simultaneously, VO partners have become more reliant on the Virtual Team (VT) to complete multitasks and longer-distance projects.(Alfehaid & Mohamed, 2019)

In a virtual environment, e-leaders and VTs may confront numerous problems in establishing and maintaining competitive advantages. Because trust and influence are difficult to establish, communication is likewise more difficult. The current technological revolution has introduced a new set of technologies that necessitate the necessity to organize work in specific ways. We're moving from an industrial to a networked era. This transitionis creating a tremendous change, instability in the workplace. Organizational and leadership transitions must be updated on a regular basis. Many organizations are trapped between traditional industrial-era organizational structures and new information technology. As a result, leaders are confronted with whole new issues, and they are discovering that old solutions to new problems no longer work. They are dealing with e leadership.(Lynn Pulley & Sessa, 2001).

All businesses now conduct business over the internet and across national borders, traditional leadership is no longer effective in managing and leading businesses to achieve organizational goals. A new style of leadership is required to go beyond traditional leadership and achieve organizational goals. E-leadership, in which the leader instructs his followers using ICT and an electronic medium, can play an essential role in this regard. The electronic media has taken the place of traditional face-to-face connection. After the introduction of the internet, the letter „E' became popular. Electronic mail (e-mail) was the first word to have the letter „E' added before it. Then there's e-commerce, e-books, and e- seminar etc. and now e leadership started to be a part of this revolution(Aggarwal, 2014).

1.1 E- leadership

E-leadership refers to leadership in the new period, notably the information age, which is defined by rapid technological advancements and a global economy in which enterprises frequently travel across borders to make money. E-leadership is defined as a social impact process mediated by AIT that results in a change in individuals, groups, and/or organizations' attitudes, feelings, thinking, behavior, and/or performance. E-leadership can

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take place at any organizational level, involving one-to-one and one-to-many interactions within and across big units and organizations. As its locus shifts over time, it may be connected with a single person or shared by numerous.(B. and Avolio & Dodge, 2014) E leadership, like traditional leadership, may be motivating. This happens when a leader uses email or other forms of electronic communication to do various duties in the organization. The goal of e leadership is to improve the interactions between organizational members that are specified by the structure of the organization.(B. J. Avolio & Kahai, 2003) 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

(Zaccaro & Bader, 2003) Organizational and leadership engagement has become increasingly pervasive. The paper highlighted the advantages of e-teams by emphasizing on leader roles and e-team effectiveness thus talking about the need for the training and development of e-leaders.

(Zhang & Fjermestad, 2006) highlighted that research on e-leadership is more comprehensive and diverse if leadership theories like trait and contingency theory are applied properly. In the context of a virtual team, three crucial leadership attributes are discussed: Communication ability, surrounding awareness, and strength of persuasion.

(Bansal, 2008) determined the effect of a leader's physical absence in BPO companies, i.e., where he communicates with his members of the team via IT-mediated means and vice versa. Motivation, Trust, Commitment, Organizational Culture, and Performance are among the various measures used in the study.

(Control et al., 2008) highlighted that virtual team performance is better as leadership is distributed among the members of the team. The paper studied 96 software development group spread worldwide and highlighted that leader dominate judgement power and give teammates little liberty to complete their duties. These leaders unknowingly endanger digital team success by restricting teammates from excelling.

(Khawaj, 2009) determined Virtual companies are the new organizational shape, E- environment is the new work environment, and E-leadership is the emerging leadership style. The new contact between the management and the employees is the distinctive aspect of E-leadership. The typical facial connection is being phased out in favor of one handled by technology.

(Aggarwal, 2014) communicated the importance of e-leadership in today‟s scenario by focusing on the need of communication among leader and its followers virtually. Because of advances in Information technology, e-leadership is becoming more popular, and it has a good influence since it eliminates space and time limitations by occurring via the internet.

(Maduka et al., 2018) adopted exploratory study in manufacturing sector. Face to face interview was conducted to know about e-leadership competencies. Transformational leaders are particularly essential to consider when hiring e-managers, according to the paper, since they are known to contribute to strong teams.

(Van Wart et al., 2019)conducted exploratory study for the meaning of e-leadership which was based on six criteria i.e., e-communication skills, e-social skills, e-team building, e-change management, e-technological skills and trustworthiness.

2.1 Objectives of the study

 To draw attention to the characteristics of E-leaders.

 To emphasize the challenges that E-leaders face in today's technologically driven business environment.

 Make recommendations and ideas based on the findings.

3 DATA AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research is based on secondary data gathered from a variety of published sources, including websites, books, papers, and journals.

3.1 Qualities of E-leaders-

 E-communication Skill- Digital information is really transparent and well arranged, and it enables for comments to eliminate mistakes and unproven preconceptions.(Van Wart et al., 2019). E-leaders rely heavily on e-mails, therefore

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they should be proficient in written communication in order to encourage their people to take his instructions.(Aggarwal, 2014)

 Team Mates' Capabilities Should Be Respected- Virtual team members with strong intellectual skills and drive are more likely to think about the overall project objectives (rather than simply their job packages) and assist guide the group in achieving goals.(Control et al., 2008)

 Providing continuous feedback- E-leader's skill to supply regular updates is critical to getting high-performance results in a group. Furthermore, providing feedback is vital for effective in terms of building and mutual relationships, as well as achieving and sustaining mutual consent between group mates for team outcomes arriving from executives to followers; and, more broadly, for enhancing teammates encouragement, fulfilment, as well as productivity.(Maduka et al., 2018)

 Mobility- He should be adaptable enough to adapt to changing global economy and technical environment so that only he can carry out his duties in order to accomplish market goals while maintaining the global business environment in consideration.(Aggarwal, 2014)

 Ability to form e-team- Implies that in effective communication, team building takes place. That is, shows that relevant groups have inaugural events, a realistic sense of responsibility, and motivation on a regular basis. Assists in the correct introduction and integration of new digital employees.(Van Wart et al., 2019)

 Knowledge of using Technology- Managers must provide more worth towards the table for discussion of technology and production expertise in order to establish confidence in their positions. ICT is used to illustrate the success of e-leadership.

ICT is used to illustrate the success of virtual leadership. As a consequence, executives must guarantee that participants know about using these tools in order for them to be effective.(Maduka et al., 2018)

3.2 Challenges for E- leaders:

“The evolution of technology has presented challenges to organizational leaders in terms of the proper use of technology... in interacting with followers,” according to the report.

Technology, on the other hand, allows the leader to work from anywhere, which now comes with the added benefit of an innovative style of communication via videoconferencing platforms, emails, and the usage of Wi-Fi and smart phones – all as tools to improve productivity. These compliments, on the other hand, do not come on a silver platter. They bring with them extra challenges for the leader, requiring more skills and competences from both the leader and the group members. The biggest hurdles, according to research, are often related to building and maintaining trust, distance and time-related issues, and issues deriving from cultural differences and diversity. The following are the main sources of challenges:: -

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Trust: In order for multinational coalitions to succeed, mutual trust is essential and It's critical in virtual teams when there's a lot of ambiguity and you don't know everything about everyone. (Child, 2001). Trust is built on the belief that team members are trustworthy and will meet or exceed team expectations by delivering what they promise. This is especially important in virtual teams, where trust is built by repeatedly setting expectations and delivering results that meet or exceed those expectations. (Cascio & Shurygailo, 2003).Because such dynamics take time to develop, e-teams are often formed for a time-limited goal or assignment, which can present issues when trying to build trust and cohesion within the group. Integrating team members through positive dynamics produced through shared efforts builds trust. Effective teams go through stages in which they establish high levels of cohesion and trust, and members learn effective ways of communicating and creating collaborative standard operating procedures, which helps the team gain trust. Hence, trust is related to motivation and they are able to meet the joint challenges (Zaccaro & Bader, 2003).

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Communication: For various reasons, face-to-face communication is preferable over computer-mediated communication. For starters, it's more prevalent in nonverbal (i.e., visual) clues. Second, it reduces information loss caused by the

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usage of numerous communication channels at the same time. Third, it maximizes social presence and conversational participation.(Purvanova & Bono, 2009). As a result, communicating across cultures offers E-leaders with unique obstacles, such as dealing with team members who don't share a common context or who must talk inferentially because they don't have enough time to convey everything they want to say (polychromic). Effective cross-cultural communication necessitates sensitivity, trust-building abilities, and the ability to form healthy relationships to bridge the communication gap (Intercultural, 2015). As a result, E-leaders must strongly motivate and inspire the internationally dispersed team in order to promote team cohesion and synergy.

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Distance and Time: The distance is one of E-leaders' most difficult tasks. Physical distance, operational distance, and cultural distance are all examples of distance. As a result, E-leaders can bridge the functional, physical, and cultural divide by promptly responding to the demands of geographically scattered team members, improving sentiments of connection, and applying the appropriate information technologies, may create a successful virtual team. As a result, E-leaders must proactively mitigate time-related stress and deadlines that are inherent to virtual projects, as well as quickly address arising issues and effectively coordinate team members' tasks across time zones, allowing team members' expertise, talent, and competence to be fully harnessed and team success to be maximized(Lilian, 2014).

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Diversity: Diversity refers to the range in human structure, belief systems, and adaptation techniques that occur within diverse groups and individuals. Culture, geographic location, communication style, and other variables can all contribute to diversity. Many communication issues can be explained by the distinction between high and low context.

E-leaders must have a cultural mindset, which is defined as “a method of thinking that considers culture, decision-making, and behaviors.” By having a cultural attitude that goes beyond a simple set of E-leader skills, E-leaders may be necessary to turn diversity difficulties into opportunities.(Lilian, 2014).

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Effectively communicating with people through the electronic medium- this is a significant problem for e-leaders because it necessitates ICT skills on both sides.

Both the leader and the following should be able to communicate online.(Aggarwal, 2014).

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Monitoring and controlling virtual employees- It's also tough for the virtual leader to keep track of whether or not his virtual employees are following his instructions. Controlling people in a virtual setting is also a significant task for the e leader.(Aggarwal, 2014).

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It is a significant challenge for e-leaders to develop the technical competence of both his followers and himself.

4 SUGGESTIONS FOR E-LEADERS

 Training- Leaders and subordinates should both receive sufficient coaching in order to pass on expertise of the most up-to-date communication techniques. We all realize that information and communication technology (ICT) is the foundation for e- leadership. Organizations cannot employ e-leadership effectively unless they have a thorough understanding of current digital technologies.(Aggarwal, 2014)

 Usage of Facial interaction- We've established that the e-leader does not need to communicate with his supporters meeting in person. However, in the absence of facial engagement, the e-leader may struggle to observe the members' expressions and responses to his directions. It could be tough for the e-leader to effectively lead and manage his or her members. As a result, visual conferencing could be used to allow the e-leader and his members to communicate by making eye contact.(Aggarwal, 2014)

 Prevent the "Burden Dilemma" by loosening the restraints - It is vital for supervisors to give group mates liberty and to actively engage in decisions. As group leaders held accountable by their higher managers for team's success, they frequently aim to preserve authority over the statement mechanism.Furthermore,

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giving group member liberty is frequently perceived as enhancing the group leader's risk. The “burden dilemma” is a term we use to describe this situation.Supervisors who fall into this pitfall may foster leadership behaviours in their groups, but owing to manager decision making, those who could still lose. Group members rapidly pick up on irregularities like these and avoid taking part in collaborative work, no matter how extreme it is promoted.(Control et al., 2008)

 Transforming into a True Group Player- Players on the group feel alienated from the group leader, who is frequently viewed as a representation of administration rather as an actual group member. Project managers, on the other hand, would become more regarded and trustworthy team mates if they see oneself as facilitating team task completion by involvement in team building, just like any other group member. As a result, workers will participate in much more effective communication practices, promoting the really primary aim of virtual teams: the blending of group members' experience across geographical boundaries.(Control et al., 2008)

5 CONCLUSION

Leadership means the ability to motivate and influence the followers to do the work. The requirement of leadership has increased in the virtual scenario and we called it as e- leadership. Traditional leadership will no longer be successful in handling and contributing the industry to accomplish its mission because all businesses now conduct business online and across country boundaries, necessitating the need for a new approach to politics that goes beyond old leadership. The paper highlighted the challenges and qualities for the e- leaders in managing their teams. The future research can be done in finding out the new style or method of leadership in organization.

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