The  virtual  leader  enacts  the  cultural  setting  found  more  beneficial  to   reach  the  outlined  goals

Fit  with  the  structuring  level.  Leaders  who  connect  the  social  strings  of  their  virtual   organisations  by  taking  part  in,  supporting  and  arranging  sociability-­‐increasing  events   will  at  the  same  time  ground  social  structures  that  can  knit  the  work  processes  closer   together  and  secure  performance  despite  geographical  dispersion.    

Fit  with  the  empowering  level.  Through  the  leader’s  stimulation  of  sociability  and   solidarity  and  the  following  move  towards  the  communal  culture,  group  members  can   feel  calmer  about  working  in  safe  settings,  inspired  by  the  backing  of  the  other  group   members  and  empowered  to  pursue  individual  as  well  as  organisational  goals.  

Fit  with  the  enacting  level.  It  is  up  to  the  leader  of  the  virtual  organisation  to  enact  the   cultural  setting,  which  is  found  more  beneficial  to  reach  the  outlined  goals.  Most  

important  is  not  that  the  organisational  settles  into  a  communal  culture;  most  important   is  that  the  organisational  members  can  find  reasonableness  in  the  dispositions  of  their   employer.  

Hypothesis  4:  The  virtual  leader  supports  events  to  ground  social  structures  and  

Virtual  leader  as  director  

The  ability  to  identify  goals  and  direct  the  team  towards  those  goals  is  a  vital  component   of  virtual  leadership.  In  the  case  of  Schippers,  the  laid  out  direction  is  to  secure  the  next   round  of  financing  and  this  milestone  serves  to  increase  the  excitement  and  motivation   of  the  team.  The  fact  that  the  goal  contains  extrinsically  motivating  outcomes  in  the   shape  of  stock  options  only  helps  to  secure  the  team’s  performance.  

     Rollinson  (2008:477)  addresses  the  benefits,   which  leaders  can  derive  from  having  clear  and   explicit  goals  and  draws  up  eight  areas.  First,  goals   signal  action  guidelines,  as  when  Schippers  points   to  the  financing  round,  a  list  of  tasks  is  included  as   a  premise.  Second,  goals  set  constraints  on  action,   that  is,  when  firm  priorities  indicate  things  that   should  not  occur.  Third,  goals  are  sources  of   legitimacy,  meaning  goals  justify  an  organisation’s   existence  and  activities  to  external  stakeholders   and  this  helps  with  the  acquisition  of  necessary   resources.  Fourth,  goals  set  standards  of  

performance,  for  example  when  Schippers  indicates  what  should  be  achieved,  standards   are  set  against  which  future  performance  can  be  evaluated.  Fifth,  goals  justify  evaluation   and  control  by  implying  that  performance  should  be  monitored  and  thereby  allowing   remedial  action  to  be  taken  to  correct  performance  deficiencies.  Sixth,  goals  are  sources   of  motivation,  when  explicit  statements  of  what  should  be  achieved  are  perceived  as   challenges  to  employees  leading  to  a  motivational  effect.  Seventh,  goals  are  basis  for   organising  in  prompting  consideration  of  factors  such  as  structure,  technology  and  the   human  resources  that  are  necessary  for  goal  achievement.  Eighth,  goals  are  facilitators   of  planning,  as  they  do  not  only  specify  what  should  be  achieved,  but  also  time  horizons  

Once  we  do  the  next  round  of  financing  they  will  all  get  stock  options  and  I   think  at  this  point  people  have  really  bought  into  the  vision,  they  can  sort   of  see  where  Workstreamer  is  going  and  because  of  that,  they  are  really   excited  about  the  opportunity  to  help  us  get  the  next  round  of  financing,   because  then  they  will  get  stock  options.            (Schippers,  4)  

Model  9  –  Benefits  from  clear  direction   (Based  on  Rollinson,  2008:477)  

(e.g.  a  deadline  for  the  financing  round),  which  enables  activities  to  be  coordinated  and   resources  to  be  available  when  they  are  needed.    

In  traditional  organisations  clear  and  explicit  goals  may  carry  less  weight  due  to  the   leader’s  ability  to  constantly  observe  and  adjust  performance  of  the  actual  work  as  it  is   being  done.  This  process  intimacy  is  lacking  in  virtual  organisations  and  therefore  the   leader’s  actions  for  directing  goals  are  particularly  important  within  these  settings.    

Having  established  the  role  of  the  virtual  leader  as   director,  we  can  further  examine  the  key  areas  for   organisational  goals  as  presented  by  Rollinson   (2008:479).  He  emphasises  market  share   (signalling  the  virtual  organisation’s  intended   position),  innovation  (staying  apace  with,  or  ahead   of,  competitors),  productivity  (promoting  internal   efficiency  in  the  virtual  organisation),  physical  and   financial  resources  (ensuring  adequate  finance  and   other  resources  for  the  company),  profitability   (ensuring  adequate  return  to  financial  

stakeholders),  manager  performance  and  

development  (managerial  quality  assumed  to  be  the  most  important  factor  in   organisational  success),  employee  performance  (if  an  organisation  develops  its  

managers,  it  should  also  develop  other  employees)  and  social  responsibility  (ensuring   that  the  firm  responds  appropriately  to  wider  society).    

In  short,  virtual  leaders  should  formulate  goals  that  define  and  plan  positioning,   innovation,  productivity,  resources,  profitability,  leadership,  performance  and  social   responsibility.    

Model  10  –  Areas  requiring  direction   (Based  on  Rollinson,  2008:477)  

Fit  with  the  structuring  level.  By  defining  and  presenting  clear  directions  within  the   prominent  strategic  areas,  leaders  of  virtual  organisations  reap  the  benefits  of  

structuring  elements  such  as  standards,  guidelines,  constraints,  planning  and  evaluation,   all  of  which  help  to  secure  the  team’s  performance.  

Fit  with  the  empowering  level.  Leaders  of  virtual  organisations  can  through  steps  of   direction  assign  tasks  to  individual  employees,  regulate  areas  of  responsibility  and   thereby  optimise  the  sources  of  motivation.  Ideally,  the  leader’s  direction  and   accompanying  tasks  infuse  greater  employee-­‐experienced  empowerment.  

Fit  with  the  enacting  level.  When  leaders  of  virtual  organisations  choose  and  

communicate  the  direction,  it  is  pivotal  that  the  defined  goals  live  up  to  requirements  of   both  sensemaking  and  productivity  to  maintain  or  strengthen  the  environment  enacted   for  reasons  of  sensemaking.  Furthermore,  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  perception  of  all   team  members.    

Hypothesis  8:  The  virtual  leader  assigns  tasks  to  individual  employees  to  optimise