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Findings from a midsized university in southern Ontario highlight practices suited to exclusively virtual teams and those transitioning toward hybrid work.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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Study  \nKatlyn Guzar1 & Daniella Bianchi-Laubsch2  \n1Wilfrid Laurier University, 2William Howard Taft University  \nAbstract  \nDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, student services leaders needed to adapt to working entirely virtually, find creative solutions to adjust their service delivery, and change how they engaged with their teams. Before COVID-19, studies of virtual leadership focused on virtual teams developed because of the geographical distance between team members. This qualitative study investigated virtual leadership and virtual teams developed because of the move to virtual work during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examined how student services leaders changed their leadership behaviours in response to moving to the virtual work environment. Using data gathered through a questionnaire, interviews, and documentation, four themes reflecting how leaders changed their behaviours and practices were identified: reimagining communication, reconstructing work using technology, reframing team support, and reorienting toward hybrid work. Understanding how these leaders managed their virtual teams at a midsized university in southern Ontario provides insight into what practices might be helpful for teams that continue exclusively virtual work and those that transition to a hybrid work approach.  \nKeywords: Virtual leadership, COVID-19, higher education, virtual work, virtual teams, communication, hybrid work  \nIntroduction  \nThe COVID-19 pandemic changed the world and with it the landscape of higher education. At the outset of the pandemic, the majority of university work, including instruction and student services, moved online (Bao, 2020; Blankenberger & Williams, 2020; Parnia, 2020). Parnia (2020) highlighted that this change in modality meant that universities needed to rethink their operations to support the virtual delivery of instruction and services. For student services leaders, this change meant that they needed to find creative solutions to adapt their service delivery. Moreover, it altered how they engaged with their teams. Specifically, student services departments that used to work as teams in person were working entirely remotely.  \nThis qualitative study examined how student services leaders changed their leadership behavioursin response to moving to a virtual work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study aimed to understand the practices used by higher education leaders to manage their virtual teams at amidsized university in southern Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these practices differ from their pre-pandemic practices. More specifically, this study considered how differences between virtual and in-person teams (e.g., what the team characteristics are, how communication occurs, and how technology is used) affect how a team is led.  \nFor this exploratory case study, the following questions were used as a guide:  \n1. How did leaders adapt their leadership practices during the COVID-19 pandemic to suit the virtual working environment?  \n2. How did leaders support their teams in the virtual working environment?  \n3. How did leaders’ communication practices change to suit the virtual working environment?  \n4. How did leaders leverage technology in the virtual working environment?  \n5. How might leaders implement new practices they adopted in an in-person or hybrid working environment?  \nBackground  \nBefore the pandemic, virtual teams were usually comprised of employees too far apart geographically to work together in person. Pullan (2016) explained that for this reason, virtual teams of the past were often made up of diverse people from around the world who could not work together in person. Virtual teams created because of work moving remotely at the beginning of the pandemic comprised employees who were close geographically but who worked from home and did not interact in person (Parnia, 20","cbCaivuBsSIShKtQ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivuBsSIShKtQ","pdf",482143,18,"English","# Introduction\n# Background","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the study address during the COVID-19 pandemic?\",\"answer\":\"It examines how student services leaders needed to adapt to fully virtual work, redesign service delivery, and adjust how they engaged with their teams.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the research conducted?\",\"answer\":\"The study used data gathered through a questionnaire, interviews, and documentation to identify patterns in leadership changes.\"},{\"question\":\"What four themes describe how leaders changed their behaviours and practices?\",\"answer\":\"The themes are reimagining communication, reconstructing work using technology, reframing team support, and reorienting toward hybrid work.\"}]","Examining the Virtual Leadership of Leaders in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Study | PDF",1792084261,45]