Situational leadership: Managing the virtual project team

Shifting work patterns and increasing organisational cooperations have led to electronically integrated “unbounded” organisations and virtual teams. This study is pivotal in exploring the project manager’s leadership style and control in managing changing project boundaries and permeable interfaces. A survey of clinical research projects indicates that project managers are not overly affected by internal market mechanisms or constraints on face‐to‐face interactions. However, certain project variables such as project objectives, team size, frequency of team changes and project duration play significant roles in the relationship between the project leader and his/her perception of project difficulties. The study’s observations and conclusions are useful to the project owner/sponsor as well as the project manager; either might seek to select situations that would best match the manager’s inclination or style and to avoid projects that are likely to present him/her with situations that are counter to his/her default preference.