Page 89 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

68 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

core values, and acting based upon those things rather than blowing
with the wind.
Transformational and charismatic leaders have been studied ex-
tensively. Transformational leaders have a compelling vision, are
11
involved in advancing or improving society or the organization, and
have charisma. Leaders who are simply charismatic may or may not
transformationally advance society—think Hitler or Jim Jones—and
may or may not simply be self-serving. Transformational, charismatic
leaders, however, have vision and are focused on the future. They are
great communicators. They build trust in their leadership through the
strength of their conviction and self-confidence and by being com-
mitted to their followers’ needs and not simply their own self-interest.
They develop personal, strong bonds with their followers, in part by
being emotionally sensitive to their followers’ needs and by being
emotionally expressive. They are, in short, present in their work and in
the lives of their followers. Great leaders don’t have to have charisma,
as Jim Collins reminded us in Good to Great, but they do establish
leadership presence by building relationships .12
We started this chapter with Bill Avey, who demonstrated cutting-
edge telepresence technology for us. We end with Bill, who reminded
us that great leaders transcend technology. He doesn’t see the
leadership role itself changing with the advent of more sophisticated
electronic tools, just that leaders will be thinking about different
things. A virtual leader, for example, will always have to work hard to
establish and communicate the vision but will do it using the tactics
that are available, even if that means putting a vision statement in his
or her virtual room—as Bill does—so that it pops up every time a
team meeting begins. “The good leaders I’ve seen end up figuring out
a way to be good leaders. I just don’t see the technology as making the
good leaders good. It’s that the good leaders figure out how to use the
technology.”
Until the day comes that technology becomes sophisticated to the
point that we can suspend belief enough to perceive that we are actu-
ally in the presence of another person halfway around the world there
will be a need for physical meetings. In the meantime, savvy leaders