| The qualitative phenomenological study explored the challenges and the development of best practices of virtual information technology (IT) team leadership through the in-depth lived experiences and perspectives of 10 national virtual team (NVT) leaders with one or more years of face-to-face and virtual leadership experience within the information technology (IT) industry in the United States. Ten major themes emerged: (a) differences exist between leading ITNVTs versus other virtual teams, (b) some leaders and employees are unfit to work virtually, (c) mentorship and/or training is beneficial to ITNVT leaders, (d) organizational training on virtual teams is beneficial, (e) virtual leadership is more challenging than traditional, face-to-face leadership, (f) IT background for ITNVT leaders is beneficial, (g) virtual work can have a psychological impact on ITNVT members, (h) communication skills are essential for ITNVTs, (i) establishing face-to-face contact in ITNVTs is beneficial, and (j) transformational leadership works well in an ITNVT environment. Recommendations for leaders include (a) providing awareness for non-virtual members of an organization, (b) hiring slowly to hire the right people, (c) incorporating mentorship and/or training for virtual team leaders and members, (d) developing business processes for the virtual team, and (e) developing guidelines for virtual communication. |
