Purpose – The research on virtual team leadership does well to describe the skills that are needed to guide and direct effective teams. However, what is presupposed in the previous research is that virtual teams have assigned leaders. That is, leaders were either management, appointed by management or were chosen by the team itself. Yet in today's global economy not all virtual teams have assigned leaders, instead many virtual team leaders emerge on their own to direct the group's actions. The purpose of this paper is to examine which emergent leadership competencies most impact virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – This is a mixed method study where both a participant survey and content analysis of actual participant messages are used to determine the competencies of emergent virtual team leaders. The research participants for the current study were required to work in assigned teams on organizational case analyses. At the end of each case, teams presented their solutions in the form of final recommendations designed to fix the problem present in the case. Findings – Results indicate that not only do leaders emerge in virtual teams, but in most cases multiple leaders emerge. Results also show that the model that best describes team effectiveness includes the competencies of asking questions, cognitive and creative ability and vision setting. Originality/value – The contribution of the current study is that it extends the research on emergent virtual team leadership by introducing the idea that this type of leadership is often a collective action among individuals. It also advances a model of emergent virtual team leadership as a practice of communication. The better emergent virtual team leaders are at communicating to team members the more effective the team will be in completing tasks and projects, which in turn can lead to a more effectively functioning business unit.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to summarize a series of studies conducted by the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers University from 2003‐2005. Motivating these studies is the recognition that organizational self‐assessment programs such as the Malcolm Baldrige program have achieved prominence and popularity. The paper seeks to focus on the value of the Baldrige program, and, more specifically, the impact of the Excellence in Higher Education (EHE) approach, an adaptation of the Malcolm Baldrige framework tailored specifically for colleges and universities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on a two‐phase investigation of six independent university departments that participated in separate Baldrige/EHE assessment workshops. Through a web‐based survey and in‐person interviews we were interested to discover participants' perceptions of the assessment process, the extent of knowledge acquisition, and extent of organizational change.FindingsFindings suggest that self‐assessment does result in the acquisition of a knowledge and theory base; and leads to the identification of strengths and improvement needs. Results also indicate that in a majority of the departments, the assessment program initiated a genuine commitment to organizational change, one that led to a number of tangible improvements.Originality/valueEnhancing our understanding of the relationship between knowledge acquisition and change is one of the most fundamental and enduring pursuits of social science – one that is absolutely central to organizational development. This study provides an empirical investigation of how these dynamics operate during organizational self‐assessment, an increasingly popular leadership tool for advancing institutions of all kinds.

Purpose – This study aims to examine the potential for the Performance Prism (Neely et al., 2001) to influence the perceived outcome of a planned organizational change. General Systems Theory (Ruben, 1979; Thayer, 1968; vonBertalanffy, 1975) is used to understand the differences in stakeholder perception throughout the institution. Design/methodology/approach – Thirty-two participants from four educational support services departments and the senior leadership group of a university were interviewed. A grounded theory, constant comparative method (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) was used to generate themes and codes from transcripts. Findings – Findings suggest that implementers failed to adequately assess all employees’ satisfaction and contributions prior to implementation. Using the Performance Prism could have been the key to perceptions of success about the change effort. Research limitations/implications – Research comparing the Performance Prism to implemented planned change efforts not using the Performance Prism is limited, especially in higher education. Also limited is research using the Performance Prism and General Systems Theory. Practical implications – Understanding stakeholder satisfaction and contributions throughout the organizational system are vital to planned change efforts, especially in loosely coupled organizations (Gallivan, 2001; Neely et al., 2001; Ruben, 1979). Using the Performance Prism is valuable to further this understanding. Originality/value – The study advances the literature about the use of the Performance Prism in higher education by providing an understanding of the implications of neglecting to consider all stakeholders at all levels of the system in planned change efforts.

Purpose This scoping review aims to examine peer-reviewed literature related to girls’ (age 0–18) and young women’s (age 19–30) leader identity development. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a scoping review. A research librarian was consulted at the start of the project. Two sets of search terms (one for each age group) were identified and then used to find publications via our selected databases. The search results were uploaded to Covidence and evaluated using the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final sample of articles for the review was analyzed using exploratory coding methods. Findings From the analysis, four domains were identified that influence girls’ and young women’s leader identity development: relationships, personal characteristics, meaningful engagement and social identities. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to solely explore girls’ and young women’s leader identity development. The factors and domains identified provide useful guidance for future research and practice. The findings reveal considerations about leader identity that can inform the creation of effective leadership development initiatives for girls early in their lifespan. These interventions could provide girls with a strong leadership foundation that could drastically alter their leadership trajectories in adulthood. Previous research has conveyed the advantages of having more women participate in leadership. Thus, this potential not only benefits girls and women but organizations and society at large.

A common method of data analysis is constant comparison where qualitative researchers look for similarities and differences in the data. Those data that are similar are grouped together under a key word or category. As the researcher reviews data, each new piece of data is compared and contrasted to previous data and sorted into the most relevant category. Once all the data have been reviewed the researcher may find that some categories can be collapsed. Finally, the researcher will look across the categories for patterns or themes to the data.