| The use of dispersed teams is widespread in today's organizations. Previous research indicates that dispersed environments challenge early interaction when team members are unfamiliar with each other and working on complex, interdependent tasks over a short period of time. This study was conducted to explore how leaders may overcome some of the difficulties found in dispersed collaboration under these conditions. Results revealed that leader structuring led to higher levels of team mental models, process efficacy, and team process. In addition, leaders who provided structuring of team process and facilitated team social cohesion resulted in the highest levels of team performance. Finally, results indicate that the effects of leadership were much stronger for dispersed than collocated teams. |
