LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN REMOTE WORKING

This study underscores the pivotal role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in remote leadership, stressing its significance in fostering positive professional relationships, enhancing conflict resolution, and maintaining emotional balance—essential for effective remote team management. It highlights the need to adapt traditional leadership skills for remote environments, emphasizing clearer communication, enhancing empathy, and engagement strategies without face-to-face interaction. Task-oriented leadership is reinforced by electronic communication, which clarifies task and goal assignments, crucial when information exchange is limited. Relational-oriented leadership excels in virtual settings, providing autonomy and support, though the lack of physical presence can weaken socio-emotional bonds. Change-oriented leadership, such as transformational leadership, produces mixed results in virtual settings. While the absence of social cues can lessen its impact, it may also improve team cohesion by highlighting broader social identities. Electronic communication, while potentially leading to misunderstandings and reduced socio-emotional contact, also enables quick and spontaneous connections, beneficial for maintaining support. The paper further underscores the necessity of organizational support and continuous learning for leadership development in remote work contexts. Promoting a culture of continuous learning and leveraging technology in training are crucial for developing leaders who can drive innovation and productivity in a digital landscape.