<p dir="ltr">This mixed-method grounded theory study developed and tested a new framework for leading geographically dispersed teams. With the dramatic shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders now face new challenges in developing corporate strategies and approaches to leadership without proximity to their teams. However, existing leadership literature has yet to catch up to this new reality.</p><p dir="ltr">Grounded in interviews with business leaders and a quantitative survey of 100 leaders and 100 employees, this study identified communication frequency and trust-building as vital for reducing uncertainty. It also found that promoting employee well-being requires relationship-centered leadership and constructing inclusive cultures. Ultimately, leading at a distance requires adapting leadership development and reevaluating organizational design to focus on alignment, transparency, and culture-building.</p><p dir="ltr">The resulting framework identifies specific leader competencies needed for remote management. It emphasizes the importance of leader visibility, constructive feedback practices, and crisis readiness. The framework highlights new imperatives in meeting design, goal-setting, professional development, and performance management. Finally, it calls for policies that promote work-life balance through comprehensive flexibility.</p><p dir="ltr">This study provides theoretical and practical guidance with hybrid and remote work arrangements likely to persist post-pandemic. It demonstrates the effectiveness of grounded theory methodology in new research contexts. The framework presented lays the foundation for leadership approaches that empower productivity and well-being across distributed teams.</p>

<p>COVID-19 forced mass transitions to remote working across industries, significantly so in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). ICT divisions were significantly tested as the provided service and support for remote work/learning. The purpose of this research is to characterize successful ICT practices in support of remote work/learning within HEIs. </p> <p><br></p> <p>This study investigates the current literature on HEIs, remote work ICT support, and Critical Success Factors (CSFs). Gaps in the current knowledge inform investigation into the factors of successful support as identified by HEI ICT professionals. A narrative literature review is conducted to explore the research on HEIs, remote work ICT support, and CSFs. Thereafter, subject matter experts are interviewed through a semi-structured interview approach. Content analysis is employed to characterize successful ICT support to remote work within HEIs. </p> <p><br></p> <p>While ICT support took on many different approaches in HEIs across North America, several themes emerged as consistent to providing successful ICT support to remote learning. The characteristics of successful support to remote work/learning are organized under the following themes: leadership qualities, customer emphasis, RW ICT tools, organizational factors, and combating digital inequity. This study offers practitioners areas of consideration to examine their plans and policies. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Future research is proposed to include studies on other emergency events, the impacts of covid lockdown on future policies, military education, and demographic specific research. Remote work practices and strategies vary greatly by industry and organizational structure. This research focuses on HEIs thus generalizability may be limited. </p>