Introduction
Modern organizations choose remote over office working due to COVID-19. Zillow offers its customers improved selling, buying, and renting experiences (Zillow, no date). The leaders of this real estate company created permanent work-from-home plans and succeeded. This paper analyzes Zillow’s experience, remote work challenges, and traditional vs. contemporary leadership styles.
Challenges Leaders Face due to Ongoing Remote Working.
Today, opinions about remote working vary, demonstrating positive experiences, ambiguous outcomes, and unpredictable challenges. Remote working is a popular practice for employees to perform their jobs distantly from their offices. It continues growing from 5% before the pandemic to 37% today (cited in Yang et al., 2021). Such examples as high productivity, employee autonomy, better health, and flexibility attract attention (Felstead & Henseke, 2017; Jalagat & Jalagat, 2019). Remote working makes people think about organizing their time independently, balancing work-life demands, and communicating (Flores, 2019). Leaders should not spend additional resources promoting office politics and paying high rents to create appropriate working conditions for all employees.
However, a lack of social interaction could provoke loneliness, depression, confusion, misunderstanding, and motivation challenges. Although leaders do everything possible to maintain productivity and dedication, some tension is hard to avoid, even in such well-organized companies as Zillow (Vasel, 2020). Managers cannot ignore the fact that they lose control over their employees and need new skills to be developed in a relatively short period (Savage, 2021). It is also hard to find new employees without mentors who help overcome working challenges (Kelly, 2021). Leaders must introduce new approaches to support the staff and ensure success.
Traditional Leadership Traits and Practices
Despite the already obtained experience and observations, leaders understand that remote working requires additional sources and skills to be identified and properly managed within their organizational settings. One of the initial steps to take when organizing people outside the office is to decide on the leadership style. Today, there are countless studies about different approaches to leadership based on self-reflection and assessment (Dennison, 2021). Sometimes, companies find it possible to combine remote and office working, which facilitates organizational transitions and reduces concerns (Hughes, 2021). In this case, Zillow would like to offer its employees the ability to work from home regularly and follow the examples of other giants like Google, Microsoft, or the Recreational Equipment (REI) Company (Hadden et al., 2020). Therefore, it is necessary to clarify if traditional leadership traits and practices can help modern companies in remote working and learn the advantages and disadvantages of autocratic and democratic styles.
Traditional leadership includes the basics according to which millions of people worked centuries ago or continue working today. Max Weber introduced several forms of leadership, and one of them was traditional, where power was given to a leader following traditions (Burley, 2017). Traditional leaders use their authority to give orders and directions to other employees who have to complete their tasks, which allows for avoiding conflicts. Autocratic or authoritarian leadership is a type of traditional leadership characterized by the possibility of leaders prevailing over their subordinates, making unilateral decisions, and relying on their strength for conviction (Hogg, 2020; Zhang & Xie, 2017). According to Fernandez and Shaw (2020), in remote working because of COVID-19, autocratic leadership may be adequate when various technical problems should be solved quickly. Other advantages embrace prompt decision-making, instructional clarity, and effective directions.
At the same time, many leaders prefer not to use autocratic practices and avoid the development of relevant traits due to their inappropriateness with remote working principles. Companies like Zillow have to make fast decisions in real-time, depending on what several employees know or could offer. Autocratic leaders face certain complexities and uncertainties related to the pandemic and cannot decide without consulting at least several departments (Fernandez & Shaw, 2020). Besides, this type of leadership does not promote a learning mentality, which is necessary for employee motivation and support (cited in Dyczkowska and Dyczkowski, 2018). Most leaders try to control work processes, lower employee contributions and show little respect, which decreases motivation and destroys a life-work balance (Du et al., 2020). As a result, employees neglect the promotion of creativity and challenge productivity.
Democratic leadership is another form of traditional leadership that can be applied in remote working for Zillow’s team. Its main feature is decentralized decision-making when all employees and leaders share their ideas and solve problems (Al Khajeh, 2018). Compared to authoritarian leaders, democratic leaders empower their subordinates, explain their competencies, and underline the worth of cooperation to achieve high-performance results (cited in Dyczkowska and Dyczkowski, 2018). When people work at home, democratic leaders benefit from collaboration, open communication, equal opportunities, and mutual support. If one person faces difficulties understanding a task or accepting new working conditions, another employee or a leader is ready to decide and offer help. Zillow is known for its dedication, productivity, and support among employees (Vasel, 2020). Democratic leadership turns out to be a solid traditional solution to create projects remotely, remain competitive, and motivate.
Although most people believe that democratic leaders do not have problems at their workplace due to the chosen management style, several concerns and changes should be recognized. Remote working is a relatively new practice for many companies, and it is hard for employees to cope with their emotions distantly. Some individuals consider home as a safe place where calm and order can be easily achieved, while others are not able to differentiate between household tasks and work duties (Kennette & Lin, 2021). Democratic leadership provokes procrastination because the team spends much time discussing emotional burdens and finding the most effective solutions. In such organizations, time management and deadlines introduce a serious challenge for remote working in any field. Even if leaders know and understand their responsibilities and have enough resources to support and motivate workers, their managerial capacity is low.
Traditional vs. Contemporary Leadership Styles and Traits
Today’s business is based on a variety of opinions and approaches, and employees do their best to avoid routine and achieve organizational goals. Contemporary leaders find it necessary to use influence and trust and inspire people from different parts of the world. There are many leadership styles for individuals and companies, and charismatic leadership and transformational leadership are examples of contemporary management styles in entrepreneurial settings with their advantages and disadvantages to be evaluated. People usually associate them with dynamic and turbulent ways to organize people and create environments where productivity and satisfaction matter (Harrison, 2018). Regarding the fact that remote working is a poorly investigated area, it is appropriate to implement various styles of leadership, both traditional and contemporary, and clarify which method and traits can be more beneficial.
Transformational leadership is one of the most commonly used styles in modern business. It means the implementation of change at different organizational levels and social systems. Leaders who choose this approach achieve certain benefits because they promote valuable activities, favorable environments, and supportive behaviors (Tang, 2019). One of the main pros of this style is that leaders encourage their employees to accept changes. Remote working is a change that cannot be neglected, and supervisors should be prepared to support and direct their companies. Transformational leaders are the best because they present common causes and follow all ethical standards.
As long as some people admire the outcomes of transformational leadership, many individuals prefer to avoid it because of its drawbacks. Zillow leaders introduced four management principles, focusing on trust, care, productivity, and communication (Cain, 2018). All these are the elements of transformational leadership that cause additional risks and unnecessary burnout. Employees should use all their skills and knowledge to demonstrate care and support and stay adequate to all changes and innovations. This form of contemporary leadership is exhausting, and not many people are ready to take all those risks in a new real world where distance and isolation rule.
Charismatic leaders also impact today’s real estate, and Zillow Company is a good example of how to apply charisma in everyday activities. When a person possesses some radical vision, also known as charisma, they can offer solutions and make followers believe in their power (Harrison, 2018). The retailer’s main task is to rely on an emotional appeal and establish the connection between a company and a client. The same traits are vital for charismatic leaders who empower subordinates and dominate (Harrison, 2018). Remote working is the best period to focus on personal charisma and enhance positivism.
Challenges in charismatic leadership have to be examined, and this knowledge is necessary for Zillow and other companies that want to use contemporary approaches. Not all charismatic leaders correctly share their experience and vision, and employees must change their systems of values or spend more time learning and creating rewarding ideas (Harrison, 2018). Besides, charisma is never simple, and much energy should be used to motivate a team and manage their emotions properly. Sometimes, charismatic leaders become obsessed with their self-esteem and high ambitions and prefer to neglect some ethical aspects or rights to achieve the desired goal.
Leading teams and projects remotely is hard, and choosing between traditional and contemporary leadership styles plays an important role. Some people prefer traditional leadership because of the possibility of relying on power and authority and maintaining order, while others select contemporary leadership with respect for change and cooperation. Harrison (2018) admits that traditional theories do not effectively cover all the necessary traits, and the promotion of contemporary tactics is expected. Compared to traditional approaches and a clear distinction between roles and responsibilities, complementary leaders try not to impose many standards all at once. They like to change the environment and test innovative ideas, which is beneficial for remote working. Transformational and democratic styles are based on cooperation and engagement. When people do not work in the same office, these steps are hard to take, and leaders refuse some transformations due to distance (Dennison, 2021). Traditional leaders need a team to identify goals, take the necessary steps, and achieve their outcomes. Contemporary leaders are more interested in resources and the environment that motivate people. Both styles have enough pros and cons to be chosen for remote working and leadership.
Being forced to follow a remote manner of business, leaders around the globe re-consider their beliefs and values. The workplace is no longer critical, and organizational culture has to be improved. Now, it is necessary to create remote work policies and enable employees to organize their activities in a new way (Yang et al., 2021). Leaders do not have much time to weigh their styles, characteristics, and their employees’ abilities. Many decisions should be roughly made, and no evaluation is required. If senior managers and employees can follow their routines and complete their tasks according to a specific schedule, leaders do not have good examples but should create new plans. The success of Zillow mostly depends on the quality of communication and knowledge obtained from observations (Cain, 2018). Now, it is high time to establish individual workplaces at home and learn how to use technology and promote real estate manipulations.
Considering the offered evaluation and comparison, Zillow and leaders of similar companies can make a solution about the most appropriate style and traits. In remote working, such qualities as communication, organization, and self-control are required to adapt to changes and new working conditions. Leaders have to learn how to be goal-oriented and motivate all employees, offering similar opportunities. Contemporary transformational leadership will help to achieve the required results and support Zillow employees. For a long period, the chosen company has kept in-person collaboration (Cain, 2018). It is hard for the most charismatic or authoritative leaders to cope with changes, emotions, expectations, and obtained results. Transformational leaders know how to implement change with minimal losses and support employees. With time, productivity will be increased, and creativity will be applied because remote working promotes space and time for critical thinking and analysis.
Conclusion
COVID-19 made companies like Zillow choose remote over office work. Contemporary transformational leaders are better prepared for this change because they develop strong organizational skills, control, and support for their employees. Despite remote working challenges like loneliness, distraction, and self-discipline, transformational leadership is a solution for modern organizations to succeed.
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Zillow (no date).