Situational leadership: a model for leading telecommuters

To describe a leadership model aimed at assisting health care leaders to incorporate situational leadership into their practice when leading telecommuters.

Technological developments have grown in two areas, including medicine and communication, which have facilitated an enhanced information exchange in health care. These technological enhancements have allowed the health care arena to expand and improve its capabilities, including the delivery of health care and the information exchange among patients, providers and workers.

Traditional leadership styles must be modified to respond to the needs of telecommuters. Situational leadership gives structured guidance to the nursing leader when managing telecommuters.

Situational leadership has been used in the traditional work setting and can be used in the virtual workplace. The strategies and techniques used have to be modified for the telecommuter and must focus on increasing communication.