Leadership in Remote Team at Alibaba Limited

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Introduction

Alibaba is the biggest online company in China with its headquarters based in Hangzhou and other different parts of the world. The national company runs different businesses among commerce, digital media, cloud computing, innovation initiatives and entertainment. The company is among China’s national companies that have heighted their remote working to cope with the COVID-19 effects on business. However, Alibaba’ transformed to remote working in 2003, after the SARS viral outbreak which forced most of the workers in China to stay at home (De Wei, 2020). The company’s ability to leverage technology through cloud software has resulted in unprecedented changes in the company.

I am a leader in charge of remote teams in Alibaba. Over the years, I have been practicing an authoritarian style of leadership and have been experiencing several challenges with the remote teams and projects among them demotivated workers, lack of workers’ engagement in their work, and low productivity (Gu et al., 2018). The projects and teams I have been leading have continued to face difficulties in goal setting, motivation and communication. My main failure has been to promote team building and performance. Adopting reflective practice will enhance my critical thinking, self-awareness and communication skills and help me understand the changes in Alibaba to promote agility and sustainability within the remote teams.

Range of Reflective Tools

There is a wide range of models that can be employed in reflective practice of leadership among remote teams and projects in Alibaba. Kolb’s model developed in 1984 and Gibb’s model of reflection established four years after the former model are the most popular reflective cycles because of their simplicity in application (Salerni, 2020). The two models involve experiential learning and play a significant role in addressing organizational issues. The models are used by leaders in remote teams to assess situations and provide an optimal solution.

Gibb’s reflective cycle has six stages starting with description of experience or event. The model then embarks on feelings stage which involves examining what one felt during and after the experience. The evaluation stage which comes after feelings looks objectively at the positive and negative aspects of experience (The University of Edinburg). After evaluation, analysis is done to further investigate the experience before moving to the conclusion stage. The latter stage of the reflective cycle focuses on what has been learned and the areas of improvement. Lastly, the model considers an action plan stage where specific actions are considered to improve the event/experience.

Benefits and Limitations of Gibb’s Reflective Tool

Gibb’s reflective cycle is one of the most effective models of reflective practice among leaders. The model is popular among leaders because it is easy to use. Its emphasis on the link between reflection and action makes suitable in personal development. However, the model does not encourage deeper self-reflection and thus, limits personal development. Gibb’s model of reflection does not incorporate other people affected by the event and does not evaluate values, motives, and knowledge.

The model is based on four stages which are required to complete the cycle. The first stage known as experience helps leaders to think about the situation they are reflecting on. The second stage which is reflected involves asking questions that explain more about the experience including its cause and impact. The third stage is conceptualise, provides more insight into the experience by explaining why the experience went the way it was. Conceptualization employs theoretical ideas to provide further insight into the experience. Apply is the last stage of Kolb’s reflective cycle and it deals with establishing a plan that shows a different way of doing things as well as providing a chance to test new approaches.

Benefits and Limitations of Kolb’s Reflective Model

The model relies on experiences to produce dynamic and powerful leadership. The model’s simplicity and usefulness from its four reflective stages that represent four different learning styles makes it popular in leadership. This model promotes self-awareness which is the basis of change in leadership. Kolb’s model supports learning which is critical for leaders that lead remote teams (Shah, 2021). The model has several limitations including failure to embrace the social, historical, and cultural aspects of self, thinking, and action. Kolb’s model does not take into consideration the all learning preferences of the team members and thus faces challenges in its application among remote teams.

Chosen Reflective Tool and Why

I chose Kolb’s reflective cycle over Gibb’s model because of its robustness in supporting learning. The former model has four distinct learning styles including diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating. The four stages of Kolb’s model of reflection enhance development of learning experiences from remote team members. Leading remote teams requires agile and highly adaptable approaches for easily reflection on the needs of the team (Hage et al., 2021) These experiences promote skill sets and capabilities among the members of the team. The reflective stages in Kolb’s model are suitable for personalized learning interventions and can address the needs of each member in a remote team.

Chosen Reflective Tool: My Leadership Style, Traits and Characteristics

I used authoritarian leadership style for my remote teams and projects at Alibaba company. This style of leadership relies solely on my experiences and ideas to make decisions that impact the projects and team workers. Therefore, I rarely involve the members of my remote teams in the decision-making process; thus, making fast decisions. As a leader of the team, I have outlined rules and procedures that each team member is required to follow for project implementation. The rigidity and structured way of operations in my leadership style limits creativity and innovation. The leadership has clearly outlined communication expectations and guidelines.

Chosen Reflective Tool: Reflecting on my Leadership

The authoritarian style of leadership presents numerous issues when working in the background of remote office. Manning (2017) argues that Working with remote programs and teams requires flexibility to allow effective communication and sharing of feedback between leaders and the team members. However, my leadership style relies mainly on the leader’s experiences and ideas to make decisions. Application of Kolb’s model to reflect on my leadership and its impact shows that there is need to increase input from team members and involve them in decision-making.

Leading remote teams is challenging and demands leaders to adopt strategic leadership styles that will effectively handle remote teams. Constant communication is critical because it helps track progress and address any challenges encountered with remote teams (Taparia, 2020). Improved communication promotes feedback consequently boosts the morale of team members. Remote working limits contact between the leader and the team members (Zuofa and Ochieng, 2017). Therefore, leaders should set expectations to promote clarity of roles. Remote team’s productivity is reliant on trust and members’ sense of independence. Abandoning my micromanaging style of leadership helps me build trust with the members of my remote team, enhances motivation, and increases their overall productivity. Considering the team members experiences and ideas and engaging them in decisions makes them feel part of the team projects and promotes efficiency.

Implications on Employees: Leadership Has Not Improved

Failure to develop my leadership skills to meet the changes and needs of the remote team has detrimental effects on the employees that I lead. The remote workers will lose morale and neglect their roles in the remote projects. Ineffective leadership will demoralize the team members making them to lose work engagement and satisfaction (Du et al., 2020). Failure to adopt the Kolb’s model and implement the learning styles to understand the team members hinders inspiration among employees, affects their job stability and loyalty. Poor leadership skills deprive employees autonomy and results in low productivity.

Implications on Organization: Leadership has not improved

Failure to adapt changes in my leadership through reflective practice would result in high turnover rates and cause damage to Alibaba’s reputation. The organization’s goals and objectives would not be achieved with ineffective leadership skills. Also, the organization would suffer low productivity and sustainability. The high turnover and other negative effects of poor leadership would lead to increased costs and low profits that affect the organization’s longevity and success. Ineffective leadership risks the company’s culture and its bottom line.

Impact of Unimproved Leadership on My Leadership Style and the Wider Organization

The authoritarian leadership style does not support the business needs of the 21^st century where teams are required to adapt to various changes. Today’s working practices and organizational expectations demand a more flexible leadership style that supports change. Retaining my authoritarian leadership without making any improvement will results in lack of adaptability, integrity and ethics in leadership. Lack of improvement to the current leadership leads to a leadership style that lacks accountability and support for communication. Such leadership approach has detrimental effect on Alibaba’s sustainability and future success of its businesses.

Specific Measures on Authoritarian Leadership

I employed the Kolb’s reflective cycle to improve four areas of my authoritarian leadership style. These areas included communication between team members, employee engagement and motivation, and productivity. Remote teams demand specific channels for effective communication. I adopted asynchronous communication which is the most realistic model of communication for remote teams in a national company located in different parts of the country like Alibaba. Regular feedback makes the team feel more appreciated; thus, enhanced motivation. Remote teams work best when they are empowered which makes them more engaged in their specific roles and duties. Creating a safe working environment for remote teams lead to improved productivity.

Implications on Employees: Leadership has Improved

After adoption of different measures on leadership, employees’ morale increased and the trust between team members heightened. Another impact of improved leadership on employees was enhanced clarity of roles among team members resulting in increased work engagement. Lacerenza et al., (2018) believes that improved employee empowerment results in increased employee autonomy and job satisfaction. Increased communication and motivation enhances employee job stability and productivity.

Implications on Organization: Leadership has Improved

The improved leadership through reflective practice lowers Alibaba’s turnover rates and promotes employee retention. The enhanced leadership skills through Kolb’s tool promotes Alibaba’s reputation and builds a positive brand image for the organization. Enhanced communication between remote team members provides a platform where employees care share their ideas and experiences; thus, enhancing organizational creativity, innovation, and learning. Effective leadership skills enhance organizational productivity resulting in increased revenues and profitability. The enhanced leadership is the basis of organizational change at Alibaba, sustainability and success.

Reflective Model Analysis and Improved Leadership Abilities

By applying Kolb’s reflective cycle I have analyzed and improved several aspects of my leadership style including motivation, communication, and autonomy. The three areas of improvement represent the experiences that I have been encountering in my leadership journey. Upon reviewing and reflective on the leadership style I realized that remote teams needed more involvement in decision-making and required increased autonomy to have improved productivity and motivation. I adopted the abstract conceptualization to examine the possibilities of having a leadership style that creates more productive remote teams at Alibaba. After, further analysis of the pitfalls of my leadership model and the potential improvement through active participation, I adopted a better leadership style with increased communication between team members, enhanced motivation, and autonomy.

Conclusion

This article focused on reflection of Alibaba’s remote teams and projects. Alibaba is one of China’s biggest national companies that have embraced remote working for the last decade. I employ authoritarian leadership style which is not suitable for the remote teams. From the wide range of reflective models including Gibb’s and Kolb’s reflective cycle, I choose the latter because of its dynamism aspect which makes it suitable for diverse teams. The model promotes improved leadership abilities which support increased productivity within the team.

Improved leadership abilities from Kolb’s reflective cycle have implications on employees and organizations. Improved feedback and communication from reflective approach enhances employees’ morale and autonomy. Kolb’s reflective practice on authoritarian leadership approach promotes employees’ work engagement and clarity of tasks. Alibaba’s work culture among remote teams is improved and sustainability is achieved through reflective practice. Adopting flexibility and dynamism in leadership according to the reflective practice organization’s profitability and competitive advantage.

References

De Wei., L. (2020), Alibaba Wants to Make Remote work the New Normal: Will it Succeed?

Gu, J., Wang, G., Liu, H., Song, D. and He, C. (2018). ‘Linking authoritarian leadership to employee creativity: The influences of leader–member exchange, team identification and power distance.’ Chinese Management Studies.

Hage, R., Lovasz-Bukvova, H., Hopp, M., Hölzl, M., Kormann-Hainzl, G., Reiner, M. and Dhungana, D. (2021). ‘Agile Approach For E-learning In Digital-leadership Training For Small And Medium Enterprises.’ In EDEN Conference Proceedings (No. 1, pp. 20-29).

Lacerenza, C.N., Marlow, S.L., Tannenbaum, S.I. and Salas, E. (2018). ‘Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork.’ American Psychologist, 73(4), p.517.

Manning, S. (2017). ‘The rise of project network organizations: Building core teams and flexible partner pools for interorganizational projects.’ Research Policy, 46(8), pp.1399-1415.

Salerni, A. (2020). ‘Learning to learn from experience. Traineeship as a training model to enhance learning. ’Psycho-pedagogical research in a Double-degree programme, 53.

Shah, A. (2021). ‘Enhancing Experiential Learning Opportunities Through the Integration of Continuous Improvement Practices. The Organizational Improvement Plan at Western University, 210. Web.

Taparia, N. (2020). 5 Easy Ways to Motivate Your Remote Team.

The University of Edinburg (2020),Gibb’s Reflective Cycle.

Zuofa, T. and Ochieng, E.G. (2017). ‘Working separately but together: appraising virtual project team challenges.’ Team Performance Management: An International Journal.

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