| Course | PS391 Psychology of Leadership |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 420 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS391 Unit 7
Leading Pickers I Only See on a Screen: A PS391 Unit 7 Discussion Board Post on Distributed Teams
PS391 · Unit 7 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The writer, the warehouses, the crew and the classmates are composite; the sources cited are real.
Initial Post
In January, our company opened a small satellite building eight miles from the main Columbus warehouse to handle overflow orders, and I became night-shift supervisor for both. Twelve pickers work at the satellite. I can drive over once a night at most, so for most of the shift I lead them through a performance dashboard, a group text thread and a weekly video huddle.
My style at the main building relies on being visible: walking the aisles, noticing who is struggling, fixing problems in person. At the satellite, that disappeared. In the first month, two pickers there told me they felt like "the forgotten crew," and a jammed dock door went unreported for an hour because nobody knew whose job it was to call me.
Hoch and Kozlowski (2014) compared teams ranging from fully co-located to mostly remote. The further apart the members worked, the less a single boss's direction did for results, and the more the scaffolding around the team counted: plain goals, rewards people saw as fair and channels that actually carried information. Leadership spread across the members helped results in every kind of team they studied, near or far.
I could not walk the satellite's aisles, so the structure had to do some of the walking for me.
Distance also thins the everyday exchanges through which leaders and followers build trust, and relationship quality has been linked to commitment and intentions to stay (Dulebohn et al., 2012). That matched my experience. I named a rotating lead picker at the satellite each night, with clear authority to make routine decisions and call maintenance. We wrote a one-page guide on who handles what. And the weekly huddle now opens with satellite issues first.
The forgotten-crew comments stopped within a month, and the satellite's rate now matches the main building's.
How have you led or been led by someone you rarely saw in person?
Reply to Jasmine
Jasmine, your remote coding team sounds like a strong example of shared leadership. Hoch and Kozlowski (2014) found shared leadership mattered no matter how virtual the team was.
Reply to Owen
Owen, I agree that video calls can feel like surveillance. Structure that gives people authority, not just more check-ins, may help.
References
Dulebohn, J. H., Bommer, W. H., Liden, R. C., Brouer, R. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2012). A meta-analysis of antecedents and consequences of leader-member exchange: Integrating the past with an eye toward the future. Journal of Management, 38(6), 1715-1759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311415280
Hoch, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 390-403. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030264
What the PS391 Unit 7 assignment asks for
The Unit 7 board in PS391 turns to leading teams that are partly or fully remote. Describe a composite or real team whose leader is often absent, and what went wrong at first. Use research on virtual team leadership, including the roles of structure and shared leadership, to explain the problems. Describe specific changes, such as delegated authority or clear guides, and what happened. Consider how distance affects trust and relationships. Ask peers, in closing, how they have led or been led from a distance. An opening post near 400 words works, followed by two replies, each offering a practice for a team that rarely meets in person. Report what changed.
Inside the PS391 Unit 7 example
The post opens with a team the leader can no longer walk among. A paragraph describes the satellite building and the dashboard, text thread and huddle. A paragraph reports the forgotten-crew comments and the unreported jam. A paragraph summarizes Hoch and Kozlowski on structure and shared leadership. A highlighted line says the structure had to do some of the walking. A paragraph links distance to thinner exchanges and trust. A paragraph names a rotating lead picker, a guide and reordered huddles, and reports the results. The closing question asks about leading or being led from afar. Replies discuss a remote coding team and surveillance worries. Results after a month round out the post.
Where the points sit in the PS391 Unit 7 rubric
Strong posts explain remote leadership problems with research rather than general complaints about technology. Applying findings on structure and shared leadership to specific failures, such as an unreported jam, earns credit. Changes should hand real authority to team members, not just add check-ins. Attention to trust and relationships at a distance shows depth. Results, even brief ones, make the post persuasive. Replies should offer a practice rather than agree. Cite virtual team and relationship research in APA style with composite employees. Mentioning how the leader will keep relationships with remote members strong over time often strengthens the post noticeably. Naming the specific authority handed to the remote team, and what it covers, is especially persuasive.
PS391 Unit 7 help from the desk
Remote leadership posts often recommend more video meetings and stop there. Others describe tools without changing who can make decisions. Students frequently overlook that shared leadership and clear structure matter more as teams spread out. Trust and relationship quality are commonly ignored. Replies tend to share frustrations instead of practices. Before posting, name one decision the remote team can now make without you. Describe one structure that replaced your presence. Report one result. In replies, suggest a practice for a team that never meets in person. Keep every employee composite and avoid naming real companies or locations. Then ask a remote team member to read your post and say whether it matches their experience.
Get a PS391 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the prompt and the rubric. A custom post discusses leading a distributed team. It is free the first time and back in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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PS391 Unit 7 questions, answered
What makes virtual leadership different?
Less face-to-face contact, more reliance on structure and shared leadership.
Does shared leadership help virtual teams?
Research suggests structural supports and shared leadership matter more as teams become more virtual.
What should replies add?
A practice for a team that never meets in person.
Where can I find a free PS391 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page holds the complete PS391 Unit 7 post on leading a composite satellite crew mostly from a distance, with replies.
What changes did the PS391 Unit 7 sample make?
A rotating lead picker with decision authority, a one-page guide to who handles what and huddles that start with satellite issues.