Informed Consent: Participants 18 years of age and older

Dear Participant, My name is Elisabeth M. Musil and I am a student at the University of Phoenix working on a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree. I am doing a research study entitled Leadership Attributes for the Virtual Environment: A Qualitative Study. The purpose of the research study is to describe leadership attributes displayed by effective leaders in virtual organizations. Your participation will involve taking an online survey that should take no more than 10 minutes. No identifying information will be collected. Approximately 50 professionals with experience leading in virtual organizations will participate in the study. Given the focus of the study and Institutional Review Board guidelines, if you are a University of Phoenix student or faculty member and/or do not have at least 3 years experiencing leading in a virtual environment and working virtually in hybrid or virtual organizations in the United States, your participation in the study may be terminated without your consent. You can decide to be a part of this study or not. Once you start, you can withdraw from the study at any time without any penalty or loss of benefits. The results of the research study may be published but your identity will remain confidential and your name will not be made known to any outside party. Various steps will be taken to ensure security and confidentiality. Data will be collected using an encrypted, password-protected third-party survey website. Access to the third-party website and the researchers laptop will be password protected and restricted to the researcher only. The laptop will be kept in a locked filing cabinet in the researchers office. Likewise, signed consent forms will be kept in a sealed envelope and secured in a different locked filing cabinet. Your name will not be collected or recorded in the data. Returned survey responses will be combined and reported in aggregated form only. Raw data downloaded from the site will be stored in a password-protected file on the researchers computer. The data in the online site and in the downloaded file will not include any identifying information, other than the demographic questions included in the survey. Your returned responses will include only answers to the questions, in a unique record. No codes or names, other than the one-word code known only by the participant, will be associated with the raw data. After 5 years, all electronic files on the investigators computer will be erased and all printed documentation will be shredded. In this research, there are no foreseeable risks. Although there may be no direct benefit to you, a possible benefit from your being part of this study is the results may be used to create a professional development and training guide for virtual leaders across organizations. If you have any questions about the research study, please call me at 310.383.3427 or email me at liz.musil@gmail.com.. For questions about your rights as a study participant, or any concerns or complaints, please contact the University of Phoenix Institutional Review Board via email at IRB@phoenix.edu. As a participant in this study, you should understand the following: 1. You may decide not to be part of this study or you may want to withdraw from the study at any time. If you want to withdraw, you can do so without any problems. If you desire to discontinue survey completion, just exit out of the web-browser and your data will not be saved. If you wish to withdraw your responses after survey participation, please email [insert email here]. Please provide the one-word code you provided during the survey completion process. The code will be

used to find your record and remove your data from the data file. If during survey participation, you decide not to participate, just exit the survey at any time. 2. Your identity will be kept confidential. Returned survey responses will be combined and reported in aggregated form only. 3. Elisabeth M. Musil, the researcher, has fully explained the nature of the research study and has answered all of your questions and concerns. 4. Data will be kept in a secure and locked area. The data will be kept for 3 years, and then destroyed. 5. The results of this study may be published.

By signing this form, you agree that you understand the nature of the study, the possible risks to you as a participant, and how your identity will be kept confidential. When you sign this form, this means that you are 18 years old or older and that you give your permission to volunteer as a participant in the study that is described here. () I accept the above terms. () I do not accept the above terms. (CHECK ONE)

Signature of the interviewee ____________________________________ Date _____________ Signature of the researcher _____________________________________ Date _____________