This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of eleven current or former remote team leaders from five different job sectors, including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), medical, insurance and personal finance, international aid, and academia. Analysis of the data gained through interviews identified five prevalent leadership approaches, two theoretical models, and three core competencies to include in the academic curriculum for future remote team leader professional development programs. While leadership competencies are essential to remote team leader success, a foundational understanding of transformational, servant, leader-member exchange, situational, and transactional leadership approaches is a steppingstone to competency development. Commonly shared resources and living systems models provide frameworks for remote team leaders to benefit as they apply anticipatory reflection in preparation for their roles. Relational systems and enabling processes are crucial to understanding where, how, and when to apply leadership approaches that allow remote team leaders to exercise strategic, problem-solving, decision-making, and team-building competencies. Additionally, the strength of the data, given the consistency of experiences across broadly diverse job sectors, indicated that universal application of the findings might be projected to other job sectors to improve the success rate of remote team leaders and the quality of service and products they provide to communities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]