Leadership in crisis situations: merging the interdisciplinary silos

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Paquin ◽  
Ilana Bank ◽  
Meredith Young ◽  
Lily H.P. Nguyen ◽  
Rachel Fisher ◽  
...  

Purpose Complex clinical situations, involving multiple medical specialists, create potential for tension or lack of clarity over leadership roles and may result in miscommunication, errors and poor patient outcomes. Even though copresence has been shown to overcome some differences among team members, the coordination literature provides little guidance on the relationship between coordination and leadership in highly specialized health settings. The purpose of this paper is to determine how different specialties involved in critical medical situations perceive the role of a leader and its contribution to effective crisis management, to better define leadership and improve interdisciplinary leadership and education. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted featuring purposively sampled, semi-structured interviews with 27 physicians, from three different specialties involved in crisis resource management in pediatric centers across Canada: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Otolaryngology and Anesthesia. A total of three researchers independently organized participant responses into categories. The categories were further refined into conceptual themes through iterative negotiation among the researchers. Findings Relatively “structured” (predictable) cases were amenable to concrete distributed leadership – the performance by micro-teams of specialized tasks with relative independence from each other. In contrast, relatively “unstructured” (unpredictable) cases required higher-level coordinative leadership – the overall management of the context and allocations of priorities by a designated individual. Originality/value Crisis medicine relies on designated leadership over highly differentiated personnel and unpredictable events. This challenges the notion of organic coordination and upholds the validity of a concept of leadership for crisis medicine that is not reducible to simple coordination. The intersection of predictability of cases with types of leadership can be incorporated into medical simulation training to develop non-technical skills crisis management and adaptive leaderships skills.

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 412-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussain Albin Shaikh ◽  
Sharon Purchase ◽  
Gregory Brush

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the development of social capital in an Arab business environment, and provide an in-depth description of the nature and role of three key Arabic business relationship characteristics (ehsan,et-mooneandwasta), their impact on each other and key influencing factors.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design was used, in which face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with innovation teams (22 team members) at six industrial small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed (thematic coding) through NVivo.FindingsThe findings suggest thatwasta,ehsanandet-moonealign closely with the three social capital dimensions (structural, cognitive and relational); thus, developing these three relationship characteristics most likely results in developing social capital. The findings also expand the description of the three business relationship characteristics. Moreover,ehsan,et-mooneandwastaappear to influence each other, and are affected by other factors such as an individual’s age and position, and the duration of the relationship.Ehsanhas a positive influence on the development ofet-moone, while the existence ofet-mooneappears to be necessary for the establishment ofwasta-capital. A high level ofehsanmight influence the relationship betweenet-mooneandwasta-use and limit the negative usage ofwasta.Practical implicationsInternational managers can improve the level ofehsanin their organizational and business relationships through assigning incentives and playing the role of moral champion to encourageehsanbehavior. Managers aiming to increaseet-moonemay choose team members with a high level ofehsan, emphasizing the development of personal relationships, and providing opportunities for socialization both inside and outside the workplace. A high level ofehsanandet-moonewill assist managers to develop and usewasta.Originality/valueThis study makes a threefold contribution to the literature. First, it provides an expanded description of the three Arabic business relationship characteristics and how they align closely with the dimensions of social capital.Wastaaligns with the structural dimension andehsanaligns with the cognitive dimension, whileet-moonealigns closely with the relational dimension. Second, it suggests and shows how the three relationship characteristics might interact with each other.Ehsanappears to influenceet-moone, and also the relationship betweenet-mooneandwasta.Et-mooneappears to have a positive influence onwastause. Third, the findings also indicate that there might be other factors (e.g. age and position) that influence the interactions between the three business relationship characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Durst ◽  
Mariano Martin Genaro Palacios Acuache ◽  
Guido Bruns

Purpose Crises of any type have become an integral part of business activity and responses to them could make the difference between survival and failure. This applies in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Taking the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a starting point, this study aims to investigate how Peruvian SMEs have been coping with COVID-19 so far. Based on that a conceptual framework is proposed which highlights the practice of SMEs trying to deal with a new type of crisis. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an exploratory qualitative research design involving 25 semi-structured interviews conducted in Peruvian SMEs. Findings The findings demonstrate how the Peruvian firms studied to adapt to the new situation and initiate responses to increasing the chance of survival. Furthermore, the role of the companies’ decision-makers, as well as the role of crisis management and other related approaches in the companies are shown. Research limitations/implications The paper expands the underdeveloped body of knowledge regarding crisis management in Latin America in general and crisis management in SMEs by providing insight into how Peruvian SMEs perceive and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications The findings presented in this paper have implications for both managers and managerial staff of SMEs but also for the people in charge of the curricula at universities and other teaching-focused institutes. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study of crisis management on the impacts of COVID-19 with a dedicated focus on SMEs from Latin America. It provides fresh insight into current reactions to the Pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishant Uppal

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of the leaders’ dark triad (DT) personality traits, namely, Machiavellianism, Narcissism and Psychopathy, on the team performance variability. Furthermore, this work explores the role of team agreeableness in the above relationship. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the longitudinal and archival data obtained from the sales team (team leaders: n = 190; team members: n = 832) of 19 firms dealing with fast-moving consumer goods in India. Findings From the finding of the study, it can be inferred that the presence of DT traits in the leaders causes high fluctuations in team performance. Besides, team agreeableness was found to moderate the relationship between the DT traits of the leaders and the team performance variability. Originality/value The theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Robert Fannon ◽  
Jose Eduardo Munive-Hernandez ◽  
Felician Campean

PurposeThis paper establishes a comprehensive basis for understanding the roles and competences of mid-level management and their influence on the effectiveness of continuous improvement (CI) capability within an organisation.Design/methodology/approachThis research builds upon the hypothesis that methods alone do not lead to successful CI capability development. It focuses on the role of mid-level management in driving a CI environment that underpins the effectiveness of CI capability. A reference model for the CI environment is synthesised based on critical literature review, integrating CI culture, CI enablers and CI leadership elements. A comprehensive framework is introduced to define CI leadership roles and competence indicators. A quantitative benchmarking study involving structured interviews with 15 UK organisations was undertaken to collect evidence for a causal relationship between CI leadership competences and CI capability.FindingsAnalysis of the benchmarking data provides clear evidence of the causal relationship between the CI leadership competences of mid-level management and CI capability of the organisation. Given that the empirical study was structured on the basis of the CI leadership roles and competences framework introduced in this paper, this also provides validation for the proposed framework and the CI environment model.Practical implicationsThe evidence-based knowledge of the positive relationship between the mid-management CI leadership competences and the effectiveness of the CI capability informs strategic organisational development interventions towards enhancing CI capability and effectiveness, ultimately underpinning productivity enhancement and sustainability. The framework for mid-level management CI leadership roles, responsibilities and competences introduced in this paper and grounded in underpinning work undertaken within a large automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), can be adapted by any organisation. The CI environment reference model should provide a comprehensive support for strategists to communicate the framework for CI capability improvement within an organisation, to enhance acceptability and adherence to improvement actions.Originality/valueThis research proves for the first time the significance of the causal relationship between the CI leadership competences and the effectiveness of the CI capability within an organisation, thus filling an important gap between established previous work, focussing on the role of mid-level management on one side and practitioner and team level roles, methodologies and tools. The proposed CI environment model is a theoretical contribution with reference value for both practice and further studies. The comprehensive framework for mid-level management CI leadership roles, responsibilities and competences introduced in this paper provides sound foundation to deliver CI leadership in the workplace.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinxuan Zhang ◽  
Tong Li ◽  
Xuan Yu ◽  
Yanzhao Tang

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of task interdependence on team members’ Moqi in virtual teams in China. The authors also aim to identify virtual collaboration as a mediator and distributive justice climate as a moderator in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from a sample of 87 virtual teams (including 349 individuals) from various Chinese companies through a three-wave survey. Hierarchical regression analysis, path analysis, bootstrapping method and multiple validity tests were used to examine the research model. Findings In virtual teams in China, task interdependence has a significantly positive influence on team members’ Moqi; Virtual collaboration mediates the relationship between task interdependence and team members’ Moqi; The distributive justice climate positively moderates the relationship between task interdependence and virtual collaboration, as well as the indirect effect of virtual collaboration on the relationship between task interdependence and team members’ Moqi. Practical implications In virtual teams, leaders can facilitate team members’ Moqi by designing highly interdependent tasks, encouraging team members to engage in virtual collaboration and cultivating a climate of high attention distributive justice. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to pay to the Moqi among team members rather than supervisor-subordinate relationships and further examine how team members’ Moqi is predicted by task interdependence via the mediation of virtual collaboration with the distributive justice climate playing a moderating role.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1111-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixiao Guo ◽  
Chenjing Gan ◽  
Duanxu Wang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the mobility of team members affects team creativity in knowledge-worker teams and the mediating role of team transactive memory system (TMS) and team creative efficacy.Design/methodology/approachMultiple surveys were conducted on team leaders and members in knowledge-worker teams in China. A total of 94 teams were analyzed by adopting the confirmatory factor analyses, hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrap analysis method.FindingsThe results show that frequent team member mobility is negatively related to a knowledge-worker team's creativity, and the relationship is mediated by team TMS and creative efficacy.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a deeper understanding of how the mobility of team members affects team creativity in knowledge-worker teams by exploring the underlying mechanisms from the perspective of team cognition. Specifically, team TMS and creative efficacy mediate the relationship between team member mobility and team creativity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukumarakurup Krishnakumar ◽  
Kay Hopkins

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of emotion perception ability through two different paradigms (self-report and ability-based) on an individual's motivation to lead, an individual's desire to assume leadership roles. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have used a survey method in this study. The authors collected data from 172 undergraduate students. Findings – The findings indicate that emotion perception ability was significantly related to MTL. The authors also found that emotion perception ability was more substantially related to the non-calculative dimension of MTL than others. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to show the relationship of emotion perception ability to motivation to lead. Organizations can use the finding to screen and train future leaders using an ability-based test of emotion perception similar to one the authors have presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 30-32

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of shared leadership on team performance in terms of quantity and quality and in addition the moderating effect of task complexity on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from 26 teams of students from a major university in Germany who completed a laboratory team decision-making exercise. Findings The results suggest that teams sharing leadership showed better team performance and made fewer errors. They achieved higher levels of quality of performance. In addition, if the team members viewed the task as highly complex then the quality of their performance was increased. Practical implications Therefore for organizations to optimize team performance shared leadership should be promoted, the SNA should be used to develop interventions and training and influencing perceptions of task complexity should be considered as an important strategy to stimulate shared leadership in teams. Originality/value This paper has an original approach by testing for the first time how perceived task complexity moderates the relationship between shared leadership and team performance and by developing an original team task to investigate shared leadership.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeda Mulla ◽  
Alistair Hewison ◽  
Jonathan Shapiro

Purpose – The way change occurred at a strategic level and in four clinical services in three hospitals was examined. The purpose of this paper is to report how the hospitals designed and delivered change at organisational and clinical service level to improve services for patients, and the role of clinical leadership in this process. Design/methodology/approach – A comparative case study involving semi-structured interviews was undertaken. These involved a range of senior managers in 2009 (n=77), 2011 (n=21) and 2012 (n=29). Interviews with staff involved directly in service delivery were also carried out in 2011 (n=92). The interviews were recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using the Framework Method. Findings – The value of, and approach taken to clinical leadership varied across the hospitals and over time. This was affected by the culture and priorities of the organisation. Some strategies for developing clinical leadership were developed, however they were limited. It was expected that capable clinical leaders would emerge, and be supported. Effective clinical leadership during organisational and service change required direct executive or managerial support and relied on clinical “champions”. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates that despite the importance of clinical leadership being widely recognized in policy and research, there were no established programmes in place at the hospitals that were studied to support it. Rather there was a reliance on clinical staff coming forward to take on leadership roles as part of organizational efforts to bring about change.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1347-1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Yuan ◽  
Shiying Xiao ◽  
Jian Li ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Lutao Ning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation and team members’ job performance. The conceptual model developed in this paper also investigates the moderating role of the perception of organisational politics (POP) in affecting the association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data using a survey from 32 Chinese firms. The questionnaire included scales measuring LMX, POP, job performance, and demographic variables. The final sample consisted of 122 teams with 561 employees. The hypothesised relationships among variables were assessed using hierarchical linear modelling. Findings The results show that the higher the LMX differentiation, the lower the level of team members’ contextual performance. The authors also found that POP has a significant effect in positively moderating the relationships between LMX differentiation and team members’ contextual and task performances. Research limitations/implications The conceptual model developed and verified in this paper provides essential insights for the research on LMX and job performance. Future studies are suggested to collect cross-national data to examine the conclusions of this study. Originality/value The association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance is moderated by the degree of POP.


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