Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Leaders’ Resilience: What Leaders Can Learn from the COVID-19 Crisis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Leadership After COVID-19

Part of the book series: Future of Business and Finance ((FBF))

Abstract

Minimizing financial losses, ensuring employee safety, and leading virtually are just a few challenges leaders have faced during the COVID-19 crisis. To cope effectively with such circumstances and stay healthy, leaders need a high degree of resilience. Our chapter aims to provide insights into the functioning and promotion of leaders’ resilience. Based on previous resilience research in the fields of psychology and management, as well as our own empirical work, we develop a leaders’ resilience model that points to central resilience factors in the leadership context. Our model focuses on behavioral resilience factors that leaders need to survive crises productively as well as healthily. These factors refer to the phases before, during, and after the critical event and depend on the leaders’ traits and abilities as well as the leaders’ private and work-related environment. We use the COVID-19 crisis to illustrate the individual parts of the model and draw lessons learned for future leadership practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., & Luthans, F. (2011). Experimentally analyzing the impact of leader positivity on follower positivity and performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(2), 282–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 80, 39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bossmann, U., Ditzen, B., & Schweitzer, J. (2016). Organizational stress and dilemma management in mid-level industrial executives: An exploratory study. Mental Health and Prevention, 4(1), 9–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buell, J. M. (2014). The resilient leader: Mind, body and soul. Healthcare Executive, 29(6), 10–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullough, A., & Renko, M. (2013). Entrepreneurial resilience during challenging times. Business Horizons, 56(3), 343–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christman, D., & McClellan, R. (2008). “Living on barbed wire”: Resilient women administrators in educational leadership programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(1), 3–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C., Flint-Taylor, J., & Pearn, M. (2013). Building resilience for success: A resource for managers and organizations. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Coutu, D. L. (2002). How resilience works. Harvard Business Review, 80(5), 46–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duchek, S. (2019). Organizational resilience: A capability-based conceptualization. Business Research, 13, 215–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faustenhammer, A., & Goessler, M. (2011). Preparing for the next crisis: What can organizations do to prepare managers for an uncertain future? Business Strategy Series, 12(2), 51–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013). Psychological resilience. A review and critique of definitions, concepts, and theory. European Psychologist, 18(1), 12–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foerster, C., & Duchek, S. (2017). What makes leaders resilient? An exploratory interview study. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(4), 281–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foerster, C., & Duchek, S. (2018). Leaders’ resilience-A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2018, 13879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gates, B. (2015). The next outbreak? We’re not ready. TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready/transcript

    Google Scholar 

  • Giustiniano, L., Cunha, M. P., Simpson, A. V., Rego, A., & Clegg, S. (2020). Resilient leadership as paradox work: Notes from COVID-19. Management and Organization Review, 16, 971–975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gooty, J., Gavin, M., Johnson, P. D., Frazier, L., & Snow, D. B. (2009). In the eyes of the beholder: Transformational leadership, positive psychological capital, and performance. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 15(4), 353–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopinath, C., & Sawyer, J. E. (1999). Exploring the learning from an enterprise simulation. Journal of Management Development, 18(5), 477–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Q., & Day, C. (2007). Teachers’ resilience: A necessary condition for effectiveness. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8), 1302–1316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6(4), 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard-Grenville, J. (2020). Grand challenges, Covid-19 and the future of organizational scholarship. Journal of Management Studies, 58, 254–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns, S., & McArdle, K. (2012). ‘Doing it right?’ – Accessing the narratives of identity of newly qualified social workers through the lens of resilience: ‘I am, I have, I can’. Child & Family Social Work, 17(4), 385–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerrissey, M. J., & Edmondson, A. C. (2020). What good leadership looks like during this pandemic. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/04/what-good-leadership-looks-like-during-this-pandemic

  • King, G. A., & Rothstein, M. G. (2010). Resilience and leadership: The self-management of failure. In M. G. Rothstein & R. J. Burke (Eds.), Self-management and leadership development (pp. 361–394). Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koen, M. P., du Plessis, E., & Watson, F. G. (2013). Exploring leadership hubs as an intervention in strengthening the resilience of health caregivers. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 23(3), 495–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kossek, E. E., & Perrigino, M. B. (2016). Resilience: A review using a grounded integrated occupational approach. The Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 729–797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazaridou, A., & Beka, A. (2015). Personality and resilience characteristics of Greek primary school principals. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 43(5), 772–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, P. P. (2020). Organizational resilience for a new normal: Balancing the paradox of global interdependence. Management and Organization Review, 16(3), 503–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnenluecke, M. K. (2017). Resilience in business and management research: A review of influential publications and a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 4–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthar, S. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2000). The construct of resilience: Implications for interventions and social policies. Development and Psychopathology, 12(4), 857–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKiernan, P., & Tsui, A. (2019). Responsible management research: A senior scholar legacy in doctoral education. The Academy of Management Learning and Education, 18, 310–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLarnon, J., & Rothstein, M. (2013). Development and initial validation of the workplace resilience inventory. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 12(2), 63–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quick, J. C., Gavin, J. H., Cooper, C. L., & Quick, J. D. (2000). Executive health: Building strength, managing risks. Academy of Management Executive, 14(2), 34–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, C., Breen, L., Cusack, L., & Hegney, D. (2015). Understanding individual resilience in the workplace: The international collaboration of workforce resilience model. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves, M., Lang, N., & Carlsson-Szlezak, P. (2020). Lead your business through the coronavirus crisis. Harvard Business Review, 27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, I. T., Cooper, C. L., Sarkar, M., & Curran, T. (2015). Resilience training in the workplace from 2003 to 2014: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(3), 533–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouleau, L., Hallgren, M., & de Rond, M. (2020). Covid 19 and our understanding of risk, emergencies, and crises. Journal of Management Studies, 58, 245–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar, M., & Fletcher, D. (2014). Ordinary magic, extraordinary performance: Psychological resilience and thriving in high achievers. Sport Exercise and Performance Psychology, 3(1), 46–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seidl, D., & Whittington, R. (2020). How crisis reveals the structures of practices. Journal of Management Studies, 58, 240–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, K. D. (2003). Ropes, poles, and space: Active learning in business education. Active Learning in Higher Education, 4(2), 159–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tourish, D. (2020). The triumph of nonsense in management studies. The Academy of Management Learning and Education, 19(1), 99–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Doorn, R., & Hülsheger, U. (2015). What makes employees resilient to job demands? The role of core self-evaluations in the relationship between job demands and strain reactions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(1), 76–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanderbilt-Adriance, E., & Shaw, D. S. (2008). Conceptualizing and re-evaluating resilience across levels of risk, time, and domains of competence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 11(1–2), 30–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walumbwa, F. O., Peterson, S. J., Avolio, B. J., & Hartnell, C. A. (2010). An investigation of the relationships among leader and follower psychological capital, service climate, and job performance. Personnel Psychology, 63(4), 937–963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Cooke, F., & Huang, W. (2014). How resilient is the (future) workforce in China? A study of the banking sector and implications for human resource development. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 52(2), 132–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westman, M., & Chen, S. (2017). Crossover of burnout and engagement from managers to followers. In C. L. Cooper & J. C. Quick (Eds.), The handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice (pp. 236–248). Wiley-Blackwell.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2017). Pandemic influenza risk management: A WHO guide to inform and harmonize national and international pandemic preparedness and response. Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2019). Ten threats to global health in 2019. Author. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, T. A., Gruber, D. A., Sutcliffe, K. M., Shepherd, D. A., & Zhao, E. Y. (2017). Organizational response to adversity: Fusing crisis management and resilience research streams. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), 733–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Windle, G. (2011). What is resilience? A review and concept analysis. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 21(2), 152–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wray, T. (2016). The role of leader hubris in the decline of RBS and Lehman Brothers. In P. Garrard & P. Robinson (Eds.), The intoxication of power (pp. 229–251). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M. O., Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2013). Resilience processes in development: Four waves of research on positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 15–37). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zunz, S. J. (1998). Resiliency and burnout: Protective factors for human service managers. Administration in Social Work, 22(3), 39–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Juniorprofessorship for European Management, University of Technology Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany

    Charlotte Förster

  2. Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial, Engineering IAO, Berlin, Germany

    Stephanie Duchek

Authors
  1. Charlotte Förster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Duchek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charlotte Förster .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, USA

    Satinder K. Dhiman  & Joan F. Marques  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Förster, C., Duchek, S. (2022). Leaders’ Resilience: What Leaders Can Learn from the COVID-19 Crisis. In: K. Dhiman, S., F. Marques, J. (eds) Leadership After COVID-19. Future of Business and Finance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84867-5_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation