Abstract
Organizations face an environment that is increasingly tumultuous. From global terrorism, armed conflicts, destructive cyberattacks, to a burgeoning human population and dwindling natural resources, the crisis has become continual and ubiquitous. This chapter explores the importance of crisis in healthy organizations using the book of Judges as a case study. Findings reveal that crises in ancient Israel were not entirely negative events, but rather they provided the potential for renewal, communication, the emergence of leadership, and opportunities to probe the status quo, values, and beliefs. Ancient Israel experienced continuous crises in the form of domination and oppression by other nations, war, and spiritual degeneration. God permitted and instigated crises but used charismatic-transformational leaders to deal with those challenges. These leaders, as adaptive leaders, embraced ambiguity, dared to take risks, and challenged the status quo. Organizational leaders need a mindset that is open to the “unorthodox” and “unconventional” when dealing with crises in the modern era. The study also confirmed that organizations need crises to foster resilience, build new levels of cooperation, overturn obsolete long-held norms, and enable the emergence of talent. The crisis is not only ubiquitous but is necessary for healthy organizations. Future research should explore the role of spirituality in organizational crisis. It is recommended that firms can prepare for crises by encouraging workplace spirituality.
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Wantaate, F. (2020). The Importance of Crisis in Healthy Organizations: A Case Study of Judges 3:1–5. In: Winston, B.E. (eds) Leadership Growth Through Crisis. Christian Faith Perspectives in Leadership and Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25439-1_4
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