Authentic Leadership: Lessons from the Covid-19 Crisis

This study critically evaluates key leadership lessons from the current Covid-19 crisis and explores the contribution of concepts, theories, and research associated with leadership and development. It emphasizes the importance of authentic leadership in building an ethical foundation.

Authentic Leadership

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Role of leadership in contemporary organisations and Organisational response to the crisis....1
Evaluating the contribution of concepts, theories, practice as well as research associated to
leadership and development........................................................................................................3
The issues and factors affecting leadership because of Covid-19 crisis.....................................4
Range of theoretical contributions associated with the problems of leadership and
implications.................................................................................................................................5
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................6
Reflection....................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Authentic Leadership is considered to be as an effective approach to leadership which
mainly emphasize on effectively building the legitimacy of the leader through honest relationship
with the employees and followers who value their input. This way it is significant in effectively
building an ethical foundation (Azizaha and et.al., 2020). However, an authentic leader are in
turn considered to be as positive people with the truthful set of self- concepts in order to promote
openness. This study will critically evaluate on what are the key leadership lessons that we can
learn from the current Covid-19 crisis. Furthermore, this study also evaluates the contribution of
concepts, theories, practice as well as research associated to leadership and development. Lastly,
it focuses on ethics in leadership and range of theoretical contributions associated with the
problems of leadership and implications.
MAIN BODY
Role of leadership in contemporary organisations and Organisational response to the crisis
COVID- 19 tends to prove to be as one of the key learning lesson within the workplace.
This eventually leads to confusion, fatigue and terror across the globe. The situation in turn has
changes over a period of time. The COVID- 19 pandemic has affected the workplace beyond the
imagination. Problems faced by the leader is much more different these days. One of the key
leadership lesson which has been taught at the time of COVID-19 is to accept the remote
working. Companies have gone work from home. It becomes increasingly difficult for the
employees to adapt and adjust to the new way of working. Transformation is considered to be as
one of the real test associated with the leadership (Fallatah, Laschinger, and Read, 2017). The
great leaders within the organisation makes the remote workplace more efficient.
Prioritising personal safety of the employs is also considered to be one of the key lesson which
has been learnt from the current COVID-19 crisis. For example the IBM Company has taken a
totally significant and new approach. The company has focused on the travel restrictions in order
to ensure safety of the employees (Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis, 2020). The
IBM Company have close domestic travels for the internal meeting as well as participation with
the external events. The business leaders however have understood their priorities now. They
have also displayed easily ensuring safety health tips for the employees. This is considered to
be one of the key effective way to stop spreading of virus.
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The leaders have learned that the digital is one of the key prominent tool at the time of
COVID-19 crisis. However, Code 19 pandemic has resulted in increasing rapidly adoption of the
effective digital technologies within the organisation. This has become one of the key from and
strategy in order to stay relevant (McGuire and et.al., 2020). Complying with the real-time action
has resulted in replacement of manual performances. Digital technology in turn is no longer
considered to be critical. However leaders has been going digital In order to deal with COVID-
19 crisis and work in an efficient manner. Ethics within the leadership is of key relevance
importance because it values the business principles and carry out the business operations in an
ethical and reliable manner.
Role of leadership in contemporary organisations is considered to be highly prominent.
The leadership is considered to be highly significant in maximizing the efficiency and is useful
in attaining higher operational goals. A leader is considered to be significant and setting clear set
of vision which influence employees in order to accept the future state of the company. A good
leader will always introduce the employees of the company to perform their duties with utmost
accuracy and responsibility. This way it helps in ensuring higher operational growth and
sustainability for the business during time of covid-19 crisis. A leader is also responsible for
building moral of them ploys and pulling each individual to work together towards a common
goal.
COVID-19 crisis management is well developed script where most of the leaders within
the large organisation has been prepared to deal with problem in an effective manner. It is very
crucial for the leaders to understand the specific set of risk to the market, location, operations
which might pose them at greater risk because of the COVID-19 crisis (Leadership Lessons from
the COVID-19 Crisis, 2020). This in turn largely influence and interrupts the operations of the
business at greater scale and leads to greater losses for the company. Leaders need to be
visionary, bold and imaginary in order to deal with such COVID-19 crisis. This eventually leads
to higher operational growth and sustainability for the business and leads to improved business
efficiency at a greater scale. Understanding the power of the joint effort is one of the key lesson
which has been learnt by the leaders in this time of COVID 19 crisis. Both the employers and the
employees of the company must focus on working together and make decisions (Rook. and
McManus, 2020). This way it leads to attaining shared goals and objectives in an effective and
efficient manner.
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COVID-19 crisis has led to economic downturns. Use of emotional intelligence is
considered to be of key prominent lesson which has been learnt by the leaders during this time of
covert 19 crisis in. Instead of projecting fear, silence and arrogance during this problematic and
challenging time. The leaders need to focus on over communicating and keeping all the
employees of the company informed. The leaders must use their skill of empathy and as well as
understanding in order to dig beyond the generic. The leaders must be completely equipped in
order to handle transition and change within the company. Leaders ensures there is a transparent
and a two way communication between the employer and employee of the company. One of the
key significant lesson which has been learnt by the leader during this time of covert 19 crisis is
that they must focus on adapting to the change and shaping their business in order to sustain in
the market. They must focus on innovating the product solution and comply with the needs and
wants of the customers using online mode (Fernandez, and Shaw, 2020). They must connect with
the customers as well as the key stakeholders of the company in order to keep them informed
regarding the business operations. The leaders mainly focuses on improving the workplace
culture. This is one of the key prominent lesson attracting large number of employees and also
retaining the older ones this eventually leads to higher operational growth. Focusing on the
workplace culture helps in being more transparent with the employees of the company. This is
considered to be as a great opportunity in order to realise with the vision, mission and values.
This leads to higher employee morale and satisfaction. Being flexible and opening new ways of
working with considered to be one of the key from lesson which has been learnt by the leader
within the organisation during this time of COVID- 19 crisis. Communicating through video
conference Singh apps and maintaining work life balance is one of the key prominent transition
during this time of COVID -19 crisis.
Evaluating the contribution of concepts, theories, practice as well as research associated to
leadership and development.
Transformational leadership theory is considered to be key sectors within which leads
employees to align towards common goals of the company as well as the leader. The employees
who tends to work with the transformational leader mainly focuses on the well-being of the
company rather than what is best suited for the individual employees. Transformational leaders
tends to ensure that the employs focuses on demonstrating right behaviour because the leader
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provides resources in exchange. The transformational leaders tends to have food significant
positions which mainly includes charisma, inspirational motivation, Individualised consideration
and intellectual stimulation. Transformational leadership approach at the time of COVID- 19 is
considered to be highly significant because it helps in including behaviour such as stating vision
for the group, delivering realistic and positive messages, communicating expectations very
clearly (Bailey, and Breslin, 2020). Transformational leadership is useful in embracing a value-
based behaviour which ensures that the person is doing the right thing in such difficult crisis
situation.
The issues and factors affecting leadership because of Covid-19 crisis.
Building personal resilience is considered to be one of the key from school within the
leader during this current crisis of the COVID-19. This eventually leads to privatising the mental
well-being of their employees within the company. Successful leadership tends to mainly rely
on the adaptive capacity of the manager (Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis, 2020).
The resilient leaders focuses on responding to the crisis in an effective manner and take
necessary decision to improve the business functions and operations. Just crucial importance for
the leaders to determine the real impact of the code 19 crisis upon the company. They must focus
on taking relevant action in order to avoid any sort of crisis situation within the company. The
leader of the company must lead to example and demonstrate a committed and energetic
behaviour towards the company (Lee, 2020). This helps the company in adapting to modified
level of operations and maximising the output without fostering any sort of burnout. The leaders
must always have key alternatives in case their main plan doesn’t work out. The leaders must
focus on ensuring that they trusted alternative is in form and also empowered in order to make
decisions. They must also focus on sharing personal experience and create a multiple team in
order to avoid over burdensome on the employees. However, demonstrating emotional
intelligence as well as sharing personal impact stories and emotions with the workforce health in
creating an empathetic and resilient environment. Another key significant factor upon which the
leader must focus on during COVID-19 crisis is to address safety concerns of the employees
within the organisation. It is of crucial importance for the leaders to understand the pandemic and
its multiple implications upon the different segments of the society. The social media coverage
and the fake media has created huge anxiety and fear within employees because of COVID 19.
The leaders must focus on planning it in advance and creating a safe work environment for the
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employees of the company. Effective communication in turn is considered to be one of the key
prominent factor which helps the leader to resolve any sort of problem related with the covert 19
crisis. Effective communication is considered to be as one of the key and biggest attribute of the
leader. This is the time to communicate directly and is useful in reducing anxiety and negative
news which has been churning around like layoffs, salary cuts, rise in unemployment because of
COVID-19. Effective communication is considered to be as one of the biggest attribute of the
leader. This helps in ensuring that transparency and positivity is maintained within the
organisation in order to keep the employees motivated. High degree of empathy is considered to
be prominent while conveying any crucial information to the employees of the
company. COVID-19 has been shaping the leadership effectively beyond the crisis. People have
been living in time with the exponential change. The economy has been facing high degree of
disruptions as a result has become one of the key critical skill. The social as well as the economic
crisis in turn has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders focuses on mastering the
crisis management is one of the key prominent leadership style which mainly focuses on
providing human centric and leads to radically driven leadership style. However, in order to cope
up with such crisis and the leaders must effectively understand the unique set of characteristics.
The leader must focus on effectively creating the clear and central set of priorities in order to
effectively set clear set of priorities to improve the business performance and efficiency
(Martland, Huffines, and Kiersten Henry, 2020). The leader must focus on effectively developing
clear set of priorities and choices to improve the business efficiency. Leader must focus on
pursuing a non-binary approach associated with the problem-solving. This is one of the key
prominent way to improve the performance and productivity of the company and attain higher
operational goals and efficiency. A leader must be empathetic, honest and simple and clear. They
must focus on improving the communication with utmost transparency and trustworthiness. This
is one of the key prominently to improve the business efficiency and resolve the issues
associated with the COVID-19 crisis. The leaders is useful in creating more team cohesion and
leads to innovation.
Range of theoretical contributions associated with the problems of leadership and implications.
The role of the e-leadership in turn is considered to be highly significant which helps in
maintaining the performance of the organization. This eventually leads to higher sustainable
growth and improved efficiency (Fallatah, Laschinger, and Read, 2017). E- Leadership theory is
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highly significant during this time because it results in social influence procedure, mediated by
the technology in order to produce the change within the attitude, thinking, feelings, performance
and behaviour of the employees within the organization. E – Leadership is considered to be one
of the key prominent way to improve the business performance during this time of COVID-19.
This way it helps in the attainment of the key goals and leads to improved business efficiency.
Authentic Leadership is an effective approach to leadership which mainly emphasize on
effectively building the legitimacy of the leader through honest relationship with the employees
and followers who value their input. This is one of the key promising way to manage the crisis
and improve the business efficiency and leads to higher business growth. This way it is
significant in effectively building an ethical foundation. An authentic leader are is referred to as a
positive people with the truthful set of self- concepts in order to promote openness and deal with
the negative impact and issues associated with the COVID- 19 crisis.
Recommendations
COVID-19 in turn has been causing significant degree if effect upon the individual persona and
the company at a greater scale. It is considered to be crucial for the company to improve the
business performance and leads to higher operational growth and efficiency.
 It has been recommended for the company to effectively by setting clear set of vision
which influence employees and accept the future state of the organization. A good leader
will always introduce the employees of the company to perform their duties with utmost
degree of accuracy and responsibility. This way it helps the leaders to respond to the
COVID- 19 crisis and issues quickly and also the leaders must focus on setting clear set
of priorities and work in an ethical manner. It has been recommended to clear any sort of
thresholds and must also focus on centralizing the decision making.
 Complying with the transformational leadership is considered to be an effective
recommendation and improve the business performance and efficiency. Transformational
leaders ensure that the employees focuses on demonstrating right behaviour within the
company. This is mainly because the leader provides resources in exchange to attain
higher operational growth. The employees mainly focuses on the well-being of the
company rather than its own what is best suited to improve the business operations during
COVID-19 crisis. Transformational leadership approach at the time of COVID- 19 is
highly significant because it helps in including behaviour such as stating vision for the
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group, delivering realistic and positive messages, communicating expectations very
clearly.
 It has been recommended that, ethical leadership must be complied with during the time
of COVID- 19 crisis. It helps in ensuring justice, honesty, respect, integrity and
community within the business. Ethical leadership is considered to be crucial for the
success of the business.
Reflection
It was highly interesting to carry out the study on what are the key leadership lessons that
can learn from the current Covid-19 crisis. I have effective communication skills which in turn
helps in evaluating the key concepts, theories, practice as well as research associated to
leadership and development. I have ensured that I have relevant problem solving skills and has
focused on ethics in leadership and range of theoretical contributions associated with the
problems of leadership and implications. This was highly interesting for me to find out the best
possible approach and theory which is linked with improving the business performance and gain
relevant outcomes. Moreover, I also have exceptional set of knowledge in order to manage my
own learning and attain relevant set of results to gain answer linked with the question.
CONCLUSION
From the conducted study it has been summarized that, Authentic Leadership is significant
in effectively building an ethical foundation. It is useful in effectively building the legitimacy of
the leader through honest relationship with the employees and followers who value their input.
The COVID- 19 pandemic has affected the workplace beyond the imagination. Prioritising
personal safety of the employs is also considered to be one of the key lesson which has been
learnt from the current COVID-19 crisis. A leader is considered to be significant and setting
clear set of vision which influence employees in order to accept the future state of the company.
Both the employers and the employees of the company must focus on working together and
make decisions. Transformational leadership theory is considered to be key sectors within which
leads employees to align towards common goals of the company as well as the leader. The leader
of the company must lead to example and demonstrate a committed and energetic behaviour
towards the company. This helps the company in adapting to modified level of operations and
maximising the output without fostering any sort of burnout. E – Leadership is considered to be
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one of the key prominent way to improve the business performance during this time of COVID-
19.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Azizaha, Y.N and et.al., 2020. Transformational or Transactional Leadership Style: Which
Affects Work Satisfaction and Performance of Islamic University Lecturers During COVID-19
Pandemic. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(7), pp.577-588.
Bailey, K. and Breslin, D., 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic: What can we learn from past
research in organizations and management. International Journal of Management Reviews.
Fallatah, F., Laschinger, H.K. and Read, E.A., 2017. The effects of authentic leadership,
organizational identification, and occupational coping self-efficacy on new graduate nurses' job
turnover intentions in Canada. Nursing outlook, 65(2), pp.172-183.
Fernandez, A.A. and Shaw, G.P., 2020. Academic Leadership in a Time of Crisis: The
Coronavirus and COVID‐19. Journal of Leadership Studies, 14(1), pp.39-45.
Lee, D.M.M., 2020. Covid-19: agnotology, inequality, and leadership. Human Resource
Development International, 23(4), pp.333-346.
Martland, A.M., Huffines, M. and Kiersten Henry, D.N.P., 2020. Surge priority planning
COVID-19: critical care staffing and nursing considerations. Chest.
McGuire, D and et.al., 2020. Beating the virus: an examination of the crisis communication
approach taken by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19
pandemic. Human Resource Development International, 23(4), pp.361-379.
Rook, L. and McManus, L., 2020. Responding to COVID-19: Enriching students' responsible
leadership through an online work-integrated learning project. International Journal of Work-
Integrated Learning, 21(5), p.601.
Online
Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis. 2020. [ONLINE]. Available through<
https://www.pearlmeyer.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-the-covid-19-crisis>
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