Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how leadership can better respond to a crisis. It aims to integrate ideas from existentialism into a discussion of how leadership could develop and provoke debate.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the literature on leadership, crisis management and existentialism was adopted for the preferred research methodology.
Findings
This paper identified a gap in the literature on leadership in an exigency and offered an alternative to the technical-rationalist conceptions of leadership behaviour.
Practical implications
Reference is made to the benefits of counselling for leaders following a crisis.
Originality/value
This paper is an original contribution to the work on leadership. Through the concept of exige-stential leadership, this paper integrates ideas taken from existentialist philosophy, to provide a new way of conceptualising leadership in an exigency.
The purpose of this paper is to explore how leadership can better respond to a crisis. It aims to integrate ideas from existentialism into a discussion of how leadership could develop and provoke debate.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the literature on leadership, crisis management and existentialism was adopted for the preferred research methodology.
Findings
This paper identified a gap in the literature on leadership in an exigency and offered an alternative to the technical-rationalist conceptions of leadership behaviour.
Practical implications
Reference is made to the benefits of counselling for leaders following a crisis.
Originality/value
This paper is an original contribution to the work on leadership. Through the concept of exige-stential leadership, this paper integrates ideas taken from existentialist philosophy, to provide a new way of conceptualising leadership in an exigency.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 333-347 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Leadership and Organization Development Journal |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 26 Jan 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Apr 2021 |
Keywords
- Exige-stential leadership
- Existentialism
- Authentic leadership
- Complexity theory
- Crisis management