Date
5-2022
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Chair
Katherine Hyatt
Keywords
higher education, transformational leadership, situational leadership, crisis, change management
Disciplines
Business | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Mary Susan, "Going Virtual: Addressing the Challenges Faced by Organizational Leaders When Employees Transition to Virtual Environments in Times of Crisis" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3644.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3644
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities across the world moved their operations online. While a great deal of focus was placed on the value of teaching and learning during a crisis period, very little attention was paid to the other side of higher education institutions—the business side. Suddenly these institutions and their operational staff were forced to discover new ways to perform tasks that had always been completed in person. The leaders of these organizations faced the added challenge of ensuring that their workforce remained engaged and motivated while working in the midst of stressful, even chaotic situations. This study found that these leaders played a key role in the success of their workers in facing the challenges of moving to virtual work environments during a crisis. Through supportive leadership, effective communication, and even changes to their leadership models, these organizations succeeded in weathering the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while learning lessons that many plan to take forward into their new normal.
