When the Crisis Is Personal: A Phenomenological Study of Women and Leadership

• In Event: Rights, Resilience, Crises & Challenges

Short Description

While an organizational crisis is studied extensively, most lines of research assume the organization is the entity in crisis. But what about when the leader is in a crisis? This study seeks to describe the experiences of eight women who have gone through personal crises while in a senior leadership role. Four themes were identified preliminarily. Implications include adding a new area of research to the literature and better understanding the needs and challenges of senior leaders experiencing a personal crisis.

Detailed Abstract

Organizational crisis is a highly studied sensation. Extensive research has been conducted on crisis management, leader behaviors, leader skills and the role of emotions in crisis situations. Yet, one area remains virtually untouched by the scores of research on the topic. The afore-mentioned work assumes the organization is the entity in crisis. But what about when it is the leader in crisis? This phenomenological study seeks to better understand women’s experiences as an organizational leader, while in the midst of personal crisis.
In an organizational sense, crisis has been defined as, “a major, unfamiliar, and unusual situation…an unexpected event in that the manager has not had sufficient time to prepare for it… a situation that has the potential to result in major consequences for the organization and/or its members,” (Sayegh, Anthony, & Perrewe, 2004, p. 183). Ellis (2005) described crisis through a personal lens, stating, “Personal crisis, like institutional crisis, is unusual, usually unfore-see-able [sic], and creates instability,” (Ellis, 2005, p. 8).
What the literature suggests overall is that there are specific behaviors that successful leaders enact in times of crisis (clear and consistent communication, sound decision-making, delegation, and others) (See Boin, 2004; Boin, ‘t Hart, Stern, & Sundelius, 2005; Jaques, 2012; Pin, 2012; Van Wart & Kapucu, 2011). Likewise, there are specific traits and skills that leaders who are successful in crises have such as sensemaking abilities, resilience, caring attitude and courage (and others) (See James & Wooten, 2005; Klann, 2003; Van Wart, 2004, 2008; Van Wart & Kapucu, 2011; Wooten & James, 2008). However, all of this research is focused on the leader’s behaviors, skills, and traits as they connect to organizational crisis. Unknown are the behaviors, skills, and traits of individuals who are leading while experiencing personal crisis.
In a deep dive search of the literature on this topic, just two articles were found at the intersection this paper seeks to understand. Both argue that a void exists in the literature, calling for a focus on this personalized aspect of leading during crisis (Ellis, 2005; Hickman & Creighton-Zollar, 2000). These researchers argue the topic is too important not to understand more fully.
More recently, in 2016, Hickman and Knouse presented findings from an exploratory mixed methods study. Findings focused on disclosure (did they talk about the crisis and to whom), as well as on the strategies employed to work through the crisis effectively. Findings also explored how leaders personally experienced crisis (for example, 40% surveyed said crisis lasted a few months, 20% said it was still ongoing); how leaders personally handled crisis (positive coping strategies such as prayer and social support were listed as most frequent approach for managing the impact on their well-being); and, how leaders managed crisis in their role as leaders (for example, to manage the impact of the crisis, participants cited they ‘focused on work’ and ‘delegated work’ most frequently) (Hickman & Knouse, 2016). The Hickman & Knouse study (2016) begins to describe the experiences of these leaders, but no single research study can provide a complete description of the issue at hand. More is needed to fully uncover the essence of this experience.
The purpose of this qualitative study (as adapted from Hickman & Creighton-Zollar, 2000) is to describe the experiences of individuals in leadership roles as they handle personal crisis. The central research questions is as follows: How do senior leaders describe experiencing a personal crisis while leading an organization?
For purposes of this research, personal crisis is defined as “A disruptive event or emergency that affects the leader in a private or intimate area of his or her life,” (Hickman & Creighton-Zollar, 2000, p. 60). And, senior leaders are described as those most responsible for the outcomes of their organization. “Their decisions have implications for everyone else in the organization as well as for the future of the organization itself,” (Riddle, 2008).
Using a phenomenological approach, eight interviews were conducted with senior leaders who identify as female and have experienced personal crisis while in their organizational leadership role. Data was collected in two ways: 1) a 12-question online demographic survey, and 2) a 30-90 minute semi-structured participant interview. Participants answered a series of questions related to the personal crisis they experienced, including what skills they used to continue leading, who saw which emotions in the workplace, and what was in place that made the situation easier or more difficult for them.
Moustakas’ (1994) Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis (Moustakas, 1994; Creswell, 2013) was followed culminating in the preliminary identification of 4 themes: (a) A need to be at work; (b) Workplace care and support; (c) Strategies for getting through; and (d) What organizations can do.
Ultimately, this study seeks to build a foundation of understanding related to the experiences of individuals who are both leading organizations and experiencing personal crisis. There is little information to date on what this phenomenon looks and feels like, though there is much out there on experiencing leadership through organizational crisis. Implications include adding a new area of research to the literature where a current void exists, and better understanding the needs and challenges of women in positional leadership experiencing personal crisis.

Presenters

• Kathleen Brandert, University of Nebraska Medical Center

• Gina S. Matkin