Cognitive Diversity as the Quality of Leadership in Crisis: Team Performance in Health Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The level of leadership skills of healthcare team leaders has long been the subject of interest and many discussions. Several studies have pointed to their inadequacy, which is becoming a serious problem during the global crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a direct link between the leadership in the healthcare system and its performance, conditioned by the level of decisions of leaders of medical teams. It is they who determine the performance of healthcare delivery. The study published in this article contains the results from the examination of the dependence between crisis leadership and team performance in healthcare providers. The subject of the research is the impact of cognitive diversity and the quality of crisis-leadership decision-making on the performance of medical teams in the acute crisis phase. The study was conducted on a research sample of 216 healthcare providers after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia (April 2020). The respondents to the research sample involved team leaders in healthcare providers, who have been involved in managing the crisis. The study has justified the positive association between crisis leadership and team performance, which is mediated by cognitive diversity, supporting the quality of decision-making in crisis leadership. The results of the research have proven that the performance of the medical team in the acute crisis phase can be positively influenced through qualified decision-making in crisis leadership amplified by the usage of cognitive diversity.

Attributes of national governance for an effective response to public health emergencies: Lessons from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic

“…An effective response to crises requires competent political leadership, public health cognizance and evidence-based strategies, based not only on public health data but also on the education of leaders at all levels of society [ 50 ]. Decision-making processes using a diversity of knowledge can help with making quick decisions and improve trust, satisfaction, and engagement [ 51 ]. The Australian government was aware that ‘business as usual’ would not be enough to adequately respond to the pandemic; without dramatic action, hospitals would have been overwhelmed.…”

Coming Together: Strengthening the Intelligence Community Through Cognitive Diversity

“…The human element is not confined to this case but expands to all organizations, including the IC. Joniaková et al (2021) study focused on crisis leadership (CL), team performance, cognitive diversity, and decision-making during a crisis. Callum (2001) makes a compelling argu-ment on the human element in what he labels as the fundamental weakness of the IC and why cognitive diversity is essential for the IC.…”

“…He states, "with many intelligence professionals cut from the same cultural cloth, analysts share 'unacknowledged biases' that circumscribe both the definition of problems and the search for solutions" (26). Joniaková et al (2021) argue that uncertainty creates barriers to employees during a crisis. In comparison the IC often works within periods of crises that are often labeled as intelligence failures.…”

“…Examples include Pearl Harbor, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and 9/11. The most common leadership themes Joniaková et al (2021) determined within their literature review with a baseline variable they referred to as CL. Their research depicted four hypotheses: Hypothesis 1.…”

Not All Demands Are Exhausted for Healthcare Workers. A Cross-Lagged Study on the Buffering Effect of Leadership Resources

“…Leader behaviors such as support, empowerment and a high-quality relationship between leaders and their employees might prevent both stress and improve employees' stress coping and affective well-being [17] as well as innovative work behavior [80,81] and team performance [82,83], also in pandemic period. Only a few studies tested moderational function of leadership in job demands-burnout link.…”