New Insights in the Basic Psychological Needs of Leaders Not to Fail Organizational Change: Post-Pandemic View on Leader’s Experience—A Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to uncover underlying mechanisms and basic psychological needs of leaders that will enable them to cope with organizational change in a multi-crisis context. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses the qualitative research approach of qualitative content analysis to explore leader's positive and negative experiences during change in a multi-crisis context. Findings: This research highlights the critical role of leaders' basic psychological needs in organizational change within a multi-crisis context, thereby illustrating the necessity of providing need-based experiences and need-supported change designs. This study has recognized the importance of taking into consideration all four identified levels of change: personal, situational, decisional, and transitional-when implementing change initiatives, as a need-supported change design. Data indicate that, despite expressing a leader's strong need for involvement and community, the need is not adequately satisfied by rituals and communitas. These results indicate the need to integrate both success factors and failure factors in a simultaneous manner to increase leader's positive experiences and reduce negative experiences during change, with the aim of providing need-based experiences. Originality/Value: This paper provides new findings and theoretical descriptions in the understudied area of a leader's basic psychological needs and emerged success and failure factors during change in a multi-crisis context.