Role of Strategic Leaders in Unexpected Healthcare Crisis Management

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the roles of strategic leaders in business concerns and how they maintain sustainability in business during an unexpected crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis on the healthcare industry, organizational performance, and various leadership strategies to overcome such a crisis. Methods: Hospital leaders frequently face new challenges, especially in a healthcare crisis like a pandemic, which may be beyond the scope of the current leadership practices. Additional unavoidable responsibilities may arise, affecting employees' productivity, emotions, adaptability, and leadership styles in a crisis. Result: Transformational leadership is identified as suitable for leaders in a crisis to motivate employees and introduce rapid changes to maintain sustainability. Employee engagement, motivation, innovation, creativity, and many more are critical for a business's survival in a crisis. Transformational leaders are active and utilize different tactics to formulate and implement decisions, provide motivation, promote innovation, display the significance of supporting the organization, and strengthen employee engagement. Conclusion: Influential leaders have roles ranging from routine management activities to handling extra-work roles such as strategy formulation, technology expert, coach, mentor, entrepreneur, etc. Swift changes in leadership styles are necessary to accommodate such rapid changes brought by crises in the healthcare sector for work situations.