With Yuli Suseno, School of Management, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia.
Our research
COVID-19 has, in many ways, challenged the traditional definition of leadership. With unprecedented effects to the workplace and employees, the pandemic has pushed organisations to react faster and be more effective in a period of continuous change and uncertainty. Organisations facing the new COVID-19 work realities had to manage extraordinary demands in relation to retention, downsizing, supply chain strains, or planning amid uncertainty but also work stress, exhaustion, and disengagement. While it is now well-known that certain leadership styles can arouse followers to a higher level of thinking, problem-solving and other positive work behaviours, some leadership styles only work for certain employees and under specific circumstances. In other words, we still understand poorly how to help the leader-employee dyad so that employees can be placed in the most favourable work environment, associated with positive work behaviours, such as employee voice, work innovative behaviour, and eventually organizational citizenship behaviour. In turn, this research intends to contribute to fill this gap and propose a refined understanding of the complex relationship between leadership and key employee work behaviours. The outcomes of this project will make an important contribution to academic knowledge in organizational behaviour and discuss important practical implications for leaders, managers, and employees. It will also help to support agile and sustainable organizations in volatile, uncertain, and complex environments in the post-pandemic era.
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Our findings