Date of Award

Spring 4-12-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Patricia White

Second Advisor

Julia Hadden

Third Advisor

Herb Callahan

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and describe behaviors that exemplary industrial production managers in organizations practice to lead their organizations through the turbulent times of COVID -19 using the leadership attributes of personal temperament, concern for the collective interest, resilience, and moral purpose.

Methodology: This qualitative study used a phenomenological research design. Data was collected from 10 interviews of industrial production managers and artifacts collected to discover and describe behaviors that industrial production managers in manufacturing organizations practice to lead their organizations through the turbulent times of the COVID-19 crisis.

Findings: The study revealed 27 themes that exemplary industrial production managers utilize to lead effectively through the turbulent times of the COVID-19 crisis using the attributes of moral purpose, concern for the collective interest, personal temperament, and resilience. They achieve this by using several different strategies and tools to help guide their actions during the crisis.

Conclusions: To lead effectively through the COVID-19 crisis, it was concluded that exemplary industrial production managers must use clear guidelines to help make difficult decisions while building rapport with their employees to develop trust on their team. They must stay abreast of what is going on in the organization so they can understand what is important to their people and build a culture of resilience by keeping the lines of communication open, learning from mistakes and focusing on the big picture.

Recommendations: Further research is recommended on leading through a crisis such as COVID-19 by comparing and contrasting the research of the Turbulence Team to look for commonalities and differences in population and experiences. In addition, the study could be replicated by looking at other industries, professions, levels of leadership, geographic area, and gender.

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