Date of Award

Spring 5-22-2024

Document Type

Dissertation - University of Massachusetts Global access only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

General Davie, Jr.

Second Advisor

Jody Graf

Third Advisor

Donna O'Neil

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the crisis leadership strategies exemplary CEOs of Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing Services (CCS/CHS) of Western Washington used to lead during the 2020- 2022 COVID-19 pandemic, viewed through the lens of Boin et al.’s (2017) five critical tasks of strategic crisis leadership (sense-making, decision-making and coordination, meaning-making, accounting, and learning). An additional purpose of this study was to understand and describe exemplary leaders’ experiences during a crisis. Methodology. A qualitative phenomenological study was used to identify and describe the crisis leadership strategies of nonprofit CEOs of the Archdiocese of Seattle. The data collected included (1) face-to-face interviews using semi-structured, open-ended questions; (2) artifacts; and (3) observations. Five participants were interviewed about their experiences.

Findings: The findings showed that nonprofit CEOs: (1) used their spirituality and personal faith to demonstrate hope and courage to their communities; (2) used electronic communications to distribute crisis plans; (3) relied on the Archdiocese for directives from federal, state, local and health professionals to assist in decision-making and coordination; (4) demonstrated honesty through transparent communication of information; and (5) made decisions in partnership with their community leaders.

Conclusions: The study resulted in five conclusions: (1) As CEOs made themselves available to their community, they demonstrated hope and courage through their spirituality and faith in God; (2) To provide timely information to communities, CEOs used electronic platforms to communicate crisis plans; (3) By relying on credible information from the Archdiocese, CEOs were able to make decisions and coordinate their actions; (4) CEO’s ability to send consistent messages through electronic platforms- built trust between the CEOs and the community; and (5) CEOs made decisions in partnership with their community to coordinate community action during the crisis.

Recommendations: The researcher recommends (1) to replicate this study with exemplary women leaders in the Archdiocese of Seattle; (2) a mixed-method study to assess perceptions of parish community leaders regarding CCS/CHS CEOs’ crisis leadership behaviors, using Boin et al.’s critical tasks; and (3) a qualitative study using a community focus group to review and evaluate the Archdiocese’s crisis response plan.

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