“Limping gallop”: leader resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: This article provides an in-depth study of leader resilience during the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on interviews with leaders in the hotel, retail and manufacturing industries during the pandemic. The analytical framework is individual resilience as both a process and an outcome. The analysis method is a combination of deductive and inductive content analysis. Findings: This study offers a rich description of the interaction among the behavioural, situational and individual factors influencing leaders during the various stages of the global COVID-19 crisis. Originality/value: Highlighting the role of leaders' personal reflections on the interaction between resilience factors and leaders' identity work, this paper contributes to the field by introducing an extended model of leader resilience.