Crunch Time : When Leadership Matters Most

Michael D Cook; M. Kenneth Holt

doi:10.26703/jct.v10i1.196

Authors

Michael D. Cook Grand Canyon University, Phoenix AZ, USA
M. Kenneth Holt Austin Peay State University, Clarksville TN, US

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26703/jct.v10i1.196

Keywords:

Crunch Time, Leadership, Organisation, Uncertainty

Abstract

Leadership has been the focus of many academic papers and research studies. While there have been countless studies covering leadership style, traits of successful leaders, and theories of leadership, less attention has been paid to specific times or situations which call for more leadership than others. This paper will address three situations in which leadership tends to matter the most: crisis, change, and uncertainty. Specifically, this paper will focus on reasons why leadership is most critical at these times, traits and characteristics of leaders who are most successful in such situations, and unique opportunities that exemplary leadership can uncover during such times. The remainder of this paper will discuss these situations in detail, explaining why each circumstance demands high quality leadership, as well as the specific traits and characteristics that leaders must possess in order to best serve their constituents during these times.

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