A Narrative Analysis of Filipino Local Government Leaders' Covid-19 Crisis Leadership Experiences

Date of Award

8-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies, major in Organization Development

First Advisor

Emerald Jay D. Ilac, PhD

Abstract

Local government leaders are responsible for COVID-19 response strategies in their localities. The attainment of ‘normalcy’ rests heavily on how well these leaders carry out planned COVID counter measures despite challenging circumstances. Twelve Philippine provincial mayors were interviewed for their stories of crisis leadership during this pandemic. Their narratives were processed using a categorical content approach. In these narrations, the mayors described their crisis leadership in terms of tasks, dilemmas and competencies to achieve the goal of normalcy in their localities. The mayors identified eight critical tasks: understanding COVID-19, testing for the virus, contact tracing, treating infected people, protecting the population, providing assistance, preparing the government response infrastructure, and communicating to stakeholders. The mayors likewise voiced out dilemmas they hurdled: health versus economy, national versus local strategies and public service versus personal care. Competencies needed to be effective in their role included both crisis management capabilities i.e., problem solving and decision- making, crisis communication, and crisis responsiveness; and personal characteristics of empathy and compassion, political will, humility, and fortitude. The mayor’s agency was impacted by contextual factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, local governance system and Filipino culture. Altogether, the interweaving of these elements made the mayors’ crisis leadership narratives in this period rich and complex. The study also raised theoretical and practical implications for crisis leadership research and practice.

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