Lecture 11 Readings Flashcards
leadership in the covid-pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to explore the relationships among character, identification-based trust, and perceptions of leadership effectiveness in the context of crisis leadership
what personality traits are associated with perceptions of presidential success?
- hardworking
- achievement-minded
- willing and able to speak up for one’s interests
- valuing the emotional side of life
- trusting traditional sources of moral authority
- being willing to bend the rules to get their way
- being somewhat narcissistic
character vs. personality
- Character is anchored in behaviours and can be learned through deliberate practice, while personality traits are relatively stable and agnostic to virtue
- The development of virtues that comprise character is context-sensitive, unlike personality
virtuous character
is concerned with the quality of judgment in decision-making and is not limited to the domain of ethical or moral decision-making
character
an amalgam of virtues, personality traits, and values that help facilitate sustained excellence in individuals, teams, and organizations
what traits does character encompass?
only traits that are virtuous
virtues
situationally appropriate behaviours that are widely considered emblematic of good leadership in that they contribute to the well-being of societies
Crossan et al.’s leader framework demonstrated through quantitative and qualitative studies that:
- The character dimensions of leadership are interconnected
- Judgement exists at the centre of the interconnected dimensions
Crossman et al. 2017 on leadership
leadership is a function of competencies, character, and commitment to the role of leadership
context and leadership
leadership is always context-dependent
Barber’s typology of presidential character
identified two dimensions and classified presidents into one of four categories
4 categories in barber’s typology
Active-positive
Active-negative
Passive-positive
Passive-negative
Three problems with Barber, Crossan, and other frameworks of leadership:
- They are not always based on rigorous empirical research
- They employ a limited assortment of indicators of character that are not necessarily comparable across time or cases
- They do not capture the complex ontology (interdependence) of character
trust and democracy
Trust is vital to success in a well-functioning democracy
what is trust based on?
the character of the leader and their empathy with other people’s desires and intentions
impact of trust on democracy
It strengthens the leader-follower relationship
trust and leader effectiveness
Trust is associated with positive perceptions of leader effectiveness
implicit leadership theory
employees create cognitive representations of the world, including the characteristics that people generally associate with effective leaders
importance of character during the pandemic
- Character is seen as important for political leadership by individuals of voting age
- The importance of character in a leader increased since the initial stages of the pandemic
identification-based trust of Trudeau throughout the pandemic
Identification-based trust and ratings of perceived leadership efficiency in Trudeau decreased
regional and political differences in perceptions of Trudeau’s leadership effectiveness during the pandemic
- Liberals reported higher perceptions of leadership effectiveness for Trudeau than non-Liberals
- Regional rather than provincial affiliation accounts for differences in political culture across Canada
importance of the dimensions of character in political leadership
- Respondents agreed that each of the 11 dimensions of character was an essential aspect of political leadership
- There was a varying gap between the perceived importance of the dimensions that comprise leader character and the belief that Trudeau lived up to these expectations
identification-based trust and leadership effectiveness
- Identification-based trust helps to explain the relationship between perceptions of character and leadership effectiveness
- This is associated with voting behaviour
- This means that leaders are unlikely to gain traction in the absence of perceptions of character and trust
what sectors are issues of character and trust salient for?
Issues of character, trust, and leadership effectiveness are salient across all sectors
strengths of the Sejits et al. study
- Longitudinal design
- The three samples were representative of the electorate
- The surveys were anonymous
- Included all 11 dimensions of the character framework developed by Crossan et al.
limitations of the Sejits et al. study
- The sample size was relatively small (650 people per survey)
- The data is self-reported
- The cross-sectional nature of the data collection limits the statistical test that can be conducted and the interpretation of the findings
- Cannot draw causal conclusions
- Trust and effectiveness are context-dependent and may be susceptible to contrast effects
- Did not control for extraneous variables
health outcomes in Indigenous communties
Indigenous populations are at greater risk for severe health outcomes due to their social, economic, and cultural inequities
COVID-19 outbreak in Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan
In the Spring of 2020, First Nations and Metis communities in northwestern Saskatchewan experienced the province’s first serious COVID-19 outbreak
9 themes of challenges with managing the outbreak
- uncertainty
- lack of infrastrutcure
- lack of resources
- public health restrictions
- hidden homelessness and housing
- pre-existing lack of trust
- privacy issues
- burnout and overwork
- remoteness
uncertainty
there was little understanding of the virus and how it could be contained
lack of infrastructure
there were no necessary healthcare facilities, housing, healthcare personnel, and accommodations
lack of resources
it was difficult to access PPE, staff resources, and technology
public health restrictions
measures such as a curfew, travel restrictions, and highway checkpoints limited travel in and out of the community
hidden homelessness and housing
crowded housing and hidden homelessness made it difficult to successfully isolate
pre-existing lack of trust
misinformation on social media started to erode some community members’ trust in leadership
privacy issues
some community members requested information for those who tested positive but this was denied by health authorities due to confidentiality reasons
burnout and overwork
burnout by healthcare workers was exacerbated by chronic healthcare worker shortages in northern communities
remoteness
remoteness was a barrier to accessing healthcare services
4 categories of consequences of the outbreak
- food insecurity
- stigma
- differing world views
- mental health and addiciton
food insecurity
it was difficult to get food into the community amid highway blockages
stigma
participants experienced stigma when travelling to cities for appointments
differing world views
COVID-19 exposed cultural differences between Indigenous communities and Western health institutions. Even within communities, members disagreed on how the outbreak should be handled
mental health and addiction
the outbreak exacerbated mental health challenges and addictions due to increased stress, living conditions, lack of resources, uncertainty, and forced isolation
7 categories of successes of the outbreak
- community leadership
- partnerships
- the community-managed alcohol program
- isolation and housing support
- communiaction
- kinship
- connecting to the land
community leadership
local leadership played a major role in the success of the COVID-19 response
partnerships
supportive partnerships between community leaders, nearby Indigenous communities, governments and organizations, public safety, and the health authority were key to the containment effort
the community-managed alcohol program (MAP)
provided community members in isolation who were dependent on alcohol a safe way to get the product, reducing the risks of withdrawal
isolation and housing support
community leaders arranged for isolation trailers
communication
frequent virtual meetings were held between community members and public health officials in the province
kinship
pre-existing relationships with the community helped coordinate and communicate throughout the outbreak
connecting to the land
several members and their families returned to traditional territory to seek refuge and avoid the risk of COVID-19
Carr et al.’s recommendations for improving health outcomes in Indigenous communities
- Respecting Indigenous leadership and ways of knowing
- Acknowledging and respecting the differences between Indigenous communities and Western institutions
- Improving communication, coordination, and consistency in ongoing relationships between organizations and communities
Carr et al’s study limitation
the findings may not be broadly applied to other provincial or Indigenous communities given their unique context
medical officers during the pandemic
- Canadians have shown a deep appreciation for medical officers during the unsteady times of the COVID pandemic
- They are seen as trustworthy in a time of great anxiety
gender of medical officers
7/14 of Canada’s medical officers are women
importance of having female medical officers
There is hope that seeing so many high-profile women chief medical officers will influence a generation of girls and young women
are women underrepresented in health?
Women remain underrepresented in the most prestigious leadership roles in health
barriers to women in the healthcare sector
- Ingrained gender expectations
- Implicit bias that men make better leaders
- Harassment
- A lack of mentors
result of the barriers women face
a lack of confidence
diversity in leadership and health outcomes
- Research shows that diversity in health leadership benefits population health
- Gaps in healthcare leadership lead to half of the population being ignored
example of gendered gaps in healthcare
it wasn’t until 1997 that Health Canada introduced guidelines on including women in pharmaceutical trials
what often motivates women in leadership roles?
seeking equity
