The Role of Leadership in the Social Resilience of Alabama Churches Impacted by Natural Disaster
The Role of Leadership in the Social Resilience of Alabama Churches Impacted by Natural Disaster
Elizabeth Ashley Newcomb | 2020
Abstract
The success of an organization depends on many factors, including relationships. Organizational success is impacted by such relationships as those between leaders and followers within the organization, the relationships between the organization and other organizations, the relationship between the organization and the environment, and the relationships between the organization and the community. In addition to the overall success, these relationships also impact the social resilience of the organization. The social resilience of an organization is determined by how the organization processes a threat presented by the environment, such as a natural disaster, and how the organization survives, evolves, and even thrives after the event. This dissertation examined the behavior of leaders within socially resilient organizations to determine which leadership behaviors were associated with organizational social resilience. By using a phenomenological approach in which six participants were interviewed using qualitative methodology, a picture was formed of leadership behavior from two mainstream evangelical Christian churches. Both of these mainstream evangelical churches were located in Wetumpka, Alabama, and experienced catastrophic destruction through a tornadic event occurring on January 19, 2019. Through interviewing three participants from each organization, fifteen meta-themes emerged as related to the behavior of senior pastors leading socially resilience organizations. These meta-themes included: (a) acts of faith, (b) acts of service, (c) charity, (d) acceptance/inclusion, (e) consistency/continuity, (f) openness, (g) shared identity, (h) community involvement, (i) rapid response, (j) communication, (k) interpersonal connection, (l) encouragement, (m) corporate worship, (n) decision-making, and (o) empowering followers. Although additional research is needed to confirm the findings and examine further generalizability, this study serves to fill a gap in the literature regarding the role of organizational leadership in organizational social resilience.