Application of Leadership Theories to Crisis Management in Institutions of Higher Learning: The Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted individuals and organizations globally. It has significantly affected educational institutions. Institutions that had considered only traditional approaches to learning were left with little or no choice but to shift to virtual or online learning modality. Many educators and educational leaders were not prepared for the rapid change that the pandemic caused. The concept of virtual education or learning was not considered an effective substitute to traditional learning approaches by many institutions before the pandemic. Higher education institutions faced grave challenges in starting or continuing their courses of action. These challenges posed by the pandemic heavily impacted various spheres of the institutions, with much of the burden on teaching, learning, and finance. Institutions responded to the crisis in the most effective way they knew how. This paper analyzes theories and approaches that were applicable to the COVID-19 crisis management strategies in institutions of higher learning during the pandemic. It explores four critically interwoven leadership approaches inclusive of transformational, servant, adaptive, and team leadership, which were inarguably beneficial for both long- and short-term impacts on the advancement of higher education in an unstable environment like the one imposed by COVID-19.