Examining the effectiveness of various leadership styles in Indian companies during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to find out which leadership styles are effective during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. In this study, the term “effective leadership styles” is used for defining the efficiency level of a leadership style in COVID-19 pandemic. Efficiency level refers to the constructive results which companies could reach due to a specific leadership style. During the pandemic, the main constructive result is the surviving in the market. It has been heavy heartedly witnessed that how dreadful COVID-19 turned out to be. It has affected the whole world. After the great recession that occurred in COVID-19 turned out to be most fatal for whole world economy. It has been seen that difficult for all the businesses to survive. To do so the whole role was of leadership. It was on the leaders whether if they led their company and their followers in right directions or vice versa. It has been seen many well reputed companies have been shedding their costs by downsizing. The proposed study aims to see the role of leadership during this crucial time of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach — 120 structured questionnaires consisting of 14 statements were distributed to Indian IT companies through online channels such as LinkedIn and WhatsApp. The analysis was performed on the data collected using SPSS. Theoretical Framework — From reviewing the literature about leadership styles, 7 leadership styles have been highlighted as the theoretical basis for our study. The questionnaire has been developed based on the 7 styles. Results – Our study found out that during the pandemic Instruct-style, Transformational, Autocratic, and Strategic leadership styles have high level of effectiveness, and such styles are helping companies to cope with the crisis created by Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile our analysis showed that the Transactional, Laissez-Faire, and Democratic styles are not very effective during the crisis. Thus, our study discovered that during the crisis leaders need to take more autocratic role and give very clear instructions to employees. Study provides useful insights for academicians and marketers to device strategies by understanding the factors that portray how leaders can lead their employees in crucial times like COVID-19.