Manifest leadership styles in a Caribbean cross-sector network

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership styles emerging within a cross-sector national disaster management network in the Caribbean. Design/methodology/approach – Since little empirical research exists on leadership styles within multi-agency systems, particularly those focussed on disaster management, this exploratory study relied on a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews with the network’s participants allowed for a better understanding of group dynamics and members’ leadership approaches. Findings – The analysis identified what and when certain leadership styles manifest themselves in the network based on the stages of the disaster management cycle. The findings also underscored the need for a combination of transactional and transformational leadership in a disaster management context. Research limitations/implications – Although qualitative methods do not afford generalizability beyond the case study, they do provide depth of knowledge of an under-researched phenomenon and indicate a need for future comparative case studies and longitudinal research on cross-sector disaster management systems and leadership issues. Originality/value – As one of the first studies to chart leadership styles that collaborative members practice in such networks in the Caribbean, this research contributes to scholarship on networks in general and leadership within disaster management networks in particular.