**3. Leadership styles, communication, and psychological safety**

#### **3.1 Leadership styles and performance**

Leadership styles matter the organizational performance. Fiedler (1996) argues that effective leadership is critical for the success or failure of a group, organization, or country [10]. For organizations to become capable enough to cope with the increasing volatility and turbulence of the external environment, leaders should be trained and equipped with the necessary skills [11–13]. It is very applicable to the everchanging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and effective leadership is indeed needed.

In the area of management, the relationship between leadership styles and performance has been plentifully discussed [14, 15]. The study's results are that the democratic and participative leadership styles tend to yield more success for the organization [16].

Among mainly case studies that provide evidence for the relationship between leadership and performance in general (for example, [17–19]), Thorlindsson (1987) conducted an empirical study that assessed the impact of leadership on performance in the context of Icelandic fishing ships [19]. Analyses of the study data over three years revealed that the captains' leadership qualities accounted for 35–49% of the variation in the catch of crews. Pointing out the limited empirical evidence of leadership and organizational performance, Ogbonna and Harris (2013) examined the relationship between the leadership style and organizational performance with mediating effects on organizational culture among the middle and large companies in the United Kingdom. They analyzed survey data from 322 key informants who knew various tactical and strategic activities of their companies and found that the associations between the leadership style and the organizational performance were all mediated by some form of organizational culture. They also pointed out that among all of the leadership styles that were indirectly significantly associated with the organizational performance, instrumental leadership styles that focus on exchange [20] were negatively related. In contrast, supportive and participative leadership styles were positively related.

Looking at the area close to social work, the empirical evidence of leadership styles is limited but exists in the management of eldercare homes. Donoghue and Castle (2009) examined the relationship between eldercare home administration (NHA) leadership styles and caregiver turn- over from 2900 eldercare homes [21]. They found that the NHAs' leadership style that heard and acted upon their employees' voices (i.g., consensus manager) was associated with the lowest turnover levels. In contrast, the other that did not communicate with their employees about decision making or expectations (i.g., share-holder manager) was associated with the highest turnover levels [21]. Adding the aspect of directors of eldercare homes (DONs) along with NHAs, Castle and Decker (2011) assessed how the top eldercare home management leadership styles were related to the care quality and other performance indices [22]. Their findings showed that a consensus manager leadership style was strongly associated with better quality.

As the research on leadership styles suggests, it would say that leadership styles that are supportive and participative with bi-directional communication processes, including listening and acting upon the employee's or follower's voice, can yield better organizational performance.
