Fostering Employee Engagement Through Leadership Strategies in Disruptive Environment: Learning from Experiences

Leadership has always been a sought after role and a topic of discussion across ages. It is a role which is desirous for many but very few are able to effectively perform as a leader. In the present context, the challenges of leadership are increasing in leaps and bounds than that in the recent past. Pre- and post-pandemic has witnessed a radical change in the work settings and employee expectations. The convergence of the VUCA and BANI environment witnessed a pervasive transformation in the business world triggering a host of challenges and opportunities for organizations across industries (Andrea and G. F., & Jimenez-Hernandez, P. R. in Advances in Human Resources Management and Organizational Development Book Series 20–43, 2024). Leaders had to experience a dramatic role progression to meet the expectations of the organizations, their team members, and external demands. This article delves into the leaders’ insight to the changing experiences during turbulent times and gives this study a new dimension to deal with the complex situations. The in-depth interviews conducted with the leaders, of minimum experience of ten years and span of control of at least five people, reveal that in the multicultural hybrid work settings, being a mentor and an empathetic catalyst is immensely appreciated by all stakeholders than that of a regular boss. Employees need support and comfort to perform and they look up to the leader as an advisor than that of an evaluator. The interactions with the leaders encouraged the researchers to recommend a dynamic work environment where the employees experience a psychosocial security which in turn can create an engaging and stable structure.