Middle Managers Who Thrived in Adversity: Now Recruiting Study Participants

Background

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most significant natural disasters to strike the USA, resulting in major loss of life and property in August 2005. With some scientists predicting a greater likelihood of future adverse weather events as a result of global climate shifts, there is a need to learn from experiences like Hurricane Katrina in order to ensure that organizations are better equipped to survive and perhaps even thrive through these experiences. Events like Hurricane Katrina present significant challenges for organizational leaders who must guide their organizations in preparing for and responding to crisis.

Middle managers in particular play important roles in translating strategy into action. Yet, relatively little is known about the processes that middle managers use to thrive when faced with adversity and the role of social support on this process.       

Study Methodology

This primary aim of this study is to explore the experiences of middle managers who thrived when faced with Hurricane Katrina to determine the impact of workplace social supports. The subjects in this study will consist of 15 middle managers employed by small to medium sized organizations with between 50 and 999 employees in the greater New Orleans geographic area impacted in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Middle manager participants in this study will be nominated by a senior leader in their organization as having thrived through the experience.

Recruiting for Participants

We are actively recruiting participants for this study: senior leaders in organizations that experienced Hurricane Katrina who would be willing to nominate middle managers who demonstrated thriving behavior. Although the participants in this study will not be compensated, it will provide a wonderful opportunity for middle managers impacted by Katrina to share their stories and help managers be better prepared for future crisis.

Senior leaders who are interested in participating should contact the Primary Investigator Kevin Nourse at 202-462-6252 or via email at k.nourse@verizon.net.