Crisis leadership and power dynamics in Portuguese hospitals: organisational learning from COVID-19

What is it about?

This study examines how three Portuguese hospitals managed leadership challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that official decision-making structures were often slow or unclear, creating confusion for healthcare staff. To keep services running, many teams developed their own informal ways of coordinating work when formal guidance was delayed or contradictory. These informal solutions became essential for maintaining patient care and helped hospitals adapt more quickly to fast-changing conditions. The study shows that effective crisis management depends not only on official rules and leaders, but also on the ability of frontline professionals to collaborate and solve problems in real time.

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