From Adversity to Empowerment: Educational Leaders Emerging Stronger From Weathering the COVID-19 Storm

This study investigates adversarial growth among educational leaders who led internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines how facing adversity influences leaders’ confidence and skill development, as well as the key factors that enable adversarial growth during and after crisis leadership. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed, including a digital questionnaire, and three one-on-one virtual interviews with six participants (four who led in the United States at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and two who led in Brazil at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), and an optional focus group with participants joining virtually from the United States, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Data were analyzed inductively using in vivo coding to identify categories, themes, and patterns across participants. Findings indicated that educational leaders grew their confidence and skills while navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic not in isolation, but through collaborative, team-based approaches. Relational and human centered aspects of leadership were critical in supporting both personal and professional growth under adversity. These findings informed the development of the B.U.O.Y. leadership team framework, a model for fostering high-functioning leadership teams grounded in trust, interdependence, open communication, and well-being.