Sailing through the pandemic: role of authentic leadership and horizontal collectivism in unlocking work engagement in Indian startups

Purpose Responding to the radical changes in work practices and extensive virtual forms of interaction brought by COVID-19, this study aims to investigate the role played by authentic leadership and horizontal collectivism in helping the Indian startups sail through the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered through standardized questionnaires from 300 leaders and 300 employees from Indian startups during the second phase of lockdown. Statistical analysis using AMOS 23.0 checks for the direct effect of authentic leadership on work engagement and the moderating effect of horizontal collectivism on the relationship between the two. This study also compares the results between self-ascribed and perceived authentic leadership. Findings Statistical analysis using AMOS 23.0 was done to check for the direct effect of authentic leadership on work engagement and the moderating effect of horizontal collectivism on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement. This study also compared the results between self-ascribed and perceived authentic leadership. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explores the role of authentic leadership in unlocking work engagement among employees serving in Indian startups during the pandemic. The lesson learned from this is when employees perceived their leaders to be authentic, the work culture to be nonhierarchical and felt collective responsibility toward work, it unlocked their high potential and made them soulfully engaged in their work.