Examining the leadership styles of fitness center managers according to their organizational response to the crisis: The Covid-19 outbreak case

The aim of the research is to examine the organizational responses of fitness center managers to the crisis during the Covid-19 epidemic in terms of leadership styles. In the research, "Phenomology" (phenomenology) design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group of the research was determined by using purposive sampling method. The working group consists of 6 sports managers who have been working in corporate sports centers in İzmir and Manisa for at least 1 year. The data in the research were obtained with 7 interview questions formed by open-ended question method. In the research, the "interview" approach were used as the data collection method. The interviews were conducted using a voice recorder and note-taking methods. In the study, the data were analyzed using the descriptive data analysis method. In the research, 6 sub-themes were formed under the general theme of crisis: shock stage, denial stage, acceptance stage, non-compliance stage, adaptation stage and all processes of the crisis. In the general theme of leadership, 3 sub-themes were formed as participatory leadership, autocratic leadership and advisory leadership. As a result of the research, the leadership styles of the managers in the fitness center according to their organizational reactions to the crisis were analyzed and the opinions of the participants were examined, it was seen that the managers showed a participatory leadership style during the entire crisis.