| During the financial crisis, a lack of effective leadership within the mortgage banking industry contributed to financial and human capital losses. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore employee perceptions of the organizational consciousness of mortgage banking leaders during a financial crisis. The theories of effective leadership and leadership styles served as the theoretical framework for this research. A sample of 18 mortgage-banking employees in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex answered an open-ended employee satisfaction questionnaire and participated in focus groups designed to elicit data to identify the following as they pertain to a financial crisis: (a) best practices of effective leadership and best leadership styles of executive management in mortgage banking organizations, (b) best practices of effective leadership to positively impact employee job satisfaction in a mortgage banking industry, and (c) actions a leader can take to improve employee satisfaction. Participants identified management's demonstration of their support of employees through communication and action as a crucial leadership practice, and identified management's focus on people as having a critical impact on employee job satisfaction. Improving employee satisfaction depended on communication including: (a) letting employees know what was going on, encouraging communication within teams, (b) creating an environment that supports open and honest communication, (c) making it possible for employees to raise issues without reprisal, and (d) encouraging employees to report issues before they become critical. Future studies should employ larger, more representative samples. Findings may help firms deal more effectively with financial crisis in the future, thereby lessening future losses of financial and human capital. |
