Abstract
With the advent of covid-19 and the exacerbation of the VUCA world, organizational models have been revised and a remote working environment has become the new reality for several firms. The purpose of the present study was to identify the emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies of organizational leaders that are deemed particularly important by their subordinates to increase engagement within this scenario. The methodology used consisted of an exploratory quantitative study on online surveys from 188 participants working in diverse Italian organizational contexts. What emerged is that leaders in times of crisis are expected to dominate reality by managing conflicting emotions and reducing uncertainties to transform the world into a rational and intelligible setting, while allowing their subordinates the right degree of autonomy. The paper contributes to the literature on organizational leadership competencies and responses to crises by providing practical implications and future research avenues.