It would be hard to argue that humans are not emotional creatures. That feeling in your stomach as you crest the top of a roller coaster is not normally something that you can make disappear by sheer willpower alone. While not as extreme, receiving a good grade on a test you were nervous about passing may bring with it a sense of relief. The point that I am making is that emotional responses occur naturally throughout everyone’s day which is why emotional intelligence (EI) is such an important aspect of leadership. It is because of these naturally occurring emotions that an effective leader relies on the ability to proactively and reactively manage follower emotions (van Kippenberg & Van Kleef, 2016). My objectives are to provide examples of recent research supporting the theory that EI is a key contributor to effective leadership and how this knowledge can be utilized within organizations.
Although there are many definitions of EI it can be summarized as the ability to recognize, understand, and manage ones own and others’ moods and emotions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Researchers also suggest that “…people who are more sensitive to their own emotions and the impact of their emotions on others will be leaders who are more effective” (Northouse, 2016, p. 28). I was able to locate two recent studies that support the notion that high EI in a leader correlates to effective leadership. The first study, performed by Nabih, Metwally, and Nawar, used the definition of leadership effectiveness as “…the extent to which employees believe that their managers are successful as leaders” (2016, p.136). The research was held at Unilever Mashreq which is a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Company (FMCG) in Egypt. EI was tested using Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence test (MSCEIT) (in addition to others) and leadership effectiveness was scored using a questionnaire developed (and later modified) by Posner and Kouzes (1988). Findings showed that the correlational analysis showed EI has a significant strong and positive relationship with leadership effectiveness (r=0.771 and p=0.01).
The next study was performed by Edelman and van Kippenberg who expected that EI would have a positive relation to leadership effectiveness “…because leaders with higher EI respond more appropriately to follower expression of emotion, and display emotions that are more appropriate to the situation” (2018, p. 595). Their procedure included the MSCEIT test to score EI and role-playing exercises to score leadership effectiveness. An additional aspect of this study that was not included in previous example is the assessment of affective display (e.g. impacts of how the leader responds to the emotions of the follower). As with the first study, the results suggested that leaders with higher EI were more effective leaders. In addition, those high in EI were able to utilize their ability to recognize and effectively respond to follower emotion.
Source: Figure 1. Research model. Edelman & van Knippenberg, 2018, p. 595.
Using the results of these studies as proof of concept (e.g. EI is important to effective leadership), there are several ways this information can benefit organizations. First, it would be in the organization’s best interest to begin using some type of EI test for incoming talent. To take this a step further, existing employees could complete something along the lines of the MSCEIT test. Those who score high could be used as the potential talent pool for new or opening leadership opportunities. Next, EI concepts should be introduced to existing and emerging leaders (Mpofu, Bracken, van de vijver, & Staklofske, 2017). This could easily be done via online classes that provide the concept of EI and then tailored to the individual lines of business via different examples. Classes should include some of the common types of emotional responses from employees and ideas on how to address them from a leadership standpoint. The research evidence provided in this blog provides insight around the importance of EI and several ways organizations can incorporate EI to improve leadership effectiveness. I would like to point out that my examples are based around personal experiences within a call center environment. I am curious to hear your thoughts on how other organizations can incorporate EI.
References:
Edelman, P., & van Knippenberg, D. (2018). Emotional intelligence, management of subordinate’s emotions, and leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(5), pp. 592-607.
Mpofu, E., Bracken, B. A., van de Vijver, F. J., & Saklofske, D. H. (2017). Teaching about intelligence, concept formation, and emotional intelligence. Internationalizing the teaching of psychology, 281.
Nabih, Y., Metwally, A. H., & Nawar, Y. S. (2016). Emotional intelligence as a predictor of leadership effectiveness. The Business & Management Review, 7(5), pp. 133-144.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Posner, B., & Kouzes, J. (1988). Development and Validation of the Leadership Practices Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurements, 48(2), pp. 483-496.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). “Emotional intelligence”, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 185-211.
van Kippenberg, D., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2016). Leadership and affect: Moving the hearts and minds of followers”, Academy of Management Annals, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 799-840).