A CRITICAL REVIEW OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP

Abstract

The role of emotional intelligence and leadership is becoming increasingly important. Effectiveness relies on the ability of leaders to respond to ongoing pressures and to manage others efficiently. One goal of the emotional intelligence is to improve the effectiveness of today’s and future leaders by implementing rigorous standards for selecting, developing, and assessing leaders. This focus on leader selection and development has prompted an interest in examining the qualities of successful leaders. Recently, interest in the new concept of emotional intelligence has flourished as a result of the claims suggesting that emotional intelligence can be used to select and develop successful leaders. Leaders who exhibit heightened levels of emotional intelligence may be more likely to engage in transformational leadership behaviours than those individuals who possess lower levels of emotional. However, only a few studies have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of emotional intelligence models and measures, and to make a conceptual link between components that fall under the concept of emotional intelligence and effective leadership behaviours.