Enhancing Creativity in Educational Institutions: Does Emotional Intelligence Matter?

Abstract

Academic experts have emphasised the significance of leadership elements like emotional intelligence in cultivating innovative thinking among workers in professional settings. There is a lack of understanding about how emotional intelligence affects various types of creativity. This study sought to determine the antecedent role of emotional intelligence on different dimensions of creativity. The study used an explanatory design methodology to explain the hypothesised relationship between study variables in a detailed and comprehensive manner. The research aimed to understand better how emotional intelligence affects creativity. The research revealed that emotional intelligence significantly and positively affects various forms of creative behaviour. Although the extent of impact varies across the three categories of creativity, idea championing and idea generation are the two categories most influenced by emotional intelligence. The research findings were obtained from a public educational institution, rendering the results potentially only applicable to similar institutions. This is due to the differences in work environments between public and private educational settings, which could impact the creative potential of employees. Additionally, the data was sourced from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, making the results particularly relevant to tertiary-level establishments. It is worth noting that this study was cross-sectional, so employees' creative abilities could change over time. Nonetheless, this research provides an opportunity for a future longitudinal study to be conducted in the same field. To help employees overcome their fear of the repercussions of creativity, organisations should focus on enhancing positive leadership behaviours such as emotional intelligence. However, it is important to consider the stage of creative behaviour when enhancing emotional intelligence among leaders, as studies have shown that emotional intelligence can have varying effects on creative behaviour. This research holds both practical and theoretical significance. This is a novel study to establish the direct impact of emotional intelligence and individual dimensions of creative behaviour in public TVETIs in developing countries such as Kenya. The study also extends the application of social cognitive theory by confirming that the role of leaders' personality traits, such as emotional intelligence, varies with the type of creative behaviour. This is because the embedded tasks in the dimensions of creative behaviour tasks differ