Impact of Emotional Intelligence on the Establishment and Development of High Quality Leader Member Exchange (LMX)

Abstract

Leader member exchange (LMX) theory focuses to the dyadic relations between leader and each member. Members are classified into two groups as in-group and out-group members. As out-group members try to fulfill their predefined tasks, in-group members’ roles and responsibilities are negotiated and expanded. LMX process can be identified as reciprocal sacrifice. In-group members do more than expected for their leaders and in exchange they get more concern, understanding, help and support from their leaders. Members align with the leaders for several reasons as they like their leaders, they believe in the capabilities or wisdom of their leaders, they identify themselves with the leader or sometimes they are just willing to achieve their own goals or satisfy their own needs in a quicker way. The expectations, needs, values and personalities of the members are assumed to be important as being a member of the in-group. Although emotional intelligence level of the leader is investigated as an antecedent for LMX, researches analyzing the emotional intelligence dimensions of the members are relatively few. This research focus to the emotional intelligence dimensions of the members and investigates the impact of these dimensions on being a member of in-group or out-group.