More than Words: Interpersonal Skills and Effective Leadership

Abstract

Although interpersonal skills are essential to leader effectiveness, the precise nature of these skills remains elusive, including how they should be measured and developed. This symposium brings together five papers that shed light on i) how to measure leader interpersonal skills, ii) the antecedents of these skills (e.g., emotional intelligence), iii) the processes whereby leader interpersonal skills are related to important criteria (such as interpersonal effectiveness, career success, and ethics) and iv) outcomes of interpersonal skills in organizations. The symposium brings together cutting edge research that is relevant to multiple Academy divisions (Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, and Management Education) to better understand the relationship between interpersonal skills and leader/manager effectiveness. Papers cover topics of interest to management scholars and practitioners, including emotional intelligence (Cherniss), social and communication skills (Riggio & Ono), ethical leadership and interpersonal moral influence (Jennings, Hannah & Bluhm), communication skills and innovation (Obstfeld) and leader interpersonal skills (Beenen & Pichler). This cohesive set of interrelated papers from leading researchers on interpersonal skills and leadership directly addresses the theme of the 2014 conference, The Power of Words. Social Skill as Knowledge Articulation and Social Network Connecting: How Words Create Innovation Presenter: David Obstfeld; California State U., Fullerton Developing a Model and Measure of Managerial Interpersonal Skills Presenter: Gerard Beenen; California State U., Fullerton Presenter: Shaun Pichler; California State U., Fullerton Leader Perceived Ethical Skill and the Enactment of Ethical Leadership Presenter: Peter Jennings; U.S. Military Academy, West Point Presenter: Sean Hannah; Wake Forest U. Presenter: Dustin James Bluhm; U. of Colorado Colorado Springs How Outstanding Leaders use Emotional Intelligence to Manage Interpersonal Challenges Presenter: Cary Cherniss; Rutgers U. Assessing and Developing Basic Managerial and Leader Communication Skills Presenter: Ronald E. Riggio; Claremont McKenna College Presenter: Masakatsu Ono; Claremont Graduate U.