The effect of leader emotional intelligence on leader–follower chemistry: a study of construction project managers

Abstract

Extending Nicolini’s notion of project ‘chemistry’, a ‘leader–follower chemistry’ model associated with the quality of dyadic interpersonal communication in construction projects is developed. The focus is on the project manager as leader in an attempt to deepen understanding of the effect of a project manager’s emotional intelligence (EI) on the quality of interpersonal communication with their followers, being other members of the project team. While a project manager’s EI, with its associated emotional competencies, is often seen as critical in achieving good relationships with members of the project team, it remains a largely understudied concept, particularly in construction projects. Primary data collected using a series of analytical surveys and live observations of site-based project meetings was used to examine the relationship between a project manager’s emotional competencies, particularly sensitivity and expressiveness, and leader–follower chemistry. Overall, 68 construction professionals participated in the study. The findings suggest that a project manager’s emotional sensitivity and expressiveness (particularly head gestures) may explain variance in the quality of leader–follower chemistry. Based on the empirical evidence in the context of team communication, a leader–follower chemistry model is introduced, which emphasizes the importance of leaders’ emotional sensitivity and expressiveness in a leader–follower communication dyad. The model may be particularly salient in complex project networks with a large number of prominent actors.