Emotional Intelligence: Importance in Effective Leadership Traits

This literature review examines the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in leadership effectiveness and employee performance. It analyzes five articles that explore various facets of EI, including its impact on transformational leadership, self-efficacy, employee motivation, job satisfaction, and team effectiveness. Dabke (2016) investigates the relationship between a leader's EI and transformational behavior on perceived leadership effectiveness, finding transformational leadership as an affirmative indicator of subordinate's leadership efficiency. Ramchunder and Martins (2014) focus on the police service, highlighting the importance of EI and self-efficacy in developing effective leaders. Vidyarthi, Anand, and Liden (2014) explore how emotionally perceptive leaders motivate higher employee performance, moderated by task interdependence and power distance. Miao, Humphrey, and Qian (2016) emphasize the positive connection between leaders' EI and employee job satisfaction. Balamohan, Tech, and Gomathi (2015) discuss the association of EI with employee performance, team effectiveness, leadership, and marketing effectiveness. The review concludes that EI plays a crucial role in directing individual behavior and improving organizational outcomes, although challenges remain in accurately measuring EI and determining its origins.

Running head: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence:
Important trait in effective workers and leaders
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

1EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Dabke, D., 2016. Impact of leader’s emotional intelligence and transformational behavior
on perceived leadership effectiveness: A multiple source view. Business Perspectives and
Research, 4(1), pp.27-40.
In this article, Dabke (2016) has mentioned about the importance of emotional
intelligence (EI) in the effectiveness of leadership. This article was based on the research carried
out to focus on the relationship between EI based on performance and transformational
leadership. The research purposed served the job role of the participants with efficient leadership
by the superiors and the perception of the sub-ordinates. The research sample consisted of 200
managers who went through the Mayer, Salovey and Caruso EI test and Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire 5X scale. Supervisory leadership survey was used for the purpose of this research
on the subordinates for measuring the viewpoint of effective leadership. The multiple regression
analysis outcomes have led to the advent of transformational leadership behavior as an
affirmative indicator of the subordinate’s leadership efficiency. On the other hand, supervisor’s
perception of effective leadership explained transformational leadership on a range of 48%. It
was found out at the end of this research that in terms of both perception of subordinates and the
leaders, EI of the leaders could not get success in rising as an indicator of the observed
effectiveness.
Ramchunder, Y. and Martins, N., 2014. The role of self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and
leadership style as attributes of leadership effectiveness. SA Journal of Industrial
Psychology, 40(1), pp.01-11.
Ramchunder and Martins (2014) has explained in their work that the police service is
complicated in its organizational structure and because of that; they face challenges in effective

2EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
leadership. The complex leadership nature in the police services is due to the failure in
developing the officers as effective leaders. The aim of this research was to find out about the
relationship among the three factors of emotional intelligence, self- efficiency and leadership
effectiveness. The research sample was composed of 107 police officers. Assessing Emotions
Scale, the self- efficacy scale, and the multi- factor leadership questionnaire was used as
instruments for assessment. EI and self- efficiency were used as the key factors in choosing
leaders for the police organizations and developing their skills for effective leadership. A
quantitative design was used for attaining the research objectives by using questionnaire for
gathering information from the selected sample. The findings of this research were used as a
guide for further selection of leaders in the police organization, which has paved the way for
further research and development.
Vidyarthi, P.R., Anand, S. and Liden, R.C., 2014. Do emotionally perceptive leaders
motivate higher employee performance? The moderating role of task interdependence and
power distance. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(2), pp.232-244.
According to Vidyarthi, Anand and Liden (2014) a wide extent of EI has scrutinized the
relationship between the employee performance and intelligence. A theory was developed to
make the research wider in the area of leader and employee relationship. Emotional intelligence
research and social change theory was combined to boost up employee performance based on the
leader’s emotional perception. Based on the social impact theory, it was countered in this article
that the power of the relationship was dependent on two research variables- intra- group task
dependence and power distance. The research hypothesis was assessed based on a sample of 350
employees among 74 workgroups. It was further supported by hierarchical linear modeling,
which resulted in assuming the relationship between the leaders’ emotional viewpoint and the

3EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
employee performance. The research findings highlighted that the relationship between them
could be enhanced by interdependence of job role. It further reduced the probable effect by
power distance.
Miao, C., Humphrey, R.H. and Qian, S., 2016. Leader emotional intelligence and
subordinate job satisfaction: A meta-analysis of main, mediator, and moderator
effects. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, pp.13-24.
In this article, the writers Miao, Humphrey and Qian (2016) emphasized on the important
factors of leaders’ emotional intelligence (EI). They have mentioned that the EI of the leaders is
positively connected with employee job satisfaction. It is a symbol to represent incremental
validity. It further represents the associated importance based on EI. On the other hand, the
subordinates’ emotional intelligence balances with the EI of the leaders and their job satisfaction
relation. The research was carried out with the purpose of finding out that emotional intelligence
of the leaders varies on certain national and cultural dimensions. The research was based on the
meta- analysis where the leader’s emotional intelligence was related positively to the employees’
job satisfaction. Different dimensions of EI have displayed important incremental value and the
associated importance of personality and cognitive ability to assume about job satisfaction. The
leaders’ EI represented important incremental validity and relative importance in front of the
subordinates’ EI to assume about job satisfaction. The research findings have determined that EI
is hardly related to employee job satisfaction and the leaders are more inclined towards employee
satisfaction in low humane organizational culture.

4EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Balamohan, P., Tech, M. and Gomathi, S., 2015. Emotional intelligence–Its importance and
relationship with individual peformance, team-effectiveness, leadership and marketing
effectiveness. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), p.120.
The authors Balamohan, Tech and Gomathi (2015) have explained the association of
emotional intelligence with the employee performance, effective leadership and marketing. This
research was carried out to serve the purpose of evaluating the ways in which emotional
intelligence plays a major role in directing and boosting an individual’s behavior within oneself
and organization in an effective manner. The review of the literature focused on the relative
significance of emotional intelligence, the methods used for its measurement and its association
with the research variables. The research variables included employee performance, team
effectiveness, marketing and leadership. The research findings have highlighted the fact, EI is
related with the research variables and play a crucial role in assessing, amending and channeling
an individual’s behavior for the betterment of personal and organizational experience. There was
difficulty in measuring emotional intelligence due to lack of valid evidence and it was not
clarified if EI originated from inherent trait or through learning and experience. Further research
needs to focus more on the empirical framework for a better understanding.

5EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Bibliography
Balamohan, P., Tech, M. and Gomathi, S., 2015. Emotional intelligence–Its importance and
relationship with individual peformance, team-effectiveness, leadership and marketing
effectiveness. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), p.120.
Dabke, D., 2016. Impact of leader’s emotional intelligence and transformational behavior on
perceived leadership effectiveness: A multiple source view. Business Perspectives and
Research, 4(1), pp.27-40.
Miao, C., Humphrey, R.H. and Qian, S., 2016. Leader emotional intelligence and subordinate job
satisfaction: A meta-analysis of main, mediator, and moderator effects. Personality and
Individual Differences, 102, pp.13-24.
Ramchunder, Y. and Martins, N., 2014. The role of self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and
leadership style as attributes of leadership effectiveness. SA Journal of Industrial
Psychology, 40(1), pp.01-11.
Vidyarthi, P.R., Anand, S. and Liden, R.C., 2014. Do emotionally perceptive leaders motivate
higher employee performance? The moderating role of task interdependence and power
distance. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(2), pp.232-244.