Understanding Leader Emotional Intelligence and Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-awareness of managers (defined as agreement between self and other leadership ratings) would moderate relationships between (a) aspects of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behavior, and (b) transformational leadership behavior and managerial performance. Multisource data were collected from 63 managers (who responded about their emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behavior), 192 subordinates (who rated their manager’s transformational leadership behavior and performance outcomes), and 63 superiors of focal managers (who rated managerial performance). Results indicated that correlations between emotional intelligence aspects, leader behavior, and performance varied as a function of self-awareness of managers. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.