Leader’s Possession of Linguistic Intelligence in Relation to Leader–Member Exchange Theory

Abstract

When practicing high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, the leader’s ability to communicate, build and maintain relationships is a vital part. Because leader–member exchange theory is a relationship-based approach to leadership that primarily includes social exchange and communication on a daily basis, we can highlight linguistic intelligence as a key leadership skill that is part of the multiple intelligences defined by Howard Gardner. The goal of this article was to conduct research into organizations where the leader applies LMX theory and examine whether the leader’s linguistic intelligence is positively related to the quality of the leader–member exchange. The dependent variable was the quality of the LMX. We were able to recruit 39 employees and 13 leaders. Correlations and multiple regressions were used to analyze our statement. The overall results are statistically significant and we conclude that there is a high positive correlation between LMX and linguistic intelligence in the organizations that were part of this study. A limitation of this study is the use of purposive sampling, which resulted in a relatively small sample size and may limit the generalization of the results to other populations.