Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Styles: A Case Study of Leaders in Selected Banking Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to determine the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and leadership styles of managers among selected banking institutions in Kenya. It proposed that EI, which is the ability to perceive, understand and manage emotions predicts transformational leadership (TL) style. The leaders' EI scores were obtained by administering the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), and to measure perceived leadership styles, the raters completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x). A sample of 60 leaders and 240 raters was drawn from six banks. Spearman's Correlation was carried out on the data and the results indicated a positive relationship between EI scores of leaders and TL style. Further analysis indicated a positive relationship between EI and contingent reward and active MBE components of transactional leadership. On the contrary negative relationships were revealed between EI and passive MBE as well as laissez-faire leadership style, thus it was concluded that EI predicts leadership styles.

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“…Through this attribute, the leader serves as an example for the followers, encouraging them to follow suit and earning their trust and respect in the process. On the other hand, idealized influence behavior describes the leaders' great conduct and readiness to forego their personal needs to advance their workgroup's goals [ 12 ].…”

“…The third component of the FRT is laissez-faire leadership (LFL) which reflects the absence of transactions of all sorts about leadership [ 12 , 25 ]. Laissez-faire leaders steer clear of defining agreements, outlining expectations, and setting expectations for their followers to meet certain standards.…”

“…These studies show that TFL predicts a variety of outcomes, including follower job satisfaction, leader effectiveness ratings, organizational performance, and follower motivation. Other researchers [ [11] , [12] , [13] ] affirmed that emotional intelligence has a substantial positive link with at least three aspects of TFL, including idealized influence, inspiring motivation, and individual concern. Moreover, the self-control and self-management aspects of leaders' emotional intelligence were found to be congruent with idealized influence.…”

“…Similarly, Hebert [ 15 ] discovered a negative association between EI and laissez-faire leadership. Other researchers [ 12 , 16 ] have found that contingent reward in transactional leadership is strongly related to emotional intelligence dimensions, implying that contingent reward may overlap with some TFL components. This calls for further research in this area.…”

“…Previous studies [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] ] show that all components of transformational leadership (TFL) are positively related to EI. Transformational leaders focus on changing followers’ attitudes and beliefs and engaging them on a deep emotional level rather than telling them what to do.…”