Leading With Emotional Intelligence: Contemporary Perspectives on Leadership Effectiveness
Year: 2022
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Emotional intelligence (EI) has become central to leadership research due to its role in helping leaders manage uncertainty, diversity, and complex interpersonal dynamics. This chapter reviews ability, trait, and mixed models of emotional intelligence and synthesizes evidence on how emotional competencies shape leadership effectiveness, particularly in transformational, authentic, and servant leadership. Key mechanisms include self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, communication, and ethical decision-making. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews consistently show that higher emotional intelligence in leaders is associated with improved employee engagement, psychological safety, team performance, and organizational commitment. The chapter also highlights ongoing conceptual and measurement debates, along with cross-cultural differences in emotional intelligence expression. It further considers emerging challenges in digital leadership contexts, where emotional competencies remain important despite increased technological mediation.
Author: Tanvi Negi
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7203551386