[ANSWER]PSYC288 The Association between Emotional Intelligence Transformational Leadership: The Moderating Role of Gender

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Emotional Intelligence

The association between Emotional Intelligence and leadership performance has been extensively documented in academic literature (Barbuto Jr et al., 2014; Boyatzis et al., 2012; Dulewicz et al., 2005; Higgs & Aitken, 2003; Issah, 2018; Kim, 2020; Moss et al., 2006; Pastor, 2014; Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005; Sadri, 2012; Srivastava, 2013; Walter et al., 2012). The higher a leader’s EI is, the greater is their leadership effectiveness, with this association between particularly evident in transformational leaders (Esfahani & Soflu, 2011; Kim & Kim, 2017; Mandell & Pherwani, 2003; Wu et al., 2006).

For example, a study of 241 leader-follower pairs drawn from six organizations found that high EI in transformational leaders boosted the impact of their leadership style (Wu et al., 2006). As transformational leadership is a relationship-oriented style of leading, higher Emotional Intelligence is more likely to be seen in individuals with this leadership style than in those with leadership styles that emphasize task efficiency as opposed to relationships.

Transformational leaders tend to be enthusiastic and energetic and hence seek to elicit similar emotions in their followers (Brown et al., 2006). Additionally, since transformational leaders are likely to have high Emotional Intelligence, they are better placed to remain resilient in a complex, ever-more changing world (Biswas & Rahman, 2017; Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005).

Nevertheless, some studies have refuted the relationship between EI and transformational leadership. One study that involved a sample of 161 supervisors and managers and 2,411 followers recruited from a large manufacturing firm in the US found that EI was not significantly associated with transformational leadership (Brown et al., 2006). Moreover, for some critics, EI is not necessarily a predictor of leadership effectiveness (McCleskey, 2014).

This point of view casts doubts over the association between Emotional Intelligence and transformational leadership. Even so, there is little, if any, validity in the argument as it has been shown that leaders with high cognitive intelligence tend to have lower leadership effectiveness if they score low on EI (Boyatzis et al., 2012; Issah, 2018; Pastor, 2014).  

Some scholars have investigated gender differences in the relationship between EI and leadership. Groves (2005) investigated this relationship in a sample of 108 leaders and 325 followers drawn from various organizations in both the public and private sectors. The findings of the study revealed that EI scores and follower ratings on leadership effectiveness were higher among female leaders than in their male counterparts. A major limitation of the study, however, is that it focused on charismatic leadership as opposed to transformational leadership.

It is not certain whether the same results would have been achieved had the focus been on transformational leadership. Lopez-Zafra et al.’s (2012) study of 431 undergraduate students (62.4% female) in the Spanish context focused on transformational leadership and found that this leadership style was predicted by both gender roles and EI, with female subjects depicting higher Emotional Intelligence and more transformational characteristics than their female counterparts.

While this study involved undergraduate students as opposed to individuals in formal leadership roles in an organizational setting, and focused on gender roles as opposed to gender as a moderating variable, it offers valuable insights into the topic of gender differences in the association between EI and transformational leadership. Since women tend to score higher on Emotional Intelligence and to be more transformational than men, the study suggests that gender is a notable moderating factor in the relationship between these two variables.

Nonetheless, this moderating role remains a matter of contention. In their study, Mandell and Pherwani (2003) found that whereas there was a significant association between EI and transformational leadership as well as considerable differences in the EI scores of men and…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 6017 WORDS]

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