Emotional intelligence in leaders: an antidote for cynicism towards change?

Business leaders everywhere have encountered the reality of resistance and cynicism when introducing change initiatives. This paper identifies some of the associations between the challenges of organizational change in the 21st century and the emotional competencies required of contemporary change leaders. The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of leader emotional intelligence (EI) on levels of employee cynicism towards change. Results from a survey of 448 employees supported the hypothesis that employees would report less change cynicism if managed by leaders whom subordinates rated as emotionally intelligent. This study will be of interest to managers and people concerned with leadership, change management, emotional intelligence and securing a competitive advantage.