Emotional intelligence and its relationship to workplace performance outcomes of leadership effectiveness

Purpose This study seeks to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), personality, cognitive intelligence and leadership effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Senior executives ( n =41) completed an ability measure of EI (MSCEIT), a measure of personality (16PF5) and a measure of cognitive ability (the Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence (WASI)). Leadership effectiveness was assessed using an objective measure of performance and a 360° assessment involving each leader's subordinates and direct manager ( n =149). Findings Correlational and regression analyses revealed that higher EI was associated with higher leadership effectiveness, and that EI explained variance not explained by either personality or IQ. Originality/value This paper establishes a link between EI and workplace measures of leadership effectiveness.