Emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies in leadership

Running head: CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO 1

Chapter Two: Literature Review
1. Introduction
With the desire to get a deeper understanding of the study, it is important to review existing literature in the matter or related to the subject matter. In the previous chapter, gaps in the previous studies were identified. Most of the literature in both books and scholarly articles researched on social, emotional, and cognitive intelligence competencies and individual constructs affecting different issues. This study will focus on how different authors and studies have analyzed emotional, social, and cognitive competencies. In addition to analyzing their studies, this chapter will also seek to offer a critique of the methods used in searching for the information obtained from databases containing scholarly and peer-reviewed articles.
The chapter will also synthesize the literature developed by other authors to create background information and literature review for this chapter. Besides, it will help to review the gaps that these studies were filling. This chapter will also introduce the theoretical orientation of the study, which will seek to introduce the three main theories that will serve as the basis for this chapter and the research as a whole. Finally, the paper will offer a critique of the research methods used in previous studies to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, and what can be borrowed and applied in this study.
2. Methods of Searching
This section describes the methods of searching that were used in looking up the literature for the dissertation. Four main methods of searching were used. The first method involved using truncation and wild card symbols (Brown, & Beckingham, 2000). Given that most databases, which host secondary data on literature, are not intelligent, one requires one to search the exact content required. Therefore, the use of truncation and wildcard helped to bypass this limitation. The use of a wildcard symbol to replace a whole letter gives alternative spellings and hence alternative word searches. For instance, the word ‘Leadership’ was spelled as ‘Lea?ership’. However, it was done deliberately to help in refining the search. The truncation symbol was also used to search different words that end with the key word used in the search. For instance, Lead* resulted in leader, leadership, leadership qualities, leadership theories among other results.
The second method of searching involved the use of search operators. They are also known as Boolean operators. For instance, the use of ‘AND’ helps to find words that combines records of both words that the search is looking for (Brown, & Beckingham, 2000). For instance, the word search for ‘Leadership’ and ‘Intelligence;’ however, this narrowed the search. Using OR in place of AND broadens the search for literature as it helps to retrieve records that include both words. In this case, Using NOT in the search helped in finding literature on leadership and not intelligence. However, this search option also proved to be detrimental as it limited the word search.
The third method of searching involved the creation of search statements. These statements combined multiple search words to find literature for the dissertation. When using search statements, the use of brackets is essential in ensuring that the search is correctly processed.
An example is illustrated below
(Leadership or intelligence)
Another one
(Leadersh?p or intelligence), social, and emotiona*
The third method of searching used was the search statement generator. This tool was used to generate a search string, which was later pasted into several databases. The keywords and their synonyms were then added to the concept box to help search for scholarly articles related to the topic.
The fourth method of searching used was phrase and proximity searching. Phrase searching was used to increase the relevance of the materials obtained from different databases (Creswell, 2013). However, a combined search that included the conjunction AND led to many irrelevant records being obtained. The databases used worked with using search phrases with inverted commas.
For instance
“Leadership Intelligence”
Proximity searching was also used in some databases and was crucial in ensuring that irrelevant records were omitted from the search results. It also helped to specify the near words to be searched.
The field-specific searching was used in several databases to help in searching more refined. The process can be done by selecting the field or author in the specified search boxes. Searching by indexes also helped as it made it possible refine the search based on terms of the topic and list of authors related to the subject matter.
Since the research must work with recent scholarly articles, websites, and books, the method of searching was limited to particular dates to ensure that the research relies on recently published information unless in specific cases whereby older references were used.


3. Theoretical Orientations for the Study
This study seeks to analyze the relationship between social intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and emotional intelligence and leadership outcomes at the workplace. Leadership at the workplace is increasingly becoming a complex affair with researchers highlighting the need for readers to exhibit a wide range of competencies to achieve organizational success. This study was based on three theoretical orientations. These are theories of intelligence, theories of leadership, and the social capital theory.
3.1 Theories of Intelligence
To understand how social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence impacts on leadership outcomes, it is important to understand the theories behind concepts. In turn, this will aid in understanding how they affect leadership at the workplace. As mentioned in Chapter One, the term intelligence quotient (IQ) was first conceptualized by German Psychologist William Stern, and later on, Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence test (Reusch, & Temme, 2013). Different theories have emerged over the last 100 years seeking to illustrate the impact intelligence has on leadership through social, cognitive, and emotional competencies.
The G-factor test developed by British psychologist Charles Spearman highlighted that individuals who scored well on mental aptitude exams would also perform better in other tests. Spearman further highlighted that these tests were a true indication of expressing one’s cognitive ability (Flanagan, & Harrison, 2012). Conversely, Louis Thurstone view on intelligence was that intelligence was an aggregate of different constructs such as verbal comprehension, numerical ability, associative memory, spatial visualization.
These two theories give a snippet on how cognitive intelligence operates. Cognitive intelligence refers to an individual’s general mental capacity to plan, reason, and solve problems. By using abstract thoughts, cognitive intelligence enables one to come up solutions to real-life problems (Ang & Van Dyne, 2015). As such, theories on intelligence help to form the basis on how their different intelligence levels guide leaders. Besides, leaders have the cognitive intelligence to assist them in the decision-making and problem-solving process. Studies have shown that individuals who perform better in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) perform better in a problem-solving situation. Based on the G factor theory, individuals with a higher cognitive ability can come up with groundbreaking ideas at the workplace due to their mental alertness.
Subsequently, these individuals are bound to exhibit a high level of cognitive intelligence. Louis Thurstone's theory on intelligence highlights that the latter is a combination of several variables. Leaders need to be able to have several abilities working together. Thurstone highlighted that verbal comprehension, numerical ability, associative memory, spatial visualization, among other constructs are essential in one’s mental development (Brody, 2004). Therefore, an individual who exhibits a high level of cognitive intelligence is likely to have exhibited one’s mastery in these constructs as well as aptitude tests. When placed in a position of leadership, such individuals can make difficult decisions and come up with solutions to organizational problems.
The theory of multiple intelligences as proposed by Howard Gardner highlights eight distinct types of intelligences defines a person’s brainpower. The theory can incorporate both emotional and social intelligence. Emotional intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to perceive and regulate one’s emotions particularly when dealing with a group of people. Social intelligence is the ability of an individual to cooperate with others and is referred to as having ‘people’s skills.'
Gardner’s theories build on social and emotional intelligence exhibited through the former’s eight distinct bits of intelligence. Individuals who possess a high level of social, emotional and cognitive intelligence can keep their emotions in check, get along with others, and provide problem-solving skills. In leadership, the three constructs are essential to ensure harmony and success in the organizational setup. The reverse is also true as having low levels of social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence mean that one cannot interpret abstract information and come up with solutions, keep one’s emotions in check, and get along with others.
3.2 Theories of Leadership
In any setting, no specific characteristics make up a successful leader because situations are different from one person to the other and may require diverse qualities for success. The research focuses on all four-core theories of leadership in a bid to emphasize the leadership, and how intelligence constructs affect it (Gardner, & Stough, 2002). Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the four core theories in leadership such as trait, behavioral, power and influence, and contingency.
3.2.1 Trait Theories
Trait theories highlight that some unique qualities have proven to be useful when an individual is in a position of leadership. These traits include likability, assertiveness, integrity, decision-making skills, and empathy (Groves, 2005a). These are just sample traits and do not necessarily guarantee that an individual who possesses them will be a successful leader. Traits are external behaviors that exude an individual’s internal beliefs and processes. Leaders who possess traits such as empathy and assertiveness illustrate a high level of emotional and social intelligence. Good decision-making ability can be attributed to a high level of cognitive intelligence (Nahavandi, 2016). Similarly, leaders who lack these leadership traits are likely to have a low social, emotional, and cognitive intelligence. Such leaders are unable to influence their organizations in a positive manner. These intelligence constructs are an indication of the leadership outcomes of an individual or organization.
3.2.2 Behavioral Theories
These theories focus on the behavior of leaders with the focus being on Lewin’s framework for leadership. He highlighted that leadership could be autocratic, democratic, or Laissez-faire leaders. Social, emotional, and cognitive intelligence illustrate the leadership options and their response to the managerial issues that affect them (Bass & Stodgil, 1990).
Subsequently, autocratic leaders in most cases make autonomous decisions without team consultations. This leadership style requires a situation whereby fast decision-making is required. An evaluation of the leadership style and the intelligence can be two-fold. Firstly, a leader with a high level of emotional intelligence can use this type of leadership style and achieve success with inexperienced staff. Secondly, a leader with a low level of emotional intelligence can use this style against a team of experienced and mature followers (Dinh et al., 2014). In the latter case, the leadership style may be detrimental to an organization’s performance.
Democratic leaders are leaders who allow members of their team to provide their views before he or she makes a decision. The degree of contribution may be limited depending on the nature of the leader (Dinh et al., 2014). This style is important in the setup whereby team input is crucial. Leaders with a high level of EI, SI, and CI may opt for this type of leadership within the organization setup.
Laissez-faire leaders are flexible leaders who allow their followers to come up with most of the decisions particularly when the team is highly experienced and self-motivated. Laissez-faire leaders exhibit a high level of social and emotional intelligence when interacting with one’s followers. However, this style may prove to be a failure for leaders who have low social and emotional intelligence. The behavior of leaders has a big influence on their performance. Depending on a leader’s social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence competencies, one chooses the style that will best suit the leader’s personality and that of the team.
3.2.3 Contingency Theories
They hold that the style of leadership adopted should depend on the situation and the circumstances influence the person in charge. Therefore, leaders with high levels of cognitive intelligence know which style is best suited when quick decisions need to be made. Leaders who are people oriented exhibit high levels of social and emotional cognitive intelligence and use a leadership style, which reflects the situation on the ground for his or her followers.
3.2.4 Power and Influence Theories
The approach undertaken by power and influence theories is different from the others. In this approach, leaders use their power to varying degrees to achieve their goals. Transactional leadership is one of the power and influence style used. In this approach, the leader rewards or punishes followers depending on their achievements (Groves, 2005a). Transactional leaders are known to have low social intelligence competencies as they focus on purely work-related activities to get things done. From the leaders’ perspective, three positional powers and two personal powers exist as options that managers or people in power should strive to achieve. Overall, individuals with high levels of SI, CI, and EI exhibit high levels of personal power, which helps to drive organizations forward.
3.3 The Social Capital Theory
The social capital theory is the primary theoretical foundation for the study based on Bourdieu’s (1986) social capital theory. Social capital refers to resources naturally occurring to social relations and facilitates collective action with trust, networks, and norms being the main sources. With this concept, a norm is a culture that promotes compromise and bargaining. The social culture according to Bourdieu, an individual’s social relations determines his or her connection to social capital. Lastly, the flow of information relies on social capital and in modern-day, management is linked to competitive advantage (Bolino et al., 2002). The social capital concept attracts various hypotheses. For instance, greater the level of voluntary associations results in higher the social capital. Increased social capital leads to an increase in government institutions (Pearson, Carr, & Shaw, 2016). Additionally, the more an individual participates in voluntary work, the greater the social capital. These are but hypotheses from different authors that influenced social theory.
Regarding the organization, firms can cultivate social capital for the betterment of the organization in three ways. Firstly, social capital is promoted successfully when employees feel they contribute to the dynamism of the workplace. Managers in an organization should view employees as individuals and create a working environment where the latter can thrive and gain a sense of purpose. Social capital in an organization is enhanced by creating better communication tactics achieved through meetings, communication via emails, or phone calls for managers and employees to relate appropriately. Communication creates a better social capital by strengthening networks at the workplace.
Thirdly, small actions at the organization should determine the culture of the team. Managers have the role of creating a team identity to improve an organization’s social culture. Such small actions in an organization referred to the actions undertaken by employees which the management should recognize (Lin, 2002). Therefore, social capital at the workplace is an essential tool for improving employee engagement at the workplace. It also sets the foundation for analyzing social, emotional, and cognitive intelligence and how the influence leadership at the workplace


4 Literature Review
4.1 Introduction to Leadership
Since the dawn of man, leadership has been a topic of interest with leadership studies and the development of leadership theories taking shape in the 20th century. For decades, these theories have sought to define authentic leaders and show the factors that make them unique (Holt, 2015). As such, many researchers, philosophers, and professors have taken a keen interest in developing and analyzing leadership theories. Leadership does not have single definition since it is a process of influence. The role of the leader is to mobilize followers by arousing, satisfying, and engaging their motives. A leader is defined by the quality that one possesses. However, it is impossible for one leader to possess all the qualities required for one’s position.
Leadership qualities are diverse, and one cannot bear them all. However, modern leaders are required to possess a good number of these qualities at the workplace to discharge their duties with ease (Holt & Seki, 2012). These qualities have a great influence on the social, cognitive and emotional intelligence levels of a leader in today’s contemporary society.
A good leader shows awareness. Leaders should have the ability to distinguish between workers, bosses, management, and employees. Understanding the differences between these groups helps a leader to conduct one’s self in full awareness of their role in the organization. Leaders are expected to make tough decisions within the organization. Some decisions may require consultations while others may need autonomous decisions. Regardless of the option at hand, good leaders are expected to come up with decisions that are sound and made with the interests of the organization in mind. Extraordinary leaders thrive in such situations in most cases through a collaborative decision-making process (Holt, 2015). Notably, decision-making is greatly influenced by one’s cognitive intelligence. As such, a leader with a low cognitive intelligence may not be decisive. The reverse is also true.
Good leaders can be identified by the level of empathy that they have towards senior and junior employees. Empathic leaders use their emotional intelligence to praise their followers in public and rebuke them in private. Such leaders guide an employee facing challenges at the workplace and help them to look for long-lasting solutions. Instead of taking a personal action, they look for constructive solutions together with the followers. Therefore, an empathetic leader uses his or her emotional and social intelligence appropriately for the good of the organization. These two types of intelligence if coordinated well help to create a leader who understands the workplace better.
Accountability and good leadership go hand in hand. As such, good leaders take responsibility for an organization’s performance and understand their position whether the organization is doing well or facing problems. As such, responsible leaders monitor company employees, policies, and procedures to ensure that everything runs smoothly. When problems arise, they identify these problems and look for quick solutions (George, 2000). Leaders who are accountable exhibit high levels of cognitive intelligence. They can come up with solutions to problems by making use of their cognitive skills.
Good leaders have a confidence level that is contagious to their followers, and their followers are naturally attracted to them especially when they need solutions for difficult tasks in the workplace. Confidence levels depend on one’s emotional intelligence. Having a high emotional intelligence helps one to build on their confidence level. When a leader’s confidence is high, they do not give up easily when confronted with challenges. They can use their strategies to overcome difficult situations. However, when their problems become too much, they are willing to admit it and seek help from others for the greater good of the organization (Kafetsios, Nezlek, & Vasiou, 2011). Leaders with low emotional intelligence lack the confidence that would make them effective in the workplace.
Confidence works closely with optimism; a confident leader exudes optimism and makes someone a hub of positive energy. Besides, optimism is related to social and emotional intelligence constructs (Karaszewski, 2010). High levels of social and emotional intelligence enable a good leader to avoid pessimistic thinking and personal criticism at the workplace. They look for ways through which employees can work as a team by inspiring and reassuring them. A leader who exhibits optimism has high levels of emotional and social intelligence.
Good leaders are planners and always look ahead. As such, the focus is an important attribute for a good leader to possess. Focus helps a leader to be able to evaluate multiple scenarios, their impacts, as well as, alternatives that contribute towards organizational success. Focused leaders communicate with their followers regarding the plans they have for their organization and indicate any changes they make (Groves, 2005a). Such leaders exhibit high cognitive intelligence to discharge their roles with ease.
4.1.1 Leadership Theories
4.1.1.1 The Great Man Theory
This theory was popularized in the 19th century by Thomas Carlyle and is premised on two assumptions. Firstly, all great leaders are born with leadership traits that assist them in their role. Secondly, great leaders arise when they are in demand. Therefore, great leaders are heroes who against all the odds accomplish great feats much to the astonishment of their followers (Bennis, 2007). In many workplace settings, employees believe that people are in power because of the leadership prowess that they possess. In the 19th century, most of the leaders came from aristocratic settings and created the perception that leadership was transmitted along bloodlines. The theory was also commonly used in the mythical domain where great men arose in times of need. During the proposal of this theory, gender issues were not raised as most leaders were male. The perception of having a great woman was not conceived in the sphere of leadership. Nonetheless, the theory attracts bias as most researchers during this century were men and could have opted to overlook the contribution of women towards leadership.
While the theory served well during its time, questions arose over its suitability with Herbert Spencer, a biologist, political theorist, philosopher, and sociologist in the Victorian Era highlighted the theory to be primitive due to its lack of scientific backing. As a counterargument, Spencer believed that their environments shape leaders and that the society makes great leaders who later on remake their society (Bennis, 2007). Despite Spencer’s arguments, the Great Man theory remained popular and the dominant theory of its time. It explained the origin of leadership up until the mid-20th century where behavioral sciences promoted the idea that leadership can be nurtured.
4.1.1.2 Trait Theory
As the refined version of the Great Man Theory, this approach highlights that individuals are either born or made with specific qualities that enable them to become excellent leaders. The theory has three assumptions. Firstly, traits can be inherited from one parent to another. Besides, some of the inherited traits are specific to leaders. Finally, good leaders have a sufficient number of traits suited for their position. The theory was later advanced by Stogdill who came up with a list of traits and possible skills that leaders possess in 1974. For instance, leaders who are adaptable to different situations possess intelligence as a skill set. Intelligence, as highlighted in the previous chapter, can be divided as social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence. Therefore, a leader who is receptive to the social environment has a high level of social intelligence.
The theory was later advanced by McCall and Lombardo (1983) who highlighted four leadership traits, which predetermine the success of failure of a leader with the first one being intellectual breadth. Leaders with this trait have a wide understanding of issues and are not limited in their thinking. It can also be enhanced with cognitive intelligence as the latter is a construct that relies on skills such as problem-solving (Gehring, 2007). The second trait is emotional stability and composure. Leaders who have a high level of emotional intelligence exude confidence and are calm in their undertakings. Similarly, leaders with a low emotional intelligence may buckle under stress and may end up making poor decisions. The third trait is admitting errors. Good leadership entails admitting when one is wrong instead of covering up one’s mistakes. This trait also relies on a high level of emotional intelligence. Finally, good interpersonal skills are required for leaders to communicate well with their followers. Leaders with a high level of social and emotional intelligence can pass their message to their followers without resorting to coercive ways.
4.1.1.3 Scientific Management
Taylor introduced the scientific management concept in early 20th century. While it was not a leadership theory, it influenced the employer-employee relationship. Taylor, through scientific research, discovered that employees were more productive if their managers broke down the work assigned to them into parts. Also, a division of labor allowed for specialization among the employees. In fact, it made it easier to each employee to focus on one area of specialization and improve the overall production efficiency (Taylor, 2004). Notably, regarding leadership, Taylor believed that leaders were not made, but rather born as leaders. Therefore, the division of labor and specialization can lead to the development of leaders with skills at the workplace.
4.1.1.4 Lewin's Leadership Styles
Kurt Lewin developed a leadership style framework in 1939 through his published work Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates with White and Lippert. Lewin introduced a framework had three leadership styles which have remained relevant until today. These styles are; autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, and Laissez Faire leadership (Burnes & Cooke, 2013). These groups do not highlight all that is required all leaders and managers in today’s settings but highlight the overall approach that should be taken.
4.1.1.5 Authoritarian Leadership
Under this leadership style, this leader takes charge of the decision-making process and does not consult the other team members. Such leaders make autonomous decisions, which they believe is for the best of the team regardless of the input from the followers (Schuh et al., 2013). In this leadership style, there is little interaction between the leader and the followers with the latter relying on the former to pass down objectives and specific instructions.
However, the leadership style has its pros and cons. One of the positives is that it is a good approach when a leader is dealing with an inexperienced team who lack the decision-making capacity (Hogg & Adelman, 2013). As such, the leader takes the role of initiating and influencing projects to ensure that they are completed. It is also a proven leadership style when specific instructions need to be adhered to by the followers. Conversely, this style has its drawbacks. For an experienced team, the style could be counterproductive as it hinders the development of creativity and freedom of team members. It also hinders collaboration between the leader and other employees regarding information sharing within an organization.
4.1.1.5 Participative (Democratic) Leadership
Under participative leadership, the leader comes together with the team and work towards a common good. The process involves more collaboration and cooperation between the manager and employees. However, the manager retains the decision-making authority despite the collaboration (Prabhakar & Yaseen, 2016). In fact, it does hinder the contribution of team members to give their ideas and feedback on how best to improve the group. Once they submit their ideas, the leader gives the final direction with the best interests of the group at heart. Therefore, the leader has a cordial relationship with his or her followers and equally revered due to their ‘participatory’ role as opposed to the bureaucratic leaders.
However, this leadership style may be inefficient if the leader is working with followers who lack the necessary experience to carry out their duties. Despite having a strong leader, lack of experience among team members may prove to be a major obstacle to their productivity at the workplace (Burnes, 2017). A team that has moderate experience is best suited for this leadership style as they have the right amount of knowledge required to make a project successful. Additionally, team players in such a process feel valued due to their contribution towards the success of the organization.
4.1.1.6 Delegative (Laissez Faire) Leadership
In this model, the leader delegates one’s followers with the majority of the tasks within the organization and allows them to work with freedom and trust (Burnes, 2017). The leader monitors the project from time to time to ensure that it is run the appropriately but limits the possibility of micromanaging the employees. Ideally, employees prefer this kind of leadership style. However, this style can only be successful with an experienced team as an inexperienced team may fail to deliver. They may delay on the deadlines or misuse their newfound freedom. Therefore, the leader can only use this leadership style with a team that has one’s full trust and confidence in executing sensitive tasks.
The three leadership styles in Lewin’s Framework can be used successfully depending on the time and place. However, not all three can be used at the same time as that would be a recipe for chaos (Burnes, 2017). Similarly, using a wrong style on a wrong group may result in trouble at the workplace. Therefore, the manager, through his or her experience should be able to analyze one’s group and choose a suitable style.
4.1.1.7 Charismatic Authority
Sociologist Max Weber (2009) developed a tripartite classification of authority that included charismatic authority. In this theory, he highlights that this type of authority relies on the leader’s accomplishments, extraordinary insight, and having exceptional personal attributes that endear a leader to one’s followers (Lepsius, 2017). However, it contrasts the popular term ‘charismatic leader,’ which is commonly used in the field of leadership. Weber saw this form of authority as a relationship between followers and their leader. Additionally, Weber saw the ‘charisma’ of a leader as one exhibited by people in power as a distinction from ordinary people.
Charismatic authority is seen as a revolutionary as it challenges the boundaries of the rational-legal authority and traditional authority developed by Weber (2009). However, this authority faces the challenge of ‘routinization’ by society and may pave the way for a bureaucratic process that makes use a rational authority combining bureaucracy and traditional authority (Pellegrino, 2010). Politically, charismatic authority is utilized in theocracies, autocracies, dictatorships, and authoritarian states where regimes in power create the aura of a cult personality is created and propagated by the mainstream media. However, failure of such a state or organization to obtain a new charismatic leader leads to the collapse of such a regime and promotes ‘routinization.' Weber (2009) also highlights that the succession process of charismatic authority may involve office charisma, hereditary charisma, designation by the original leader, or designation by qualified staff. Overall, such ways t can be used to maintain charisma in the leadership chain.
4.1.1.8 The Contingency Theory
The theory proposes that the situation at hand determines whether a leader succeeds or fails. Certain factors have a big influence on whether the type of leadership style used or a particular leader will become successful or not. These factors include the composition of the team, the tasks assigned, and the personality of the leader. As such, these theories assume that the failure or success of leadership is purely situational. The contingency theory has sub-theories outlined below each with its distinct views
4.1.1.8.1 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Fiedler’s theory highlights that leadership is effective depending on both the leader’s control over the situation at hand as well as the leadership style in use. The success of the project depends on a strong relationship between leaders and their followers. Therefore, the leader plays the role of outlining the goals, assigning tasks, rewarding employees, and punishing team members. However, this is possible where the team members are closely monitored as they work and may not work for team-based situations. The Least Preferred Co-worker scale (LPC) is used to determine which type of worker a leader least prefers to work with as highlighted by Waters (2013). As such, the leader’s character defines his or her nature to lead.
4.1.1.8.2 Situational leadership
The situational theory introduced by the Hersey-Blanchard that highlights the maturity levels of followers. According to the theory, the leadership styles can be classified as directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating (Thompson & Glaso, 2015). Directing deals with employees who are less mature in the workplace whereby directive words are used to guide the employee, and the leader does not offer any supportive behavior as motivation. Coaching occurs when leaders use of high supportive words, behaviors, and high directive when interacting with their employees. In support, the leader works with employees who may be completing a task for the first time or lack self-confidence in one’s ability. As such, the leader uses supportive behavior only. Finally, delegating is used by a leader when one sees no need to offer both supportive behavior and words, or offer directives. Such employees at the workplace have matured, are competent enough and do not need monitoring.
Overall, the theory illustrates that the leader is likely to choose a style that best fits the maturity level of one’s group. Some employees are incompetence or unwilling to perform their roles. Others have the willingness and ability to perform their roles with minimum supervision. Nonetheless, the leader classifies the followers and chooses the best style as the situation dictates.
4.1.1.8.3 Path-Goal Theory
This theory was developed by Evans (1970) and House (1971) and was based on Vroom’s expectancy theory based on several assumptions. Followers are motivated to work when they feel that they offered is worthwhile and that they have a high level of self-efficacy (Hirt, 2016). As such, the theory emphasizes the relationship between the leader’s style, personalities of the employees, and the work environment. The theory implores leaders to ensure that the employees have the support and information required to carry out their duties successfully. It also highlights that effective leaders clear the path for their employees by removing work-related obstacles that may hinder their performance.
4.1.1.8.4 Decision-Making Theory
This theory is also known as the Vroom-Yetton-Jago leadership model. According to the theory, it is the role of leaders to identify situations, assess them, offer the necessary support, and use a style of leadership best suited for the situation (Reber, Auer-Rizzi, & Maly, 2004). Overall, these sub-theories of the contingency theory may have differing arguments but at some point converge on the same point that leadership is situational and it depends on the people and task involved.
4.1.1.9 Servant Leadership
The servant leadership theory was conceptualized by Greenleaf (1970-1977) who wrote several essays on a new leadership style. His idea did not fully hit the ground running until the 1990s when his ideas were expounded on by Larry Spears who highlighted that servant leadership was pegged on ten characteristics. Such aspects include listening, empathy, foresight, stewardship, conceptualization, awareness, healing, persuasion, building the community, and commitment to people’s growth (Dennis, Kinzler-Norheim, & Bocarnea, 2010). These ten characters delineated by Spears led to the development of other models of servant leadership. This leadership theory further gained ground through its focus on ethical forms of leadership due to emerging ethical issues.
4.1.1.10 Transactional Leadership Theories
These theories are also known as exchange leadership theories. They are characterized by a transaction between followers and their leaders. The theory highlights that there must be a motivational value between the followers and the leader have a mutual relationship (McCleskey, 2014). Therefore, the follower is given a leader-assigned task and may be rewarded for one’s efforts or punished for failing to perform. The theory further highlights that human beings seek to alienate themselves from unpleasurable experiences and seek to maximize on the pleasurable ones.
One of the sub-theories of the transactional leadership model is the Leader-Member Exchange. It relates to exerting and maintaining leadership by cordially working with one's supporters. Leaders must work with the help of supporters, and trusted individuals to maintain one’s position (McCleskey, 2014). As such, followers who offer more support to leaders is likely to be part of the latter’s inner circle. The leader, in turn, uses rewards to cultivate their loyalty further with recognition, jobs, access to opportunities, and money used. While the leader-follower relationship remains preserved, the supporter roles may become more formalized with more power granted to them as a reward.
The theory highlights three stages of development in the leader-member exchange relationship. The first is the organizational stage whereby an individual from a group rises when tasks need to be performed (Antonakis & House, 2014). Such an individual is usually endowed with intelligence, charisma, or a standout quality. The second stage is the role development stage. Tasks are given in an organization help to define the roles. In some instances, some duties may be developed as part of a reward program for followers. Once there is an established relationship between the leader and the follower, the Leader-Member Exchange finally takes shape.
The theory is associated with various merits. Firstly, it gives a breakdown on how to strengthen or weaken work relationships and leadership dynamics in an organization. Secondly, it is an intuitive model that shows how a leader-group structure should be like (Antonakis & House, 2014). Finally, the model provides insight into how loyalty to a leader may lead to vices such as corruption, as well as solutions to problems arising from the model. Conversely, the model has its drawbacks. For instance, it does not explain how values affect group dynamics, and little account is given on a leader’s personality (McCleskey, 2014). Finally, the model intuitive nature makes it appear obvious.
4.1.1.11 Transformational Leadership Theories
The theory was popularized in the 1980s as firstly conceptualized by McGregor Burns and later on expounded on by Bernard Bass. The latter wrote a leadership paper in 1978 that sought to show the differences between transactional leadership and transformational leadership. In this leadership, the leader creates a connection with one’s followers through motivation (Antonakis & House, 2014). The leaders play the role influencing them to address their high-level needs, raising the consciousness levels, and motivating followers to put down their needs in favor of organizational goals.
In 1985, Bass went onto conceptualize transformational needs into four parts through his publication Leadership and Performance beyond Expectation. These parts include idealized influence, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation (Antonakis & House, 2014). Under the idealized influence, the leader gains the respect and trust of the followers by serving as a role model ethically. In individualized consideration, the leader provides subordinates with a favorable environment where they address the needs and wants of all employees. In intellectual stimulation, the leader helps the followers to think outside their comfort zone to become innovative and creative at the workplace. Finally, inspired motivation occurs when the leader has high expectations of his followers, communicates his or her targets to them to ensure that they aim even higher than expected.
4.1.1.12 Burns Transformational Leadership Theory
Subsequently, the theory highlights the role of values and motivations in assessing a leader’s approach to power. Leaders who have an ethical system in place are differently classified from individuals who aspire to have power (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). Individuals who sought after power are classified as egocentric whereas those who put ethics first are people-centric. Later, a transformational leader metamorphoses to a transcendent one where the values of the leader become internalized as part of the individual.
The theory is associated with various advantages with the first one being that it seeks to develop the individual purpose and social values of leaders. The theory also addresses fundamental issues such as why individuals should become a leader and the ultimate goal of leadership. Conversely, the theory also has some drawbacks. The model would not be ideal for individuals who want to maintain the status quo. It may also not work in emergencies or situations, where the skill level required, is beyond that of the followers.
4.1.1.13 Bass Transformational Leadership Theory
Above all, Bass highlighted that leaders could alter the perceptions, values, expectations, and aspirations of their followers. Similarly, followers are attracted to leaders who exhibit outstanding qualities such as honesty, and trust (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The advantage of this leadership theory is that a leader who uses this model can become a positive influence in the lives of one’s follower. It also uses a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to assess factors affecting leadership as well as the transformation that followers undergo (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Conversely, the model has some disadvantages. The questionnaire may require subsequent testing to ascertain its validity. Therefore, the degree of transformational leadership cannot be assessed adequately.
4.1.1.14 Leadership Participation Inventory- Barry Posner and James Kouze
In their book, “the leadership Challenge,” Posner and Kouze conducted a survey that asked followers the qualities that they would love to see in leaders they follow. They came up with five characteristics that followers view in the leaders they follow. According to the survey, a good leader should be a role model, inspiration, can face adversity, empowerment, and generates enthusiasm. The criticism associated with this model of leadership is that some aspects of leadership do not cover all aspects of leadership.
4.1.1.15 Authentic leadership
It is one of the latest leadership styles in academic circles and initially coined by Dr. Bruce Avolio and Fred Luthans. They highlighted that authentic leadership promotes both positive ethical climate and positive psychological capacities. The theory is divided into four facets. They include self-awareness, balanced processing, internalized moral perspective, and relational transparency.
4.1.1.16 Implicit Leadership Theories
These refer to informal theories that are in the minds of individuals. As such, they are pet theories that conceptualized on an individual’s assumptions and belief system of what leadership should be. According to Hanges, Braverman, and Reutsch (1991), everyone has implicit beliefs that help him or her distinguish effective and ineffective leaders, moral and evil leaders, and leaders and followers. Robert House and Gary Yuki highlighted that implicit theory might result from experience and exposure to literature
4.2 Age-Related Cognitive Changes and Distributed Leadership
In their study, Rose and Gordon (2015) examined the evidence of how age affects cognitive activities and their implications on different leadership styles. There has been a shortage of skilled labor, worsening economic conditions, and aging trends that the older generation in the workforce is likely to retain their jobs for longer than expected. With age, comes diversity in the workplace and managing such a workforce requires one to have broad skills set to deal with challenges that face the current leadership in organizations. Therefore, managing an age-diverse workforce requires the management to put into consideration the conditions best suited for each age group at the workplace. It includes taking into account the attention processes, psychophysical requirements at the workplace, and learning and skills acquisition at the workplace. The research looked at how an age-related change affects components of one’s intelligence (fluid and crystallized) and how they affect leadership outcomes in an organization.
4.2.1 Age-Related Components of Intelligence
For the last 100 years, the components of cognition have been under research. Stenberg (2008), defines fluid intelligence as an individual’s ability to cope with novel workplace environments. This ability is measured by using tests of classification and abstract reasoning. Conversely, fluid intelligence is linked to the working memory and functioning in the frontal lobe. As such, fluid intelligence is essential in problem-solving in novel work environments and retains information that is relevant to the organization’s goals. However, fluid intelligence may decline with age because it is biologically based Kay (2005) highlights that crystallized intelligence represents the ‘pragmatics’ whereas ‘mechanics’ is represented by fluid intelligence. Therefore, fluid intelligence highly influences one’s ability to shift stimuli and still complete tasks that one is assigned to do. It peaks during an individual’s early adulthood and adolescent life (Groves, 2005a). The relationship between fluid intelligence and working memory is further strengthened working memory because the two combine to uphold the ability to maintain representation in the face of distractions.
Crystallized intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to acquire, organize, retain, and conceptualize information and not merely process the same. This intelligence is influenced by one’s social standing and education as it is a reflection of an individual’s accumulated learning experience (Groves, 2005a). The concept has proven to be stable throughout an individual’s life because an individual continues to gather more knowledge as one’ years progress. However, the intelligence becomes relatively the same across the population regardless of one’s sex, education, and social standing (Groves, 2005b). However, the crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence have a positive correlation in that an increased acquisition of the latter can lead to a higher crystallized intelligence as time progresses.
Notably, aging contributes to reduced memory and cognitive speeds. Subsequently, it is accompanied by reduced ability to acquire technological skills, reduced the ability to handle complex situations, and an increased anxiety when operating technological devices. However, for individuals who regularly use technology, the latter is unlikely to affect. Studies have shown that between the ages of 30 and 60 years, an individual’s IQ reduced by three to seven points due to over-reliance on one’s working memory, dividing one’s attention, having defects in processing information, and being alert to new information. As such, fluid intelligence reduces in the process.
There have also been concerns on whether or not training increases fluid intelligence. Some studies have revealed that training does not increase fluid intelligence. However, a repetitive practice may lead to slight improvements. Overall, mental activity helps to increase crystallized intelligence. Individuals who invest time and effort in obtaining knowledge build their crystallized intelligence. The intelligence is particularly useful as one age increases productivity. Crystallized intelligence has been associated with an individual’s ability to conduct cognitive activities such as problem-solving, abstract reasoning, and intellectual curiosity. It creates a platform for acquiring more knowledge. It has been noted that having high fluid intelligence may lead to an individual making poor decisions and compared to crystallized intelligence which relies on one’s experience and depth of knowledge. As such, leaders rely on crystallized intelligence. Lastly, the relationship between crystallized intelligence and maturity reveals that people with a high level of maturity also exhibit high levels of crystallized intelligence.
Younger employees at the workplace usually have high levels of fluid intelligence. As such, they can use their recent academic qualifications and creativity to deal with complex situations. However, this group lacks the experience that comes with limited knowledge and incomplete emotional development. As such, wisdom is important in helping to harness the skills that young people possess as these emergent leaders should be mentored to have the ability to recognize their strengths and weaknesses achieved through distributed leadership.
4.2.2 Distributed Leadership Encourages Employee Contribution
Traditionally, the definition of leadership has been the ability of a leader to influence one’s followers with the aim of achieving organizational goals. However, recent workplace environments have highlighted the need to have the concept of leadership broadened to include organizational culture, work settings, supervisors, peers, and related models to these facets (Avolio et al., 2009). Ideally, the modern leader does not have all the answers to all the problems facing an organization contributing other stakeholders necessary.
Distributed leadership has no single definition. However, based on a report from the National College for School Leadership, it is a sum of three elements. The first element of distributed leadership is an emergent property of the work done by a group of individuals. The second element is varieties of expertise among these individuals, and the last element is open boundaries in leadership (George, 2000). This leadership incorporates various roles and that it is aligned with co-leadership due to a shared decision-making process. In a distributed leadership model, any individual can virtually act as a leader.
Distributed leadership also incorporates the concept of distributed cognition, which facilitates integrated thinking and decision-making at the workplace. Mayrowetz (2008) highlighted four ways through which distributed leadership is exhibited. The first approach views it as a theoretical lens through which the actions of people, tools, and coercive actions are analyzed. The second approach is that it relies on a democratic decision-making process that is shared. The third approach is that distributed leadership influences the efficiency and effectiveness of individuals at the workplace. Finally, in distributed leadership people can learn about themselves and others through capacity building.
4.2.3 Implications of Age-Based Cognitive Change and Leadership
Distributed leadership highlights that effective leadership goes beyond the leader and recognizes other people in the team, their talents, innovation, and problem-solving skills associated with fluid intelligence, as well as the knowledge and experience of the older workers. It should be noted that distributed leadership does not seek to strengthen existing leadership theories but rather proposes an approach that empowers the workforce to use a task-time based leadership format. When working with young people, managers have the chance to use their high levels of fluid intelligence and helping them to achieve higher levels of crystallized intelligence as they prepare to be future leaders.
The reward system in a distributed leadership approach should be balanced by weighing an individual’s productivity against incentives one is set to receive as well to encourage team activity. Also, they motivate younger employees at the workplace to contribute intrinsically and extrinsically in preparation for senior roles in the future. In conclusion, the researcher analyzed the influence of age-related cognitive changes in leadership at the workplace through a theoretical lens of distributed leadership because the needs of individuals across the age brackets change over time and there is a need to nurture younger leaders who will take up the mantle. It also creates awareness of cognitive intelligence and the way both fluid and crystallized intelligence affects an individual’s performance in the workplace. The relationship that developed between crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence shows that there is a need for leaders to create developmental opportunities for young people within an organization for the betterment of the firm’s intellectual capacity.
The study has shown that individuals who exhibit high levels of crystallized intelligence are a great asset to any organization due to the wisdom and experience they exude in decision-making and problem-solving situations. Also, managers with distributed leadership awareness to help the older generation of employees to carry out their duties by helping them acquire new skills. Such managers have a high level of cognitive competence and awareness when dealing with a workforce that has the diversity of age. The traditional aspect of leadership focuses on the role of the leader whereas the distributed leadership approach goes further than sharing, delegation, and empowerment of the workforce.
4.2.4 Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Development
Nowadays, the concept of emotional intelligence has been on the rise particularly among individuals who are engaged in leadership matters. Proponents of the construct also highlight that emotional intelligence (EI) plays a bigger role in determining the success of a leader than Intellectual intelligence (IQ). Conversely, critics of EI highlight that the construct has only been presented in books and not in peer-reviewed journals and hence has not been fully critiqued as a construct that influences leadership. The author highlights that the concept of emotional intelligence has been critical in leadership programs that have been developed.
4.2.5 Defining Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the capacity to use emotions to reason and enhance employees’ thinking. It includes the ability to recognize, access, generate, and understand emotions as a way of promoting both intellectual and emotional growth of an individual. The ability model highlights that there are four levels of emotional ability. The first level involves perceiving emotions such as non-verbal forms of communication. The second level is when one weighs conflicting emotions to determine which is best suited for the situation at hand. The third level involves emotion management to understand how a shift in emotions affects one’s relationships. Finally, the fourth level is being able to manage one’s emotions and that of others effectively.
4.2.6 Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
The role of emotional intelligence as a key construct in promoting effective leadership cannot be understated. Leaders who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence can recognize and manage emotions and that of their followers. Leaders act as motivators towards positive actions by followers and facilitate members to have supportive relationships amongst themselves. Studies conducted have shown that there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. In a survey that studied 350 students grouped into 108 teams, those who had high levels of emotional intelligence performed better in leadership as compared to those with lower EI. EI also influenced the conflict resolution methods used by the teams. Teams with a high level of emotional intelligence made use of collaboration as a problem-solving tool whereas teams with low EI did not. The study provided evidence that shows leadership effectiveness and emotional intelligence are correlated. As such, emotional intelligence is an important construct in analyzing leadership effectiveness.
Some studies have also shown that there is a relationship between emotional training and leadership. In the 1990s, American Express financial advisors came up with training program aiming for emotional competency and targeted managers. The program was applied to some managers whereas others did not attend the training. After the training, advisors working for managers who had attended the training sessions grew their businesses with almost 2% more as compared to advisors whose managers did not attend the training. This study among others went on to show the role of emotional intelligence in the development of successful leaders.
4.2.7 Evaluating Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Emotional Intelligence has come under intense scrutiny from critics. According to Locke, emotional intelligence is continuously evolving, and due to its broadness of combining emotions and reasoning, its definition somewhat contradicts the construct. He further goes on to argue that EI cannot be classified as a form of intelligence. Other researchers have labeled EI as an elusive concept that goes beyond the boundaries of intelligence. There have also been concerns regarding the psychometric properties of measures used in emotional intelligence. Self-report measures employed in emotional intelligence have been found to have low reliability and add content to existing personality factors instead of identifying with new ones. EI has also been criticized for lacking validity evidence.
On the contrary, EI proponents highlight that it is a form of intelligence as it meets three criteria set out for intelligence. Primarily, emotional intelligence tests offer correct answers, develops with age, and has relationships with other forms of intelligence. Also, proponents argue that EI has shown validity through the ability model. Proponents have also highlighted that EI develops with training and over time like other forms of intelligence. However, it does not stand out on its own and relies on other forms of intelligence.
4.2.8 Emotional Intelligence Training and Leadership Development
Leadership development as highlighted by Conger builds on four approaches. These are; conceptual understanding, personal development, skill building, and feedback. Personal growth approaches related to leadership development work on the assumption that participants in the training have lost touch with one’s inner values. As such, engaging in activities that promote personal growth helps an individual to rediscover their inner qualities. Feedback is undertaken on an individual who has already developed a leadership style and is looking for responses to identify strengths and weaknesses of the style in action. In skill building, sequential instructions help participants to learn and acquire leadership skills.
Current leadership practices build on Goleman’s approach (1995). A comparative analysis between Conger and Goleman’s approaches shows a relationship. Goleman (2002) talks about self-awareness whereas Conger talks of personal growth. Self-regulation is related to feedback, and skill building relates to developing social skills. Therefore, three categories highlighted by Conger overlap with Goleman’s five competencies.
4.3 Effects of Emotional Intelligence and Self-Leadership on Students’ Coping With Stress
Wang et al., (2016) highlighted that college students face stress arising from lack of employment, economic, and academic pressure which may lead to poor academic performance, physical illness, and emotional issues. As such, this research analyzed the impact of self-leadership and emotional intelligence on Chinese college students that were coping with stress. The research introduced a model makes use of self-leadership and emotional intelligence as part of coping with stress. It can be realized by using mediators of self-efficacy and positive affect because good health correlates with optimistic emotions.
Consequently, emotional intelligence relates to an individual’s ability to control one’s emotions. This concept can be classified as a trait and ability EI. The former refers to personality aspects whereas the latter refers to standard intelligence dealing with information processing. George (2000) discovered that coping with stress is facilitated by emotional intelligence for both occupational and interpersonal contexts.. Similarly, athletes with athletes with high levels of EI were less stressed as compared to ones with low EI. These researchers further proved that having a high level of emotional intelligence is crucial in helping individuals cope with stressful situations.
Mayo, and Nohria, (2005) defines self-leadership as a process through which individuals target their actions and work towards improving them and making them desirable. It is achieved using constructive-thought-pattern, natural-reward, and behavior-focused strategies. Self-leadership has been used with success in countries with individualistic and collectivistic cultures with much success achieved. In their research, self-leadership was related to improved wellness as well as coping styles. Additionally, nurses with better coping at the place of work had less stressful moments due to self-leadership.
Subsequently, positive effect is a state in which people are active, excited, and happy whereas self-efficacy refers to the ability of an individual to cope with stress. Therefore, positive affect is essential in enabling individuals to reduce stress levels by promoting behaviors that improve one’s health.
The experiment carried out by the research included 575 students who studied at two local universities in China. The measures for the study included coping styles (active and passive), self-leadership, positive affect, general self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence. The results highlighted a positive correlation between active coping style and self-leadership strategies, general self-efficacy, and positive affect. The results highlighted that statistically significant correlation between emotional intelligence and self-leadership were identified although EI and active coping are not directly related.
The results of the self-leadership categories indicated that positive coping and self-leadership were correlated. Individuals who exhibit success in self-leadership can determine stressful situations and find ways of coping with them. Besides, self-leadership was identified as a positive strategy that can be used when coping with stress. The experiment went on further to show the individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence are more likely to make use of self-leadership strategies.
4.4 Achieving Entrepreneurial Success through Passion, Vision, and Courage
In this research, Envick (2014) introduces the entrepreneurial intelligence model about the cognitive approach to entrepreneurship. The science behind the model includes; eight psychological states and three cognitive qualities (courage, passion, and vision) which are based on a structured and systematic observation of entrepreneurs who have been successful while discharging their duties. When an entrepreneur understands the workings behind these cognitive qualities and psychological states, he or she will be able to take actions that lead to entrepreneurial success.
The first definition of an entrepreneur can be dated back to Miller (1948) when he highlighted that entrepreneurs differ from managers due to their ability to take risks. Over the years, researchers have highlighted psychological traits separating entrepreneurs from the rest. Some of these traits include self-confidence, growth orientation, and the need for power. However, it is important to note that no pattern has been identified to distinguish non-entrepreneurs from entrepreneurs.
4.4.1 The Cognitive State Approach to Entrepreneurship
As aforementioned, the entrepreneurship model relies on a cognitive approach focusing on action-items and psychological states. A psychological trait is a distinguishing trait whereas a psychological state is a mental or emotional conduction that may be modified. Traits are somewhat fixed and the entrepreneurial intelligence model focuses on cognitive qualities and psychological states that one can learn. It can be exemplified by hope and fear which may come and go depending on one’s expectations and are not tied down to a particular character trait. This gives an individual greater power over one’s psychological states. Some psychological states may need conditioning to e developed over time whereas some are a matter of choice.
According to George (2000), social cognitive theory highlights that the interplay between cognitive biases and the environment results in entrepreneurial behavior. They further argue that entrepreneurs are because of their environment and the circumstances of their birth. Their perception-driven attitude fuels their potential for entrepreneurship.
4.4.2 Different Forms of Intelligence
As aforementioned, intelligence refers to the individual’s capacity to acquire and apply knowledge gained for both current and future situations. In the case of entrepreneurs, they must know which risks are worth pursuing and whom to do business with, as well as how to treat customers. Therefore, dynamic success can only be achieved once an entrepreneur makes use of entrepreneurial intelligence (Brody, 2004). In the business world, emotional and social intelligence are equally important for managers. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and one’s feelings, those of others, and ways of regulating them. In contrast, social intelligence refers to one’s ability to conform to the intentions of others by adjusting one’s behavior. For entrepreneurial intelligence, the psychological states of an individual are analyzed using cognitive processes.
An experiment was carried on 132 entrepreneurs to identify the how courage, vision, and passion lead to entrepreneurial success. The model, as earlier mentioned contains eight psychological states, three cognitive qualities, and five-action plan steps that entrepreneurs should take.
As a cognitive quality, passion contains three psychological states of continuous learning, ambition, and work ethic for an entrepreneur. Successful leaders are heavily linked with ambition as they have the desire to achieve their goals. Some of the people who pursue ambition may have different goals from others who may seem to lack ambition. In reality, they have nothing in common hence one may appear lazy in the eyes of another. For instance, an employer may view a particular employee as ambitionless while the two people have different goals. It also applies to entrepreneurs who spend time and effort in developing a new product that may not appeal to the target market. As such, entrepreneurs must find a way to gain a competitive edge in a tough business environment.
4.5 Managerial and Leadership Competencies
Boyatzis, Gaskin, Wei, (2015) in their research talks about the development of competencies that help managers to become effective in the workplace. However, the competency studies began in the 1970s with the aim of analyzing the reason as to why talented managers are effective. Previous works on the same relied on cognitive intelligence, skills, abilities, emotional intelligence, and social intelligence. Nowadays, the last two are crucial in understanding competency in the workplace.
Competency can be defined as an ability that leads to a set of behaviors organized around a construct. The behaviors exhibited by an individual are manifestations of one’s intent. Competencies require an individual to have both intent and action. Identification of competencies in previous research required the use of an inductive method whereby outstanding and poor employees were identified based on their competencies.
Performance theories serve as the basis for competency studies. The basic contingency theory highlights that an individual’s competencies can be maximized if they match the requirements for the same position (Boyatzis, Gaskin, Wei, 2015). An individual should have the vision, knowledge, and competencies that are described under the job roles and assignments to be performed. An organization’s culture also influences the competencies that an individual expresses such as climate, structure, and systems of an organization.
They further highlights that there are three clusters of competencies and threshold abilities at the workplace such as experience and expertise, knowledge, a combination of basic cognitive. These clusters set the tone for differentiating exemplary performers from average performers at the workplace (Brody, 2004). Lastly, the theory of action and job performance model of best fit. In this model, an individual should find a balance between one’s skills, values, and interests, and that of the organization’s work environment and job demands. The three main competencies that come into play at the workplace include cognitive competencies, emotional competencies, and social competencies.
4.5.1 Competencies as Behavioral Manifestations
When analyzing the emotional and social components of human talent, social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence come into play. According to Boyatzis and Sala (2004), for a construct to be classified as ‘intelligence’ it should contain the following characteristics. First, it should be behaviorally observable. Secondly, it should be related to job and life outcomes. Third, it should be able to satisfy criteria for a sound measure that has validity. Fourthly, it should be different from other constructs and invaluable in the analysis of the human personality. Finally, each cluster of the construct should be different. A concept that integrates cognitive, social, and emotional intelligence competencies provides a framework that can be used to link job performance and an individual’s personality.
4.6 Understanding the Relationship between School Leaders’ Social and Emotional Competence and Their Transformational Leadership
Martino, Wilhite & Wang (2016) in their research conducted a study, which examined the relationship between transformational leadership and emotional competence among K-12 school leaders. They highlighted that the past decade had seen a rise in the development of quality leaders. While emotional intelligence has taken center stage, it is an emotional awareness that sets the tone for transformation leadership. Leaders who exhibit a high level of self-awareness rely on information from their followers.
4.6.1 Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Competence
The concept of EI developed in the 1920s. It has grown to become an important construct among researchers. Social intelligence emerged in the 1980s. Researchers have highlighted that the emotional intelligence should be illustrated as the use of emotions for social functioning. Therefore, emotional intelligence sets the conceptual basis for social intelligence. Emotional intelligence, as noted by Goleman (2002) can be used to influence life experiences, environmental, and educational developments.
4.6.2 Transformational Leadership
As discussed in previous sub-topics, transformational leadership was introduced by Burns (1978) in defining leaders who motivate followers to go beyond their roles to achieve organizational goals. Such leaders are highly interactive and a stark contrast to transactional leadership that provides solutions to basic needs in Maslow’s hierarchy while the former aims for self-actualization among followers.
Research on transformational leadership and emotional competence reveal that leaders with a high level of emotional competence can alter the negative perceptions at the workplace and increase satisfaction levels of followers (Judge and Piccolo, 2004). However, there have been concerns about the influence of self-ratings on ratings on leadership skills and emotional competence. Self-ratings are inconsistent as individuals may inflate their ratings in a bid to create of perception that they are good leaders.
4.6.3 Research and Discussion
The research surveyed 284 teachers and 20 administrators across elementary, middle school, and high school. The results of the study aimed at showing how emotional and social competencies contribute to the development of transformational leadership across K-12 school administrators and teachers. The results highlighted that school administrators who shared the same sentiments with their subordinates regarding their assessment of transformational leadership style had similar self-perceptions regarding social and emotional competencies (Brody, 2004). Similarly, leaders who opted to rate themselves higher as transformative leaders; also did the same regarding social and emotional competencies.
However, statistical analysis revealed that leaders who estimated their transformational leadership qualities received lower emotional and social competencies from subordinate staff as compared to leaders who had similar ratings with their subordinates. From the study, the accuracy or the inaccuracy of emotional competence was related to the accuracy or inaccuracy of self-assessment regarding leadership skills. The relationships that have been identified are crucial in assisting school administrators and teachers to develop emotional competence, which promotes transformational leadership at the institution.
The study highlights that a high level of emotional competence also coincides with a high level of transformational leadership. Reasonably, such leaders can motivate their followers and interact with them to achieve organization’s goals. Conversely, a low emotional competence results in the low development of transformational leaders. Therefore, training provided to raise emotional competence may assist in further development of the leaders.
4.7 The Relationship between EI and Clinical Teaching Effectiveness in Nursing Faculty
According to Allen at al., (2012), the role of the modern nurse goes beyond the traditional ones as one is expected and has increased the need for an independent nurse who can function in positions that require one to exhibit advanced leadership, communication, and self-knowledge skills. However, some employers have highlighted that some of the graduates in this field lack the competencies required for one to become a successful nurse. Emotional intelligence has been highlighted as one of the skills required in the development of nursing leaders. EI, as defined in previous sections refers to the non-cognitive skills and competencies that enable an individual to succeed in a high-pressure environment. Therefore, high levels of EI translate into an individual’s success at the leadership level in an organization. Emotionally intelligent leaders at the workplace facilitate the learning process in the clinical setup and influence positive outcomes.
The construct of emotional intelligence has always been dated back to Thorndike (1920). Relatively modern approaches such gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences (1983) have also added flesh to this construct. Nursing has a human aspect that may require the professional to show empathy to the patient. For instance, a fresh graduate may have all the attributes and education to provide patients with the best care available. However, having low EI may hinder the patient’s full recovery. As such, EI is an important construct in developing a successful patient-nurse relationship.
The development of future leaders in this field relies on EI blending with social skills. As mentioned in previous sections, EI can be trained. As such, medical students who can become empathetic by regulating their moods can undergo EI training for them to become more effective as nurses. Training will enable nurses to manage their emotions, and develop empathetic attitudes that are key components of EI. Studies between EI and burnout in the nursing profession indicate that nursing professionals who exhibited high levels of emotional intelligence had high levels of personal satisfaction at the workplace.
EI training in nursing can be done through five categories of teaching effectiveness such as nursing competence, personality trait, evaluation, teaching ability, and interpersonal relationship. Faculty tutors who have a high teaching ability help students to develop their leadership abilities and rely on the student’s capacity to learn. In the development of leadership skills, nursing leaders who have high levels of EI make use of transformational skills to increase their effectiveness as it increases empowerment (Groves, 2005a).
The study conducted an experiment that aimed at showing the relationship between EI and effectiveness of clinical teaching methods. The methodology involved the use of a cross-sectional survey with a small population drawn from part time and full-time nursing students. One of the variables measured was EI using self-reports with SPSS used in the data analysis process. The study revealed that majority of the students could manage their social and emotional functioning well although slight improvements were required. Interpersonal competence emerged as an important skill required by future healthcare professionals to become more effective in their workplaces. However, students who lacked flexibility may have their learning curve hindered and led to one missing opportunities. Such inflexibility has been liked to one’s emotional intelligence levels.
On the teacher’s side, nursing professionals who had exhibited high levels of EI also exhibited high levels of nursing competence. Besides, they were considered as enhancing the teachers’ performance in the faculty. Personal satisfaction and high levels of EI have been linked particularly in the early nursing practice of a graduate. These high levels of EI are responsible for effective nurses and educators in the nursing profession.
4.8 How EI Mediates Emotional Labor in Public Service Jobs
Lee and Guy (2015) highlight that in the public sector; three-thirds of the jobs available are emotionally taxing. As such, the study introduces two constructs; emotional labor and emotional intelligence. It is well known that any work requires one to have the ability to manage his or her emotions. However, public service jobs require an individual to take emotions management to a whole new level because government services vary in context with some being emergencies while others involve serving many people.
Subsequently, it has led to the inclusion of emotional intelligence in in-service training for employees in the public sector. The training is essential for managers to help their followers know how to manage their emotions. Additionally, employees can distinguish between the two constructs including emotional intelligence and emotional labor. EI at the workplace is best viewed as ability instead of a character trait. For emotions to be well managed, an individual requires self-awareness as highlighted in Goleman’s 1995 model. Through self-awareness, an individual can understand emotions of people around him or her and come up with an intuition of how they feel. It is also known as ‘reading in between the lines’ as one makes use of cues such as body language.
Unlike EI, emotional labor is a performance that is rewarded through wages in the public sector. For emotional labor to become effective, it is an individual’s role to ensure that he or she can evaluate one’s emotions, decide the best response, and behavior required for the performance of one’ duties. It should be noted that an individual’s skills result from emotional intelligence whereas the ability to perform and exercise these skills results from emotional labor. Therefore, individuals who have high levels of EI should have a higher capacity of emotional intelligence.
An experiment was conducted on individuals who had worked in the public service on either full-time or part-time basis. Questionnaires were used to collect data to show relationships between job satisfaction, emotional intelligence, emotional labor, and burnout at the workplace. The assumption made by the research was the government employees with a high emotional labor capability have higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of burnout. However, the results revealed that the relationship between the two is not direct as assumed. The research revealed that having the ability to regulate one’s emotions positively influences emotional labor and reduces burnout at the workplace. Therefore, high levels of emotional awareness lead to high levels of job satisfaction.
4.9 Differences in EI between Effective and Ineffective Leaders in the Public Sector
According to Kotze and Venter (2011), leaders should have the capacity to drive transformation and manage individuals in the workplace effectively. Also, they should have the ability to determine why some employees perform exceptionally well while others are performing with mediocrity. Emotional intelligence has for long been studied as one of the constructs that affect leadership effectiveness at the workplace. Most studies have not been done in public institutions. In the public sector, a leader must have the ability to manage conflict due to the changes associated with having unstable working conditions. As such, leadership in the public sector relies on an individual’s ability to listen to what people say, engage them and encourage them to express their views, and integrate the different ideas generated. It can be achieved by educating leaders in the public sector and ensuring that their emotional development in the process.
Conversely, leaders in public institutions require specific characteristics for leadership that may not be available in the private sector. Normally, the public sector is highly formal and has rules and regulations in place making discretion among leaders limited. Additionally, leaders in this sector have fewer chances of influencing informal relationships at the workplace and cannot use interpersonal skills or problem-solving skills that do not conform to the formal organization setup.
The effectiveness of leaders has many definitions with one of them the ability of an individual in a position of leadership to achieve organizational success by motivating and managing others. However, the process relies on an organization’s value system, an individual’s morality, authenticity, and personal traits. The effectiveness can also be influenced by the leadership style in use such as transactional, transformational, or servant-leadership. The determination of effective leadership is not a direct process as there are different levels of analysis whether as an individual, a team, or at the organization level (Brody, 2004). These levels are evaluated using five different methods. The first method emphasizes performance measures while the second one different categories through which leaders are classified. Thirdly, the leadership potential is measured through interviews and other assessments to determine the effectiveness levels. The fourth category involves self-rating to determine a leader’s effectiveness while the final method concentrates on factors that lead to an ineffective leader.
The study experimented with 114 leaders from the public sector in South Africa through self-rating surveys with the statistical analysis done through SPSS with the leaders being divided into effective and non-effective groups. The results indicated that differences between effective and non-effective leaders concerning emotional intelligence were statistically significant thereby proving the alternative hypothesis. As such, effective leaders in the public sector also rely on emotional intelligence with higher levels of emotional intelligence needed.
Similarly, effective leaders scored higher points in self-actualization as compared to ineffective leaders. Self-actualization refers’ to a leader’s ability to realize one’s potential. The study also revealed that leaders who are more empathetic to the needs of their followers have higher efficiency ratings as compared to those with lower levels of empathy. This study has highlighted the need to have the construct of emotional intelligence at the public workplace just like in the private sector. Emotional intelligence has been shown to be important in separating effective leaders from ineffective ones.
4.10 Relationship between Intuition and EI in Occupational Therapists
In their study, Chaffey, Unsworth, and Fossey (2012) sought to show the relationship that emerges between emotional intelligence and intuition. Clinical research conducted prior had revealed that tacit knowledge was a contributor to clinical reasoning. In addition, intuition was identified as an affective component. In a 2010 study, the authors identified that the use of emotions in clinical reasoning and intuition formed the basis of emotional intelligence (EI). As such, there was a need to investigate the relationship between the two.
Emotional intelligence has been described in a variety of frameworks and by different authors with the core definition being the ability to manage emotions. A model proposed by Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2000) was a four-branch model that conceptualized EI into two areas of competencies. The four branches are the ability to recognize emotions, integrate them into the mind, understand them in oneself and others, and finally regulate them. Concerning competency, they are using emotions to enhance thinking and accurate reasoning. Other models of emotional intelligence include personality traits controlled by emotions.
Emotional intelligence and intuition were studied in among senior managers (female) from several Australian industries. The study revealed that managers who could recognize their emotions also had intuitive thinking capacity. Others studies have also highlighted intuition as an important tool in decision making as well as building relationships at the workplace. A separate study that looked into intuition and expertise revealed that experts in a particular field use intuition more than less experienced professionals. Experts also tend to have an understanding of what actions need to be taken. It is impossible to make self-reports on intuition as the information source, and the process eludes the individual experiencing it.
Consequently, a survey design was carried out with participants being therapists registered as mental health practitioners in Australia using self-administered questionnaire. The data was later analyzed using SPSS. From the study, it was reported that individuals with a higher level of emotional competence at the workplace preferred intuitive cognitive style. The first step in using intuition is to recognize emotions then followed by interpreting them.
The study revealed several implications for the mental practice and occupational therapy. First, practitioners with experience make more use of intuition as a cognitive style, unlike novices. For the latter, there is a need to develop the use of intuition over time. Secondly, mental health practice could be enhanced by making use of intuition combined with abilities that develop because of emotional intelligence. Third, focusing on issues that affect occupational therapy as well as making use of emotions and understanding them within the framework of the practice can help enhance the practice. Finally, including the study of emotional intelligence in mental health and occupation therapy curricula can help less experienced therapists to make use of intuition.
4.11 EI and Transformational and Transactional Leadership
In their study, Harms and Crede (2010) showed that emotional intelligence has a big influence on behaviors and transformative leadership. According to the authors, some of the core components of transformational leadership are empathy, self-awareness, and self-confidence. Similarly, these are the main elements of emotional intelligence. Transformational leadership, as highlighted in previous sections is one of the most researched topics in leadership. These leaders, unlike transactional leaders, act as mentors and motivators to their followers. They encourage the latter through individual development, learning, and achievement.
In contrast, transactional leadership has been divided into three structures such as management by exception (passive and active), and contingent reward. In the contingent reward, leaders react to their followers’ contribution at the workplace based on their emotional and economic degree of operation. Therefore, the followers are expected to achieve laid out goals. Active management by exception is when leaders monitor their followers and correct them on the spot should they make a mistake. Passive management by exception occurs when the follower is allowed to make mistakes that are later on corrected.
Laissez-faire leadership style is common in many workplaces. It is often associated with passive management by exceptions the leader may be absent when corrections are needed. Out of these three leadership styles, transformational and transactional leadership stands out (Groves, 2005a). The relationship between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence is further enhanced by empathy, which leaders display as individual consideration towards their followers. Leaders who exhibit emotional management may also influence a positive attitude among their followers. Therefore, leaders who are self-aware and skilled at emotional management understand the need to put others first at their expense.
The research used literature search, coding procedures, and analytic procedures to collect data. The results of the experiment revealed that there is a positive correlation between transformational leadership. The only concerns that arose were the validity of emotional intelligence as a construct.
4.12 Transformational Leadership: EI
According to Mathew and Guptra (2015), there is a need to develop a conceptual framework that encompasses emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. In today’s business world, building relationships with employees, customers, and leaders give a firm competitive advantage. Leaders with strong analytical skills have been assumed to perform better unlike those lacking the skills. Other studies have highlighted that emotional intelligence has a 27% prediction on job performance as opposed to IQ whose correlation with job performance was negligible (0.7%). Therefore, EQ has a big role in influencing transformational leadership.
Leaders are judged based on their ability to pass down their mission and vision to their teams' members and encourage them to execute them. Therefore, dealing with the emotions of one’s followers is an important role a leader is expected to play. For leadership to be great, it requires expertise in the discipline, analysis, strategy, innovation, and execution. While these areas are influential, being able to manage the emotions of one’s followers make a leader an effective one.
Studies have shown that transformational leadership has been linked to increased productivity, commitment, and job satisfaction at the workplace. Additionally, job-related stress has declined and can be attributed to the fact that transformative leaders can inspire their followers, challenge them, and empower them to meet organizational goals. When combined with the construct of emotional intelligence, leaders who exhibit emotional intelligence are more dedicated to an organization’s performance, are happier and perform better in the workplace. These leaders use this ability to manage emotions to instill enthusiasm and offer solutions to problems at the workplace. The reverse is also true. The relationship between emotional intelligence and transformative leadership revolves around self-awareness, motivation, and empathy as explained in previous sections of the chapter.
Charisma has been highlighted as a trait that can be classified as a social and emotional skill. As such, personal charisma contains emotional intelligence, which is exhibited by transformational leaders. This style uses emotions as a tool for communicating with followers and hence meets the emotional needs of their employees. Leaders can develop emotional intelligence and become effective leaders.
A conceptual framework for transformational leadership and emotional intelligence shows the correlation between the two. While transformational leadership relies on having a common vision, building effective relationships, demonstrating integrity and inspiring followers, emotional intelligence helps in identifying one’s emotion, those of one’s followers, managing the emotions, motivating, and showing empathy.
4.13 A Structural Equations Model of Leaders’ SI and Creative Performance
Rahim (2014) conducted the study with the aim of showing the relationship between social intelligence (SI) of leaders and their Creative Performance (CP). Intelligence has in the past associated with IQ and acts as a measure of academic and cognitive intelligence. However, intelligence has been broadened to contain the constructs of social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence, which could influence creative performance other than cognitive intelligence alone.
Organizations have come to accept the fact that they need creativity to sustain innovation at the workplace (Groves, 2005b). However, many scholars have highlighted that the two constructs lack a relationship and hence have a low correlation. However, social intelligence has been positively connected to influencing creative performance.
4.14 Beyond General Intelligence (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Nowadays, globalization has become a reality in the 21st-century workplace. As such, there is a need to groom leaders who fit into a globalized environment that requires one to adapt to a contrasting political, cultural and economic contexts. Such leaders must be able to fit into domestic and cross-borders situations. Global leaders aim to perform their goals and achieve them like any other leader (Johnson, & LeBreton, 2004). These leaders have unique responsibilities in their scope of work. Primarily, they are required to work with team players from multiple cultural backgrounds. Secondly, they should balance both local and internal demands in the workplace. Finally, they should adopt a multicultural perspective.
Effective leadership at the domestic level and the international level differ as it depends on a leader’s ability to solve social and technical issues. For leaders to play their roles perfectly, they should understand the preferred leadership styles in the work setting, culture, and types of relationships (Kim & Van Dyne, 2011). Most studies regarding emotion and general intelligence focus on domestic contexts of the workplace as opposed to cross-cultural contexts.
The role of metacognitive cultural intelligence (CQ) cannot be understated. It refers to the cultural awareness in an intercultural workplace. Individuals who have higher levels of metacognitive CQ understand the difference in norms when two or more cultures interact. Metacognitive motivation at the workplace refers to an individual’s ability to understanding the diverse cultural environments. As such, individuals with these two levels of CQ aim at becoming effective leaders in multicultural environments. Leaders in these environments also need to manage exclusionary reactions that emerge from cross-cultural contacts in the workplace (Judge, Colbert, & Ilies, 2004). However, research has shown that leaders with high levels of CQ develop trusting relationships in a cross-cultural working environment as opposed to those with low levels of CQ who are more likely to engage in exclusionary reactions (Groves, 2005a).
4.15 Relationships between EI & leadership style’s HRM
Organizations that maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals in today’s business world rely on leaders who work effectively and exhibit adaptability skills at the workplace as highlighted by Khalili (2013). They ensure that the customer-oriented processes are continuously improved. New leadership models focus on commitment to workplace ethics, helping people, empowering them, and building trust at the workplace (Hein, 2004). Further studies have also shown that with an increase in competition at the workplace, managers who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence when communicating with their employees will ensure the success of their organization.
Different researchers have defined emotional intelligence in different studies. However, the components of emotional intelligence share four common factors. They include perceptions and emotional expression, emotional understanding, emotional management, and the excitement to use emotions. Leaders who can manage emotions in the workplace create an environment of productivity as staff members are motivated to work and draw commitment from followers. Additionally, leaders who have high levels of emotional intelligence lead organizations in achieving unimaginable results. Additionally, the leaders also develop accepted values that can be passed onto their followers.
In this research paper, the author investigated the relationship between leadership styles and emotional intelligence. Several inferences were made from the experiment. From the experiment, emotional intelligence had an insignificant relationship with authoritarian relationships. Secondly, leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence exhibited problem-solving skills (Groves, 2005b). As such, several recommendations can be made from the study. There is a need to train more leaders on the in empathy, flexibility, and controlling impulsivity as the core components of emotional intelligence.
4.16 Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Intelligence and Personality as Predictors of Sales Leadership Performance
Boyatzis et al. (2012) highlighted that a good salesperson should have a good height, weight, a firm handshake, and wit. However, this is only made possible by leaders who can train salespersons to become successful. It should be noted that the use of emotional and social intelligence constructs have been largely successful in training effective leaders. Therefore, the use of the same constructs in empowering and motivating salespersons can help improve their performance in the field. Contingency theories highlight how a leader should adapt to the situations of their job requirements with traits such as personality and general intelligence affecting performance at the workplace (Larsson, Sjoberg, Vrbanjac, & Bjorkman, 2005).
Ingram et al., (2005) highlighted that sales leadership is the process through which leaders in the workplace aimed at influencing sales and the environment in which they operate. Sales leaders are tasked with the responsibility of creating a vision that aligns with their followers while at the same time motivating them. This study analyzes how sales leaders operate in different companies. These leaders’ compensation packages rely on their financial performance in the market. Sales performances increase with the recruitment of financial advisors (Groves, 2005a). The more the financial advisors that a company hires, the more sales revenue it gains. The reverse is also true.
Sales, like any other leadership position, requires a leader to have emotional and social intelligence. The leader should have the personality and skills to manage different emotions at the workplace but affects an organizational performance (Chrusciel, 2006). The way in which sales leaders respond to their followers’ emotional needs influences the recruitment process and whether or not it will be successful. Therefore, followers working for leaders who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence are likely to have high confidence and trust in their leader. These provide the followers with the required motivation in their sales excursions.
5. Synthesis of the Research Findings
Envick (2014) introduce the different types of intelligence. According to the authors, intelligence involves the application of brainpower and is not limited to IQ. In the business, the world, as well as leadership positions, social and emotional intelligence, are essential tools needed to navigate these rough waters. Through emotional intelligence, one becomes aware of his/her emotions, that of other people and how to regulate them. Conversely, social intelligence entails the ability to read one’s intentions that of others and how to react with both intentions considered. These two constructs of intelligence have been highlighted as part of social and emotional competencies.
Martino, Wilhite, and Wang (2016) highlight that one of the key components of effective leadership is emotional intelligence. Transformational leadership refers to a leadership style to which a leader can raise the conscious level of one’s followers through motivation. When compared to transactional leadership, transformational leader aims for more than just completing tasks. In transformational leadership, the leader inspires his/her followers to aim for self-actualization as detailed in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Emotional intelligence has proven to be an important construct to leaders. Leaders who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence have been reported to have a positive influence on their followers through a transformative leadership process. Emotional intelligence can also be trained. Individuals who undergo training from a higher level of leaders can develop emotional competency that enables them to manage their emotions. Emotional intelligence training uses personal growth to develop a new breed of leaders. Motivation is also included in the training schedule as it is a key component of transformational leadership.
Studies by Harms and Crede (2010) and Martino, Wilhite, and Wang (2016) argue that emotional intelligence elements such as self-awareness, self-confidence, and empathy are some of the core concepts of transformational leadership. Emotional intelligence skills have been highlighted as the ones that separate average leaders from outstanding ones. Nowadays, transformational leadership is one of the most researched leadership styles based on its satisfaction rate among followers. However, it is important to note that transformational leaders play the role of mentoring their followers by developing an environment of trust.
Transformational leadership as noted by Harms and Crede (2010) and Martino, Wilhite, and Wang (2016), has five dimensions. These are an idealized influence (attributed and behavioral), individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation. The social charisma of a leader and the leader’s actions based on their belief and value system are a reflection of idealized influence (attributed and behavioral) respectively. In inspirational motivating, leaders use their positions to encourage and engage their followers in goal setting. In individualized consideration, the leader assesses the needs of every follower in distress and provides them with the necessary support. Finally, intellectual stimulation is whereby the leader behaves in a manner that challenges their followers to take risks and engage in creative tasks.
Both Harms and Crede (2010) and Kim et al., (2014) agree that Goleman’s model of emotional intelligence directly influences human behavior such as group work, social work, and individual work. It is important to note that the authors highlight that emotional intelligence is a construct that helps individuals deal with the pressures associated with environmental demands. Individuals who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence are more flexible to change and have the capacity to direct impulsive moods. Conversely, the reverse is true. Besides, emotionally intelligent people can articulate their goals to others thereby making teamwork more effective. Teams with high levels of emotional intelligence are better at decision-making and are more productive at the workplace.
Salthouse (2011) and Rose and Gordon (2015), highlight that age-related changes affect intelligence and leadership styles. Intelligence can be classified as either fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence. These two also share a connection with working memory (WM). When individual ages, the cognitive speed reduces due to a decline in one’s memory resulting in reduced training at the workplace. The young generations have high levels of fluid intelligence. As such, they are more creative and innovative and use their cognitive skills to respond faster to issues. However, they lack the experience that comes with age. The older generations have high levels f crystallized intelligence. This type of intelligence is obtained through experience, leadership, and wisdom. Therefore, the older that one becomes, the more one relies on crystallized intelligence in decision making as opposed to fluid intelligence, which is high in young people.
Lee and Guy (2013) and Kotze and Venter (2011) highlight that there are individuals who perform exceptionally well in leadership positions and are deemed as effective leaders whereas some individuals demonstrate mediocrity in leadership particularly in the public service. Emotional intelligence has been touted as a possible influencer on effective leadership. These studies have shown that low emotional intelligence has influenced ineffective leadership and poor decision-making processes. Therefore, emotional intelligence is a necessary tool for leadership to be effective.
In the public sector, managing conflicts is a skill that leaders must develop despite the unstable working conditions. Having the ability to motivate individuals to express their views relies on leaders getting education opportunities where they can be trained to keep their emotions in check. It is also important to note that emotional competency in the private sector differs sharply with that in the public sector. However, the public sector is formal in its layout. As such, leaders in this sector have made less use of emotional intelligence due to the rules and regulations in place.
Consequently, public service jobs are emotionally demanding. As such, emotional labor and emotional intelligence are constructs that influence an individual’s performance at the workplace. While all work environments are emotionally taxing, the public service takes it a notch higher. In a hospital setup, the emotional intensity that comes with emergencies, law enforcement among the police, and victim services put a strain on an individual’s emotional intelligence.
While emotional intelligence is an individual’s interests at the workplace, emotional labor refers to an individual’s performance at the workplace. As such, employees make use of emotional intelligence when implementing emotional labor. The research also argues that individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence should have an increased capability to perform emotional labor more effectively.
6. Critique of the Previous Research Methods
A critique refers to a professional way of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a piece of research. In this study, several peer-reviewed articles were used to provide the study with a backbone for its research topic. As such, this section seeks to analyze the work by different researchers who have contributed to the literature review section. This particular critique will focus on both the positive and negative aspects of the research material under consideration.
6.1 A Critique of ‘Age-Related Cognitive Changes and Distributed Leadership.’
One of the core peer-reviewed articles in this study was “Age-related cognitive changes and distributed leadership” by Rose and Raymond (2015). In their article, the research examines how changes in age affect cognitive activities as well as leadership in an organization. The paper does not have research questions highlighted after the abstract. However, the introduction sets the tone for the paper by highlighting on background information such as intelligence, its components and its influence on leadership and cognitive activities.
A pronounced topic does not highlight the literature review section in the paper. However, the paper is divided into sub-topics, which talks about different approaches, by different authors have taken to address the issue. The methodology used takes a conceptual approach, and hence the paper does not engage in a qualitative or quantitative data collection methods. Since it is conceptual, there was no need for developing variables and hypotheses. However, it makes sense as the research heavily relies on pre-existing literature from other authors.
The findings of the research paper highlight that intelligence has three components. At the workplace, young people exhibit high levels of fluid intelligence. However, this should be well balanced with working memory and crystallized intelligence. The findings also reflect on distributed intelligence, which can assist in increasing innovation and creativity. I agree with the findings, which show how variation of age affects both productivity and leadership at the workplace. However, it introduces a different perspective that can positively influence my study.
Through the introduction of distributed leadership, the paper retains its originality and its role in creating newer leadership forms. The research is limited to time and space as the concepts of intelligence date back to almost 100 years ago. Additionally, the research still has room for future research as the author has only focused on cognitive activities affected by age. Other than distributed leadership, the paper could also have included different leadership styles to show a comparative analysis. However, the research lacked statistical data that could have been used to quantify the research.
After reading through the paper severally, one can note that the authors release their arguments methodically and they appear to be coherent and logical. The paper is also well organized as new concepts are first defined before being abbreviated later on. It is easy to follow the arguments of the author as each sub-topic takes over from the previous one. In conclusion, the paper’s topic coincides well with the title assigned.
6.2 Critique of ‘Understanding the Relationship between School Leaders’ Social and Emotional Competence and Their Transformational Leadership.’
The article was authored by Martino, Wilhite, and Wang (2016). The paper has an abstract, which gives a snippet of what to expect from the authors. Keywords that will be repeated throughout the paper to emphasize on particular points have been highlighted. While the paper does not have research questions, their absence does not hinder the questions that arise from the topic of the paper as well as the introductory part.
The literature review contains several subtitles from which the authors borrow existing literature from different authors to introduce their topic. The author has used a host of sources to examine how social and emotional competencies influence transformational leadership. The research approach in the paper is the use of self-assessment tests for school administrators and teachers. Different measurement instruments were used to get comprehensive data on how these competencies influence transformational leadership at the workplace. The experimental method used in collecting data exhibits validity and is done so on a good sample population. The use of self-assessment tests is a viable technique when collecting personality data. The assumptions of the technique were met as the authors assumed that the participants would be truthful and give honest responses.
Although the paper is coherent, it becomes technical from the method section and requires an individual with the ability to interpret statistical data to see the correlation between the variables. However, the study had a few limitations. First, using a larger population sample and including more schools in the research would reduce errors in the study.
6.3 A Critique of the article ‘Managerial and Leadership Competencies.’
The article was written by Boyatzis (2009). The paper has an abstract that introduces the subject matter with the keywords highlighted after that. In his article, the author is not limited by time and space as the research introduces the origin of competency research and theories of competencies. The literature review section introduces an array of authors, models, and theories related to the research topic. The excerpts from these authors help in defining social, emotional, and cognitive, competencies and their relationship to leadership. The section also includes a table where key terms are defined. The paper does not have a methodology that focuses on statistical analysis. Instead, the methodology is a conceptual one by drawing from different authors.
6.4 Achieving Entrepreneurship Success through Passion, Vision, and Courage
Envick (2014) authored a paper and approached entrepreneurship logically and systematically by introducing eight psychological states, three cognitive qualities, and five action steps that influence it. The introduction section of the paper brings in the concept of entrepreneurial intelligence setting the tone for the rest of the paper. The author does not introduce research questions in the study. The literature review section of the paper examines various theoretical works by several authors that are relevant to the study at hand. For instance, when the author takes about psychological traits, he refers to authors dating back to As far as 1966. Therefore, the research is not barred by time and space as the author takes his time to illustrate the concept of entrepreneurial intelligence.
In the methodology section, the author made use of a qualitative approach in data collection by making use of direct observation data techniques. Post-log interviews were used to collect information from entrepreneurs. The results of the study indicated that the experiment had validity. Throughout the paper, the author’s ideas were organized coherently and logically.
6.5 A critique of the article ‘The Relationship between Intuition and Emotional Intelligence in Occupational Therapists in Mental Health Practice.’
In the article, Chaffery, Unsworth, and Fossey (2012) investigated the relationship between EI and insinuation. In the introduction and literature review sections, the author introduced the main constructs of the paper such as emotional intelligence and intuition and used a variety of sources to define these two terms before explaining the relationship that they share. In the methodology section, the research design uses a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from occupation health therapists who were the participants. The data was analyzed through a statistical software (SPSS). As such, the methodological used by the authors was a quantitative one and was used to show the relationship between the main constructs and other variables. The paper takes a logical flow from the beginning to the end with the authors organizing their work well.
7. Summary
From the chapter, it is evident that social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence and competencies influence leadership outcomes. Cognitive intelligence has been discussed as one of the constructs that influence leadership. Intelligence has been classified in most studies as either fluid and crystalline, and both affect the working memory of an individual. Studies have highlighted that when the factor of age comes into play, younger people at the workplace exhibit higher fluid intelligence, which help with innovation and creativity. However, they lack the experience that comes with crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence is obtained over time through experience and is common in older employees who use it when solving problems at the organization. The use of emotional intelligence in the public sector has raised concerns. In private institutions, emotional intelligence has proven to be a useful construct that has assist managers. However, public institutions work under rigid rules and regulations and managers do not have the freedom to create interpersonal relationships. However, if introduced into public institutions, emotional intelligence can be a great asset in helping leaders in public institutions become more effective.
In the field of nursing, practitioners and students can also make use of emotional intelligence to become more effective when discharging their duties. Experts make use of intuitive thinking together with emotional intelligence to provide patients with the best care possible. However, younger nurses lack the empathy associated with emotional intelligence. However, this can be achieved by training.
Emotional intelligence has also been highlighted as a construct of social intelligence as the two are intertwined. Coupled with cognitive intelligence, the types of intelligence can be highly effective in an individual who has undergone training. Regarding leadership, these three forms of intelligence are converted into competencies once an individual becomes proficient in them. High level of emotional, social, and cognitive competencies results in leaders who are efficient in their undertakings. In conclusion, the chapter analyzes research done by other authors in a bid to gain insight on how social, cognitive, and emotional intelligence can influence leadership outcomes in the workplace.

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