Higher Education Managers/Executives/Administrators
OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to describe relationships among measures of emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, job performance, and leader effectiveness of County Extension Directors in Ohio.
METHODOLOGY The target population for this study included all County Extension Directors in Ohio (N=83). The completed the Observer form of the Leadership Practices Inventory, Cultural Intelligence Scale (Van Dyne et al. 2004), Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Bar-On 2004), Behavior Trust Inventory (Gillespie 2003), Leader Effectiveness Scale (developed by the author), and provided demographic information. The typical respondent was 50 years old, female (69%), Caucasian (93%), with a graduate degree (Master’s = 94%), and an average of 17.4 years with county extension.
KEY FINDINGS Neither cultural intelligence nor emotional intelligence of Ohio County Extension Directors explained significant amounts of variance in job performance or leader effectiveness while controlling intervening variables of leader behavior (LPI) and trusting work relationship. No significant correlation was found between measures of job performance and leader effectiveness; while a moderately significant correlation was found between emotional and cultural intelligence. A statistically significant positive relationship between measures of perceived leader behavior and trusting work relationship was found. “Leaders who are perceived with having a trusting work relationship with their subordinates and associates are perceived as more effective leaders” (p. 177). The author concludes:
Based on the results of this study, perceived leader behavior was highly correlated with variables of interest in this study (reflected in the degree of association from the highest to lowest correlation): perceived leader effectiveness, perceived trusting work relationship, and emotional intelligence. Among the three correlations, the most strongest correlation was found between perceived leader behavior and perceived leader effectiveness, which is in concert with Posner and Kouzes (1988)” (p. 179). The combination of perceived leader behavior and perceived trusting work relationship explained a 76% of the variance associated with perceived leader effectiveness (p. 181). The findings from this study also support the notion that leaders with greater emotional intelligence are perceived to display better leader behaviors and ultimately greater leader effectiveness. …. Developing leader’s emotional intelligence may contribute to enhancing specific leader behaviors that are informed by emotional intelligence, and for leaders to be able to engage in a trust building relationship with their subordinates and associates. Emotional intelligence may help a leader with better self-awareness and social awareness during the process of forming leader-follower relationships, which may further influence leader behavior that is exhibited. This positive relationship may also contribute to self- and relationship-management to increase the degree of the willingness for the leader’s subordinates and associates to engage in a trusting work relationship, which may ultimately lead to greater leader effectiveness as assessed by subordinates and associates. Therefore, it was concluded that emotional intelligence may contribute to a trusting leader-follower relationship building process and ultimately to a higher degree of effective leadership (pp. 185-186).