Higher Education Managers/Executives/Administrators
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was been to determine whether there is a relationship between the level of emotional intelligence of the leadership at Brevard Community College, and the responses obtained from his or her subordinates relating to one's leadership effectiveness.
METHODOLOGY All senior leaders at the four main campuses of BCC including Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville were invited to participate (4 Provosts, 7 Assistant Provosts, and 23 Department Chairs (n = 23) along with 228 full-time faculty members. Seventeen of these leaders completed the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) V2.0 (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 1999; Mayer et al., 2002) but only seven of them had responses submitted from their constituents on the Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer form.
KEY FINDINGS A significant relationship was not found between the leader's overall emotional intelligence score and their academic leadership scores (i.e., LPI-O). No relationships were found between a leader's ability to use emotion to facilitate thought and any of the five leadership practices. However, significant relationships were found between a leader's ability to perceive emotion accurately and Enabling Others to Act and Encouraging the Heart. As well significant relationships were found between a leader's ability to understand emotion and Inspire a Shared Vision, Encourage the Heart, and Model the Way. Similar significant relationships were found between a leader's ability to manage emotion and Inspire a Shared Vision, Encourage the Heart, and Model the Way.