Is there a relationship between the leadership of change and emotional intelligence?

Over the last few years there has been a significant and sustained growth in interest in the area of leadership (Chaudry, 2000; Bagshaw & Bagshaw, 1999; Goffee & Jones, 2000). This paper reviews the development in thinking and research in relation to leadership. The limitations of progress in our understanding of the phenomenon are discussed (eg. Kets De Vries, 1993). Building from this review, the potential for a view of leadership relating to its role in the context of change (eg Conner, 1999; Kotter, 1998) and its relationship to Emotional Intelligence (eg Higgs & Dulewicz, 1999) is explored. The relationship between the Competencies associated with change leadership and Emotional Intelligence is examined by means of a quantitative study involving a sample of 70 managers. Change Leadership Competencies are operationalised using an instrument reported by Higgs and Rowland (2000). Further support is offered for the reliability of this instrument based on a separate sample of 84 change leaders. Emotional Intelligence is operationalised using the EIQ developed by Dulewicz and Higgs (1999).The study demonstrates strong correlations between six of the seven elements of Emotional Intelligence and all five factors in the Change Leadership Competency model. In addition, the overall EI score correlates significantly with the overall CLC score.The authors conclude that Emotional Intelligence plays a significant part in the effectiveness of Change Leadership and propose a model which can be employed in the identification of the development needs of Change Leaders. In addition they discuss the limitations of the current study and identify areas for further research.