AN EXPLORATION OF EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP IN COLLEGIATE RECREATION STUDENT EMPLOYEES AND THEIR OWN PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP

Universities are an ideal environment to assist students in the development of their leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment. The development of emotional intelligence (EI) has become an important aspect of student leadership development. The purpose of the study was to examine the emotionally intelligent leadership (EIL) scores of students working in a collegiate recreation setting and to examine their perceptions of their own EI and EIL. An exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods approach was used to explore the EIL scores of students employed in collegiate recreation departments at seven university sites. EIL was the theoretical framework used in this study (Shankman et al., 2015). The findings of this study showed no statistically significant difference in mean scores of EIL between students working in formal and informal leadership positions or between genders. Themes that emerged from the participant’s perceptions of their own EI and EIL were communication, confidence, perceived leadership ability, and teamwork. Understanding how students perceive their own EI and EIL can assist practitioners in the creation and development of intentional training and development programs