Emotional Intelligence of Saudi School Leaders

This study attempts to empirically investigate this phenomenon by examining Saudi school leaders’ EI and the relationships between leaders’ EI and their work, thus augmenting and taking forward extant research in the field. The value of EI was also evident to me during my work as a school principal for five years in my previous school, which went through a major transformation. There is research that demonstrates positive correlations between EI, school leadership and school performance (Brinia, Zimianiti, & Panagiotopoulos, 2014), transformational leadership (Herbert, 2011) and the EI of leaders and school reform (Moore, 2009). This research focused on Saudi school leaders’ perceptions of EI and the impact of EI on their work. I have used a mixed-method approach to answer my research questions. The results show that Saudi school leaders in the private sector in Riyadh put more emphasis on the EI elements of Social Awareness and Relationship Management compared to Self-Awareness and Self-Management based on Goleman’s (2011) framework. They also perceive that Inspirational Leadership is key to their work. Moreover, there is a positive relationship between the Saudi school leaders’ EI and their transformational leadership style