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Emotional intelligence reflects the ability to read and understand others in social contexts, to detect the nuances of emotional reactions, and to utilize such knowledge to influence others through emotional regulation and control. As such, it represents a critically important competency for effective leadership and team performance in organizations today. In this paper, we develop a conceptual model that brings together theory and research on emotional intelligence, leadership, and team process and outcomes. Additionally, we formulate testable propositions, propose directions for future research, and discuss implications for practice.
The metamorphosis of the business organization from rational machine to dynamic and increasingly unpredictable organism has forced managers to transform the actual structure of traditional, hierarchical management into a flattened and flexible structure with interactive, interdependent, and creative processes. In order for the organization to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, its increasingly valuable employees must be able to adapt well to changing environments both external and internal. Because of these circumstances, roles of organizational members have changed.
Organizations now emphasize the need for leaders to take on new roles of facilitating, coordinating, and orchestrating the work behavior of others. For decades, leadership scholars have sought to identify the personal qualities and characteristics that contribute to leadership effectiveness. Increased evidence in recent years seems to suggest that social effectiveness skills are crucial to the performance and effectiveness of leaders. Furthermore, emotional intelligence has emerged as one of the most notable social effectiveness constructs, and we argue that it is a foundational element of leadership effectiveness.
In addition to the changes in leader roles, employees have been placed in positions of self-management, and are held directly accountable for their performance. Many are required to work in teams in order to accomplish complex organizational objectives. The work group or team is fast becoming the most common form of organization within the organization (e.g., Cohen & Bailey, 1997). There has been a great deal of empirical work in the search to uncover the components of an effective work team. The results thus far are inconclusive to that end. As Neuman, Wagner, and Christiansen (1999) pointed out, little work has been done to uncover how the selection and socialization of group members influences the effectiveness of work teams. In this...