Title: Emotional intelligence and leadership: a gender comparison in the Indian service sector

Authors: Pooja; Pranab Kumar

Addresses: Department of Management, Birla Institute of Technology, Lalpur, Ranchi-834001, Jharkhand, India ' Department of Management, Birla Institute of Technology, Lalpur, Ranchi-834001, Jharkhand, India

Abstract: Technical expertise alone cannot guarantee success at workplace. Emotional intelligence is increasingly being recognised as an effective measure for identifying and developing potential leaders. The present study examines the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership and the role of gender as a moderator. The responses of 424 employees across nine industries from the Indian service sector were recorded. The tools used in the study were trait emotional intelligence questionnaire-short form and leadership skills questionnaire. The analysis revealed that there exist a positive and strong correlation between emotional intelligence and leadership. Gender was found to have no significant effect on the relation between emotional intelligence and leadership. Implications of developing emotional intelligence abilities and adhering to diversity management practices have been also discussed.

Keywords: emotional intelligence; leadership skills; gender; India; services; service industry; personality traits; diversity management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2017.083343

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2017 Vol.12 No.1, pp.127 - 138

Received: 09 Sep 2015
Accepted: 07 Nov 2015
Published online: 24 Mar 2017 *

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