Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Elizabeth Thompson

Abstract

On the Office of Personnel Management Federal Viewpoint Surveys, followers rated their leaders as ineffective. The public expects federal government leaders to effectively lead their followers in order to efficiently manage public services. The purpose of this correlational nonexperimental study was to determine whether there is a correlation between emotional intelligence (EQ) and a full range of leadership styles, as measured by the multileadership questionnaire (MLQ), from the perspective of the follower. Grounded in the theory of EQ, the extant scholarly literature revealed EQ skills complements leadership styles and predict leader success in a variety of business sectors, cultures, and multigenerational cohorts, regardless of age, gender, and race or ethnicity, as rated by followers. Thirty-eight full-time federal employees across various business sectors throughout the federal government participated in an online survey responding to EQ and MLQ. Data analysis included Spearman and Pearson correlation methods. The Pearson correlation was suitable to determine if any relationship exists between EQ and a full range of leadership styles. The test results indicated that EQ skills correlated with transformational and transactional leadership styles, but EQ did not correlate with management-by-exception or laissez-faire leadership style as rated by followers in a diversified federal government workforce. The literature indicated leaders with EQ skills significantly contribute to employee performance and organizational outcomes when combined with active leadership styles such as transformational and transactional leadership styles. The social implications suggest EQ skills of leaders within the federal government predicts leader success and can point to effective leadership styles.

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