Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Working with a Disability-Diversified Workforce

Abstract

This research focused on investigating to what extent are leaders aware of how their levels of Emotional Intelligence (EI) affect their leadership performance. The research also investigates how the level of perceived EI and personality measures compare between leaders dealing with disabilities in the workforce and those with no disabilities in the workforce. The research uses three measurement scales to evaluate the emotional intelligence of leadership in 73 executives from local public service organizations in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai in China. Out of the 73 executives targeted by the research 63 responded to the issued questionnaires and considered in the data analysis phase.

The findings of this research suggest that the leaders and executives who have had a greater level of exposure to diversified workforce have better understanding of others. This is inferred by their strong ability to recognize and manage both their emotions and that of others. The leaders with greater levels of exposure to diversified workforce were also found to have higher emotional intelligence scores that enhanced their managerial performance. The ability to manage emotions is related to the need to produce effective leadership in a population that demands that the subjects be fully understood, related to and involved.

This research sought to explore the application of emotional intelligence in leadership. This research analyzed the how leadership styles were affected by working with staff with disabilities in their organization. The research also looked at the dynamics of the interaction between the emotional intelligence in leadership and working with a disability-diversified workforce. The research also sought to establish the link between the emotional intelligence and the effectiveness of leadership.