The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Transformational Leadership: Analysing Key Project Manager Competencies

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Statement of the Problem2

Research Aim and Objectives3

Significance of the Study4

Research Questions4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Overview of Leadership Styles6

Transformational Leadership7

Idealised influence7

Inspirational motivation8

Intellectual stimulation8

Individualised consideration8

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)9

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership10

Key Competencies of a Project Manager11

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY13

Research Design13

Research Technique and Process14

Participants15

Research Instrument15

Ethical Concerns16

REFERENCES17

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

“Leadership is one of the world's oldest preoccupations” (Bass, 1990, p. 3). Many authors have concurred that the effective and efficient leadership strategies of the past might not be effective in the present or future because of continuous and rapid change (Leslie, Loch, & Schaninger, 2006; Mockler, 2006; Porterfield & Kleiner, 2005; Schreiber & Carley, 2006). The realities of continuous environmental change have altered the perspectives on leadership and the leader's role (Fisher, Kent, Nottingham, & Field, 2005).

Leadership is a complex phenomenon involving an influential relationship between leaders and followers, leading to a transcendence of expectations (Hirtz, Murray, & Riordan, 2007; Kark & van Dijk, 2007). One of the most significant tasks of successful leaders is to transform followers into future leaders (Taylor, 2003, 43). In the germinal work Leadership, Burns (1978, 45) introduced the innovative concept of transformational leadership, a paradigm that emphasised the transformation of followers into future leaders.

The theory of transformational leadership posited that transformational leaders and transactional leaders saw reality differently (Kuhnert & Lewis, 1987, 648). Leaders' personal standards and transcendental values reflect their cognitive and emotional perspectives. The effectiveness of the transformational style of leadership might be attributed to the importance given to emotional factors and to cognitive abilities. The goal of the current research study was to establish whether emotional intelligence is associated with transformational leadership by analysing the key project manager competencies. If business leaders seeking to become leaders of transformational organisations could predict the potential for transformational leadership of leader candidates by assessing levels of emotional intelligence, business leaders might optimise transformational leadership success (Barbuto, 2005, 26).

Despite the influx of emotional intelligence models and leadership theories and their definitions, researchers and theorists continue to seek to understand the relationship the role of emotional intelligence in transformational leadership better as it applies to organisational development in general and project management in particular. The current study examines the key project managers competencies that show the role of emotional intelligence in transformational leadership.

Statement of the Problem

Emotional intelligence as an emerging concept for developing leadership quality in project management is a topic of interest for modern organisational leaders. Effective project managers must have both hard technical skills to control the triple constraints (cost, time, and scope) and interpersonal and nontechnical soft skills (emotional intelligence) to work effectively with their team and stakeholders. Although the technique of improving emotional intelligence is well documented, a gap exists in the literature regarding the link between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership skills. There has been little empirical research examining the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership in project management. A large number of projects fail and are ...