Kevin S. Groves

Developing and measuring the emotional intelligence of leaders

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically test whether it is possible to deliberately develop emotional intelligence (EI) as conceptualized in the Mayer and Salovey model.Design/methodology/approach – This empirical study utilized a sample of 135 fully‐employed business students in a treatment/control group research design in which treatment group participants underwent an intensive 11‐week EI training program. Additional samples of 270 and 130 fully employed business students were utilized to develop an EI measure appropriate for EI development.Findings – The results indicate that EI can be deliberately developed; the treatment group demonstrated statistically significant overall EI gains and across each EI dimension, while the control group did not show any significant pre‐/post‐test differences.Practical implications – In addition to illustrating EI training best practices, a new EI measure is described that is appropriate for leadership development.Research limitations/implications – Resea...

Leader Cultural Intelligence in Context: Testing the Moderating Effects of Team Cultural Diversity on Leader and Team Performance

Despite clear calls from industry to better understand cross-cultural leadership competencies, academic research on leader cultural intelligence (CQ) is remarkably sparse. To date, very few empirical studies have examined the unique contribution of leader CQ to leadership performance outcomes beyond the effects of competing leadership competencies. Data from 99 culturally diverse organizational leaders and 321 of their followers demonstrated that leader CQ predicted follower perceptions of leader performance and team performance in contexts where work teams were characterized by significant ethnic and nationality diversity. Furthermore, leader CQ predicted follower perceptions of leader performance and team performance on culturally diverse work teams beyond the effects of leader emotional intelligence and other leadership competencies. Implications for cultural intelligence theory, future research directions, and management practice are discussed.

Linking Leader Skills, Follower Attitudes, and Contextual Variables via an Integrated Model of Charismatic Leadership

A charismatic leadership model consisting of leader social and emotional skills, follower openness to organizational change, and organizational-change magnitude was tested using data from 108 leaders and 325 direct followers in 64 organizations. Leader social control and emotional expressivity skills predicted charismatic leadership whereas follower openness to change mediated the relationship between charismatic leadership and leadership effectiveness. Surprisingly, organizational-change magnitude did not moderate the relationship between charismatic leadership and leadership effectiveness. Implications for leadership theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

Leader emotional expressivity, visionary leadership, and organizational change

Purpose – This study set out to empirically investigate the direct effects of leader emotional expressivity on visionary leadership, as well as the moderating effect of leader emotional expressivity on the relationship between visionary leadership and organizational change magnitude.Design/methodology/approach – Cross‐sectional data from 108 senior organizational leaders and 325 of their direct followers were collected from 64 organizations across numerous industries. Leaders completed measures of emotional expressivity and organizational change magnitude, while followers provided ratings of visionary leadership, leadership effectiveness, and organizational change magnitude.Findings – Consistent with expectations, leader emotional expressivity was strongly related to visionary leadership, while leader emotional expressivity moderated the relationship between visionary leadership and organizational change magnitude. Visionary leaders with high emotional expressivity skills facilitated the greatest organiza...

Gender Differences in Social and Emotional Skills and Charismatic Leadership

The relationships among leader gender, social and emotional skills, and charismatic leadership were examined from a dataset of 108 senior leaders and 325 of their direct followers in numerous organizations, including universities, government agencies, and for-profit companies. Results showed that female leaders scored higher on social and emotional skills, and follower ratings of charismatic leadership, while social and emotional skills mediated the relationship between leader gender and charismatic leadership. Surprisingly, leader tenure predicted leader social skills but was unrelated to leader emotional skills, which demonstrated the strongest relationship to leader gender and charismatic leadership. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

Examining Entrepreneurial Cognition: An Occupational Analysis of Balanced Linear and Nonlinear Thinking and Entrepreneurship Success

This empirical study advances entrepreneurial cognition research by examining whether entrepreneurs possess a high nonlinear (e.g., intuitive, creative, emotional) thinking style, as some studies and a common stereotype of entrepreneurs would suggest, or whether they possess a more versatile balance in both nonlinear and linear (e.g., analytic, rational, logical) thinking styles. As predicted, 39 entrepreneurs demonstrated greater balance in linear and nonlinear thinking styles than their professional actor (n = 33), accountant (n = 31), and frontline manager (n = 77) counterparts, though they did not significantly differ in thinking style balance from senior executives (n = 39). Unexpectedly, educational background was associated with thinking style balance, suggesting that years of formal education may contribute to ones versatility in utilizing both linear and nonlinear thinking styles. For the entrepreneur sample, linear and nonlinear thinking styles balance predicted years in current business after controlling for industry, number of employees, and demographic variables. Implications for future entrepreneurial cognition research and entrepreneurship education are discussed.

Does Transformational Leadership Facilitate Follower Beliefs in Corporate Social Responsibility? A Field Study of Leader Personal Values and Follower Outcomes

The authors tested an integrated model of transformational leadership consisting of leader personal values, follower beliefs in corporate social responsibility, and leadership performance outcomes. Data from 110 managers and 472 of their direct reports demonstrated strong support for the integrated model. As predicted, leader openness to change, self-transcendent, and collectivistic work values were positively associated with transformational leadership, whereas self-enhancement values were negatively associated with transformational leadership. Follower beliefs in corporate social responsibility partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and follower extra effort, which was strongly associated with leadership effectiveness. Implications for leadership theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

Talent management best practices: how exemplary health care organizations create value in a down economy.

BACKGROUND : Difficult economic conditions and powerful workforce trends pose significant challenges to managing talent in health care organizations. Although robust research evidence supports the many benefits of maintaining a strong commitment to talent management practices despite these challenges, many organizations compound the problem by resorting to workforce reductions and limiting or eliminating investments in talent management. PURPOSE : This study examines how nationwide health care systems address these challenges through best practice talent management systems. Addressing important gaps in talent management theory and practice, this study develops a best practice model of talent management that is grounded in the contextual challenges facing health care practitioners. METHODOLOGY : Utilizing a qualitative case study that examined 15 nationwide health care systems, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 30 executives and document analysis of talent management program materials submitted by each organization. FINDINGS : Exemplary health care organizations employ a multiphased talent management system composed of six sequential phases and associated success factors that drive effective implementation. Based on these findings, a model of talent management best practices in health care organizations is presented. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS : Health care practitioners may utilize the best practice model to assess and enhance their respective talent management systems by establishing the business case for talent management, defining, identifying, and developing high-potential leaders, carefully communicating high-potential designations, and evaluating talent management outcomes.

An Examination of the Nonlinear Thinking Style Profile Stereotype of Successful Entrepreneurs

This study begins to empirically examine whether successful entrepreneurs possess a high nonlinear (e.g., creative, intuitive) thinking style, as some researchers and popular stereotypes of entrepreneurs would suggest, or whether they possess a more balanced nonlinear and linear (e.g., rational, logical, analytic) thinking style. As predicted, 48 successful entrepreneurs reflected a much greater level of balance in linear/nonlinear thinking style than their professional actor (n = 33) (predominantly nonlinear) and accountant (n = 31) (predominantly linear) counterparts, as measured by a linear/nonlinear thinking style instrument. Implications are discussed for guiding future cognitive research and theory development in entrepreneurship, as well as providing direction to entrepreneurship education and training.

Examining Cultural Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Negotiation Effectiveness.

International negotiation failures are often linked to deficiencies in negotiator cross-cultural capabilities, including limited understanding of the cultures engaged in the transaction, an inability to communicate with persons from different cultural backgrounds, and limited behavioral flexibility to adapt to culturally unfamiliar contexts. Although management educators are concerned about developing students’ cross-cultural capabilities, there exists very little empirical research demonstrating the impact of such abilities on negotiation performance. To address this limitation while advancing research on the development of cross-cultural capabilities, we examined the impact of cultural intelligence (CQ) on cross-cultural negotiation performance. Using assessment center and consensus rating methodologies, 113 fully employed MBA students participated in a negotiation exercise designed to underscore key cultural differences with respect to both negotiation style and substantive issues. Controlling for prior negotiation and international experiences, personality (openness to change and extraversion), and emotional intelligence, our results demonstrated that CQ predicted negotiation performance while interest-based negotiation behaviors partially mediated the CQ–negotiation performance relationship. CQ capabilities facilitated negotiators’ ability to demonstrate cooperative, interest-based negotiation behaviors in a negotiation context that demanded behavioral adaptation. We conclude by discussing a series of practical implications for management educators and suggestions for future CQ research.