Paul Aitken

An exploration of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership potential

This research note explores the extent to which the claims for the importance of emotional intelligence as a predictor of leadership potential are borne out. The paper reports the results of an exploratory study of a leadership development centre in which participants also completed an established measure of emotional intelligence – the EIQ Managerial. The sample comprised 40 senior managers working within the New Zealand Public Service (NZPS). The results provide some evidence to support the relationships between EI and leadership potential asserted from both a theoretical standpoint and from other studies of leadership performance. The limitations of sample size are clearly identified. The results do however, indicate that further research using both larger and more diverse samples may be warranted.