Impact of the Emotional Intelligence on the Transformational Leadership Style and Leadership Effectiveness: Evidence from Sri Lankan National Universities

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style and leadership effectiveness among academic heads in national universities in Sri Lanka. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ form5x) developed by Bass&Avolio (1992) examined the transformational leadership style of academic heads as perceived by academic subordinates. Emotional Competence Inventory 2.0 (Sala, 2002) measured the four dimensions of emotional intelligence. The four dimensions were self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Correlation and stepwise regressions were used to analyse the relationship between the variables of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness in national universities in Sri Lanka.

The statistical results of the study revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style of heads of the academic departments perceived by academic subordinates. The relationship between total emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness was not significant.