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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ work engagement based on fit theory. The paper reports an investigation into the way in which employees’ perceptions of transformational leadership and person-job fit affect their work engagement.

To test the authors’ hypotheses, the authors performed structure equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation on Mplus with bootstrapping proposed by Hayes (2009) with data from 691 full-time employees in China.

The results indicate that transformational leadership has as significant influence on employees’ work engagement as person-job fit in China. Moreover, employees’ perception of person-job fit is found to partially mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ work engagement.

There is a possible bias arising from the use of cross-sectional data. However, certain methods were implemented to minimize it, including survey design and data analysis.

The paper proposes a number of practical implications for policy makers, HR managers and transformational leaders relating to issues associated with improving levels of employee engagement.

The study contributes to developing leadership and engagement theory by examining a previously unexplored mediator – person-job fit – in a neglected cultural setting. This study promises to open new research avenues in this area.

The need for effective leadership has become paramount to meet the challenges of the 21st Century and a growing number of academics and senior managers have recently come to recognize the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for effective leadership. Furthermore, Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee (2002) have contended that the higher up one advances in an organization, the more important EI becomes. In this paper the authors have focused on evidence at the very top of the organization, the Board. They review the findings from a major study of UK boards and re‐analyze the data on tasks and competencies relating to EI constructs. Their results show that EI competencies are considered to be extremely important according to the majority of a large sample of UK directors in a survey and they go on to argue that many of the tasks (outputs) of the Board require EI competencies, as well as many aspects of Team Process (for Organizing and Running the Board). The authors also produce new findings which support Goleman's hypothesis that the higher one advances, the more important EI becomes. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed and the paper concludes with a review of important current and future research such as the full integration of EI elements into instruments to assess leadership competence and style, and the effect that organization culture has on these constructs.

Presents the results of a research study, covering 177 managers. This research was designed specifically to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and the Myers‐Briggs type indicator (MBTI) profiles of the sample population. Indicates that the dominant MBTI function of Intuition (and the associated MBTI profiles) is significantly and positively related to higher levels of EI. In looking at specific MBTI scales, the lack of significant relationships between high Feeling scores and EI is seen as somewhat surprising. However, this may in part be due to under‐representation of high “feeling” participants in the research study and, in part, due to methodological limitations of comparing data from normative and ipsative instruments. Provides some support overall for the proposed relationship between the MBTI and EI and also highlights potential areas for future research.

Although the proliferation of research in emotional intelligence (EI) in the last 25 years has largely focused on the individual level, some researchers have proposed theories and measurement models for EI at the organizational level. Drawing from earlier work which conceptualizes organizational emotional intelligence (OEI) as a climate-level construct involving shared norms and practices this chapter sets out to investigate the relationship between perceptions of organizational emotional intelligence (OEI) and turnover intentions amongst employees. Since turnover intentions are a reliable indicator of actual turnover they are deemed to be a critical indicator for organizational performance. This chapter also builds on previous research which found that the relationship between OEI as a climate-level construct and intention to leave was mediated by organizational emotional appeal (i.e., overall reputation) and trust in senior management to explore the mediating role of other employee attitudes which have been traditionally linked to climate and individual-level outcomes in organizations, namely job satisfaction and affective commitment. By surveying employees in a UK-based charity organization (n = 173), the study finds that both job satisfaction and affective commitment mediate the impact of OEI on intention to leave and explain a moderate amount of variance in the focal construct. However, the majority of the mediation occurs through job satisfaction with a reduced mediation effect for affective commitment. Potential reasons for these results in the charity context are discussed. The chapter contributes to a wider understanding of the way in which perceptions of OEI impact on employee attitudes toward the organization and the job; and, in turn, how these attitudes impact on turnover intentions.

To investigate the new leadership dimensions questionnaire (LDQ) and a related framework for assessing an individual's leadership style in relation to the context in which the leader works; the three new LDQ sub‐scales designed to measure organisational context, follower commitment and leader performance; and the relationship between personality and leadership.Design/methodology/approach – Research is reported on LDQ data from a large sample of leaders and managers (n 222) from a range of public and private organisations. A style score was calculated and then related to data on respondents' biographical – job function, gender, sector and nationality – and FFM personality data.Findings – Results show a reasonably even allocation across all three leadership styles and that the styles are independent of the four important biographical variables. They also show that the five FFM personality factors do not account for any additional variance on any of the styles at a significant level. Results on the factor structure of the organisational context, follower commitment and leader performance scales show them to be reliable scales.Research limitations/implications – A majority of the sample were from the UK, from the private sector and were male. This study did not incorporate measures of job performance or investigate the style and context link. The self‐assessed, not the 360° version of LDQ was used.Practical implications – Some support is provided for the LDQ's use for leadership assessment and development, and for identifying potential, in both public and private sector organisations, with a standardisation sample of more than 1,000 now available. Results also show that the LDQ can be used without losing significant personality‐related variance.Originality/value – LDQ provides a unique opportunity for managers to relate leadership dimensions to three different leadership styles – engaging, goal‐oriented and involving – and, in turn, to the degree of organisational volatility faced by the leader, thus enabling respondents to identify the most appropriate style. Leader performance and follower commitment sub‐scales should facilitate further research by academics into leadership performance.

Many authors claim there is a paucity of evidence for the validity of measures of emotional intelligence (EI). This paper summarises existing information on the reliability and validity of two measures of EI, the Dulewicz and Higgs EIQ and the Bar‐on EQ‐i. It also reports the results of a study on middle managers which investigated the degree to which these two EI instruments measure the same constructs: their concurrent/criterion‐related validity; and the relationship between EI and morale and stress at work. Correlations between the two instruments showed content and construct validity, with 16 out of the 20 hypothesised relationships between scales being significant. Correlations between various measures of morale and stress at work and EIQ demonstrated construct validity. Significant relationships were also found between EIQ and current job performance, thus providing further evidence of concurrent/criterion‐related validity.

Within business the organisational concept of call centres has developed rapidly. Within the UK the use and development of these centres has grown at a significant rate over the last decade. The economic benefits of this organisational concept have been threatened by the nature of the work and operating environment leading to high levels of attrition with associated recruitment, training and loss of productivity costs. As a result much effort has been focused on recruitment criteria and selection processes. In reviewing the criteria it is clear that many overlap with elements from within the concept of emotional intelligence (EI). This research note reports a study designed to explore the relationship between the EI of call centre agents (using the EIQ measure developed by Dulewicz and Higgs, and ratings of their performance. A sample of 289 agents from three organisations was studied. Results included a strong relationship between overall EI and individual performance, as well as between several EI elements from the model and performance. Furthermore, a relationship between age and performance was established along with a number of gender differences. The practical implications of these findings are discussed along with the study limitations. Further areas for research are identified including differences between agents in reaction and proactive roles and relationships to more direct measures of agent attrition.

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.

Explores the development of thinking on leadership and places it in the context of the dominant discourses of the period in which studies were conducted. Argues that if a “sense making” paradigm is adopted. it becomes feasible to identify a model of leadership, which is relevant to the context of complexity and change facing organisations in the early twenty‐first century. The model emerges when the measure of effectiveness is changed from organisational success to the impact of the leader on followers and on building of capability. The argument for such a shift is underpinned by the movement of dominant organisational logic from a Weberian rational/analytical one to a logic which acknowledges emotional considerations. Within the leadership arena it has been proposed that emotional intelligence is a major factor underpinning success. Presents data from recent research, which empirically demonstrates linkages between emotional intelligence and leadership. These findings are examined in conjunction with the “Emergent model”.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a topic of growing interest. This article describes the design of a new tailored instrument to measure emotional intelligence, which was piloted on 201 managers. Data are presented showing its high reliability and validity. In particular, construct validity is demonstrated using the 16PF, Belbin team roles, Myers‐Briggs type inventory and Type A behaviour. Seven elements (sub‐scales) make up the total questionnaire – self‐awareness; influence; decisive; interpersonal sensitivity; motivation; integrity; and resilience. These are defined in detail, and guidance is given on administration, and reporting which is done through an expert system. Advice on how the results can be used for personal development is also given. Finally, suggestions are put forward for further work on appropriate organisational cultures to reinforce emotional intelligence, and the issue of emotional intelligence and leadership.