Emotional intelligence building leadership perspectives in the educational sector

Abstract

Education serves as the cornerstone of society, facilitating its growth and prosperity. Consequently, understanding how leadership perspectives are shaped becomes crucial. Scholars have long been fascinated by uncovering the interconnections among leadership, organizational culture, and emotional intelligence, a discussion spearheaded by Goleman. However, the persistence of traditional educational paradigms poses an additional challenge. Thus, the focus of this manuscript shifts towards leveraging empirical data to explore specific leadership styles in relation to emotional intelligence within a distinct context. Drawing insights from 110 respondents, this research utilizes a questionnaire designed with validated research instruments. Findings reveal a strong correlation between emotional intelligence and leadership styles, particularly highlighting a pronounced inclination towards transformational leadership. Notably, within the educational sector, commanding leadership emerges as the most prevalent style, followed by visionary leadership. Empathy, a key emotional intelligence competence, exhibits the lowest correlation with commanding style but the highest with affiliative leadership. Additionally, the research reveals that emotional self-control is the least developed emotional intelligence skill among educational professionals in the Republic of North Macedonia, indicating a vital area requiring enhancement and growth. This study reaffirms the interdependent relationship between leadership and emotional intelligence within organizational settings.