The Relationship between Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Leadership Effectiveness in Life Insurance Business Organizations

Authors

  • Vinai Viriyavidhayavongs
  • Satita Jiamsuchon

Abstract

The complexity of business environments requires organizations to hire leaders with strong managerial skills, who have high Emotional Quotient (EQ) and leadership effectiveness. Although IQ may be important for managers, it does not always guarantee that they have the EQ required to deal effectively with subordinates. Combining descriptive research with the self-administration of 400 questionnaires, the present study examined the EQ of managers of life insurance companies.

 The study finds that most of the managers had at least moderate EQ scores in the areas of selfawareness, self-regulation, selfmotivation, empathy, and social skills and had at least moderate leadership effectiveness and that EQ factors are related positively to leadership effectiveness, with social skills as the most important factor. In all, EQ contributed 52.2 percent of the variance in leadership effectiveness. It was also found that supervisors and managers had similar EQs but that senior managers had a different EQ profile.

 Not all managers were found to have adequate levels of EQ and leadership effectiveness and it is recommended that the organizations develop training programs to enhance their managers emotional sensitivity, and be engaged in the six strategies for increasing EQ proposed by Weisinger (1998): Developing an enhanced level of self-awareness; managing emotions; motivating oneself; developing effective communication skills; developing interpersonal skills; and helping others help themselves.

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