Title: Emotional intelligence and self-leadership in connection to leadership effectiveness: A study made on more and less profitable organisations within the retail industry.  Authors: Annie Gunnarson and Emilia Törn Level: Master Thesis, 30 credits Keywords: Leadership effectiveness, Emotional intelligence, Self-leadership Background: The rate of change in society has never been higher than now, which has created a demand for effective leaders. Leadership effectiveness has been studied in different areas and two of them are emotional intelligence and self-leadership. However, these two concepts have only been studied separately within the area of leadership effectiveness and the employees view in combination with the leaders’ view is something that has been overlooked within the area. Research question: How do leaders and employees work with emotional intelligence and self-leadership within the area of leadership effectiveness? Purpose: The purpose with this thesis is to, within the area of leadership effectiveness, explain and describe how leaders and employees are working with emotional intelligence and self-leadership. This, with examples from more or less profitable organisations within the retail industry. Method: A qualitative approach has been used within this thesis, where seven interviews were conducted. These interviews were conducted with both leaders and employees from more or less profitable organisations within the retail industry. Theoretical framework: The framework consists of three main concepts: Leadership effectiveness, emotional intelligence and self-leadership. Within these areas there are some subcategories that are presented in order to get an understanding of the concepts. The chapter ends with a model that explains the connections between the concepts. Findings: All companies work with emotional intelligence and self-leadership in the area of leadership effectiveness, although they work with different aspects in various degrees. Additionally, there are similarities to be found between leaders and employees from different companies. Finally, the authors conclude that there are no findings in this thesis that suggest that there is a connection between emotional intelligence, self-leadership and profit margins.

The leadership style of senior managers within the organisation can have adverse effects on the organisation. Doing business in Africa requires MNC’s to be aware of African business context that has the underpinnings of an African leadership style. This study examined the effects of culture on leadership style and looked at whether African leadership concepts are perceived as being relevant or effective for MNC’s operating in Africa. This study hypothesised that senior managers perceive African and Anglo-Saxon styles to be distinctly different, that African leadership perceived to be effective and relevant and that culture dictates how managers lead.This study was a quantitative research and data was collected through questionnaires. 57 senior managers completed the survey and this represented a response rate of 14.25%. Of the above, 46 completed the entire survey while 11 respondents only completed certain sections of the survey and were eliminated. Statistical analysis was done using both significance testing and Chi-square tests.Analysis of this study revealed that senior managers do not seems to place high importance on the influence of culture on leadership styles, nor on the distinctions of the two leadership styles, but placed very high value on the relevance of African leadership constructs and felt that it would be effective if applied to their organisations. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Leaders of today have the challenge to lead in a complex, rapidly changing, multicultural context. In most industries, leaders perform tasks on a global level and they are required to have the necessary competencies to be more effective. It is a well-known fact that organizations are still negatively affected in terms of competitiveness and growth, due to leaders` lack of capabilities to lead effectively. Furthermore, despite the previous academic contributions, global leadership still remains a developing field to be explored. Previous studies on the global leadership listed various competencies to lead to effectively in a global environment. However, a limited evidence was provided to support direct relationship between those competencies and the global leadership effectiveness. Moreover, previous studies have concentrated mainly on defining global leadership competencies, but there is still a gap to understand which of those competencies makes global leaders effective. There is also a strong need for conducting more empirical studies in the field. In response to this gap, the purpose of this research is to identify necessary competencies for global leadership effectiveness and test them empirically. Structural Equation Modelling was used as a research method with the data collected from a questionnaire of 175 respondents worldwide, mainly located in Europe. The results of the research showed that Cross-Cultural Experience, Cultural Flexibility and Stress Tolerance predict global leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, detailed explanation of each competency that predict global leadership effectiveness were provided. The results of this research have both theoretical and managerial implications. Firstly, it proves empirically and quantitatively the relationship between identified competencies and global leadership effectiveness. Secondly, the results of the research contribute to the existing literature where there is a limited amount of research that focus on understanding global leadership competencies and global leadership effectiveness.

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The present study examined the role of one's own self-perceptions of leadership in predicting both leadership prototypes and leadership perceptions of others. Additionally, this study explored gender differences in leadership prototypes and perceptions of leadership. Participants completed a measure of their own self-perceptions of their leadership traits (i.e., sensitivity, intelligence, dedication, and dynamism) and an instrument that assessed their leadership prototypes (i.e., sensitivity, intelligence, dedication, and dynamism). Next, participants were presented with a 22 minute tape of four actors (2 male, 2 female) portraying mutual fund mangers in a simulated work setting. Participants then rated one male (Bob) and one female (Sue) actor on the specific leadership characteristics (i.e., sensitivity, intelligence, dedication, and dynamism) they exhibited on the tape as well as an overall assessment of leadership emergence and effectiveness. The results demonstrated that leadership prototypes mediated the relationship between self-perceptions of leadership abilities and ratings of leadership characteristics for Bob and Sue. It was also found that the match between perceptions of Bob and Sue and an individual's leadership prototype predicted overall ratings of leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness. Finally, the results from the present study suggested that men and women perceive leadership similarly. / Ph. D.

The purpose of study was to identify the perceptions of school leaders regarding the effectiveness of an alternative education transformative day program following the first year of implementation. While some divisions were dissolving their alternative education programs, the school division highlighted within this study prioritized and revitalized the division's alternative education program from a behavior-based night program to a transformative-based day program. The goal of this study was to collect and analyze data that could present next steps for the transformative-based alternative education program in order for division and school-based leaders to continue refining and improving upon the existing foundation established during its inaugural implementation year. The selection of a purposeful sample was used to meet the objective of the study. The sample size for this study included a combination of up to 15 alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership members. The research interventions and investigational agents for this study included approved web-based surveys via Qualtrics and virtual interviews for data collection. The study's survey instrument included one twenty question survey session, and voluntarily respondents participated in a ten-question virtual interview via Google Meetings. Interview questions probed beyond the survey questions in order to provide qualitative data obtained from division and school-based alternative education leadership. The findings of this study, which include the value of stakeholder perception, alternative approach, climate and culture, and alternative course offerings/credit recover, could provide alternative education leaders with tangible next steps for program development by identifying elements necessary for growth and program success as noted by the stakeholders themselves. By analyzing the perceptions of alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership, data presented can lead to intentional measures for revising, growing and furthering the existing success of the transformative-based program. Additionally, recommendations for future study, such as how to increase the program's perception to stakeholders of the transformative-based program, could be used to inspire subsequent studies and to support division leadership when finalizing decisions regarding funding, program implementation, and professional development. / Doctor of Education / By prioritizing alternative education, a small rural school division has reconstructed its former behavior-based night program into a transformative-based day program in order to best combat the difficulties that plague the alternative population in America today. The history of alternative education in contrast to the needs of today's alternative education learners has been presented within the Literature Review. The perceptions of the transformative-based alternative education program were the target audience for this research study. This study was designed to examine the perceptions of alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership regarding the development of a transformative, alternative education day program in a small rural Virginia school division. These data were obtained throughout the survey completion and virtual interviews of 15 stakeholders of the transformative-based program. The study revealed four findings and four implications. One limitation to the study was the small sample size. A suggestion for future study would involve obtaining permission to conduct student research participants in order to explore data from the student perspective for the purpose of restructuring the program's needs as based upon student data.

Psychological constructs may have significant influence on police leadership. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Efficacy and Leadership Effectiveness within a policing context. Leadership within the policing environment in particular the South African context has raised contentious issues over the past decade. This research adopted a quantitative study and the sample was made up of 107 police personnel in commanding positions. The measuring instruments used were the Assessing Emotions Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results of this research study confirm a positive relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy and Leadership Effectiveness. The insights gained from the findings may be used to guide selection of future leaders within the policing environment and may also be used to establish future developmental programmes and research initiatives. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. A.(Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Psychological constructs may have significant influence on police leadership. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Efficacy and Leadership Effectiveness within a policing context. Leadership within the policing environment in particular the South African context has raised contentious issues over the past decade. This research adopted a quantitative study and the sample was made up of 107 police personnel in commanding positions. The measuring instruments used were the Assessing Emotions Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results of this research study confirm a positive relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy and Leadership Effectiveness. The insights gained from the findings may be used to guide selection of future leaders within the policing environment and may also be used to establish future developmental programmes and research initiatives. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. A.(Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Public administration agencies are increasingly called upon to collaborate across organizational boundaries as a regular part of practice. Leaders in the organizations are expected to deliver positive outcomes from collaborations. Common sense implies that good leadership leads to successful collaboration within public administration agencies. However, the exact link between leadership and collaboration continues to be a puzzle for both practitioners and academics in the field. This study examines the relationship of leadership and collaborative governance within a group of social services executives, who are specifically chartered to collaborate with one another and across organizational boundaries for successful delivery of public welfare services. Relationship-based leadership orientation and trust-building leadership style are evaluated for main effects on perception of collaboration. Leadership satisfaction and performance satisfaction were evaluated for simple effects on the relationship between leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. The results provide that there are no direct effects of leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. Performance satisfaction moderated the association of both leadership orientation and leadership style on perception of collaboration. Leadership satisfaction moderated the relationship of leadership style with perception of collaboration. Implications from this study include the need for further study into a threshold of acceptable collaborative activities for practitioners.

Personality traits have been used extensively over the past forty years in assessing leadership potential, with varying degrees of success. A major limitation of this research has been the measures of personality. Another important limitation has been the availability of quantifiable measures of leader effectiveness. A third limitation is the lack of longitudinal studies. Because of these limitations, researchers have had difficulty determining the strength of personality traits as predictors of leadership effectiveness over time. Recent studies have used the Five Factor Model of personality to predict leadership effectiveness (e.g., Hogan, Curphy, & Hogan, 1994; Judge, Bono, Ilies, & Gerhardt, 2002; McCormack & Mellor, 2002); and researchers in positive psychology (e.g., Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) have suggested that character strength and virtues (i.e., courage, temperance, and transcendence) might also offer an approach useful in predicting leadership success. This research builds on these approaches and examined two trait-based instruments, the Big Five instrument (NEO-PI-R) and the Values in Action Inventory of Strength (VIA-IS) instrument as they relate to leader effectiveness. Using undergraduates at the United States Military Academy as participants, the research examines the relationship and efficacy of the NEO-PI-R and the VIA-IS in predicting leadership effectiveness over a two and a half year study. Regression analysis demonstrated that conscientiousness was the most significant predictor of leadership effectiveness. However, latent growth curve analysis suggests that there are three distinct patterns of leadership effectiveness. Using mixture modeling, these trajectories are best explained by the personality factors and virtue variables of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and temperance. The findings of this study have broad implications for emergent leader selection, leader development programs, and executive coaching in organizations. / Dissertation