<p> Middle managers in the 21st century are asked to adopt a new paradigm aimed at leveraging interpersonal relationships. These skills, generally labeled <i> soft skills,</i> include intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities. Most senior leaders recognize the need for soft skills but many continue to devalue them. Women often are perceived as having stronger soft skills than men, and may be penalized because of that perception. Transformational leadership provides the theoretical foundation for the study. The construct of emotional intelligence (EI) encompasses soft skills. There are disagreements about EI as a separate construct and if EI measures leadership. The purpose of the quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship between EI and leadership among black and white female middle managers. Seventy black women and 68 white women completed a 14-question demographic survey and the EQ-i and LPI assessments. The study data indicated statistically significant results that EI relates to and predicts leadership. The research also found that black and white women had average EI scores. Black women in the sample were younger and had comparable EI to the white women in the sample. Results suggest that EI training can enhance the soft leadership skills needed by black and with female middle managers in organizations today.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3569147 |
| Date | 09 May 2013 |
| Creators | Jordan, Cheryl Davis |
| Publisher | University of Phoenix |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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