Examination Of Emotional Intelligence And Transformational Leadership .
Examination of Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Profiles of Directorsand Managers of Human Resources at Starwood Hotels and ResortsErrol D. Alexander, Jr.Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityin partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree ofDoctor of PhilosophyinHuman DevelopmentClare D. Klunk, Chair.Marcie BoucouvalasPaul ParkerPaul D. RenardFebruary 23, 2016Falls Church, Virginia 2016 by Errol D. Alexander, Jr.Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Transformational Leadership, Emotions, Human ResourceDevelopment
Examination of Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Profiles of Directorsand Managers of Human Resources at Starwood Hotels and ResortsErrol D. Alexander, Jr.ABSTRACTThe demand for excellent service in the hospitality industry is critical. This study evolvedfrom the author’s twenty-five years’ experience within the hospitality industry where managingemotions is vital to quality customer service. This study addresses the existing literature gap ofthe relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. A purposefulsample of 37 human resource directors and managers within Starwood Hotels and Resortscompleted Schutte’s (2002) Assessing Emotional Intelligence Scale, Bass and Avolio’s (2004)Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. To explore therelationship of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership, the study focused onemotional intelligence and leadership competencies of transformational leadership—idealizedinfluences, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration. Thesecompetencies correlate closely with successful culture transformation, and the studydemonstrated strong correlation.Data analyses resulted in observing a statistically significant relationship between pairs ofscores to pairs of measures of leadership behaviors . The results support the research of Leban &Zulauf, 2004; Mandell & Pherwani, 2003; Sosik & Mergerian, 1999). A confluence of the dataanalysis and literature review of the constructs—emotional intelligence and transformativelearning—yielded a preliminary conceptual model, The Transformational Leadership Pathway.The proposed conceptual model, providing a basis for future research, captures the hierarchy oftransformational behaviors that may provide an instructive method to bring about culture changewithin service organizations.Four important recommendations for practice and research are included. One researchrecommendation is to replicate the study as global cross-cultural research to create betterunderstanding of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. Threerecommendations for practice include: (a) a proposed competency model as an antecedent totransformational leadership that advances a leaders’ competency in reading and interpreting
social cues of followers, and adjusts behavior to align with the emotional needs of the follower,(b) adoption of ability based measures that may add to the selection process and contribute to thehiring of hospitality professionals in the workplace, and (c) consideration of replicating the studyas global cross-cultural research to advance the construct of emotional intelligence contributingto transformational leadership. Additional recommendations for research and practice areincluded.iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI am for ever thankful for many people who have been there right with me during thisjourney. Dr. Clare Klunk, my committee chair, advisor, friend, scholar who supported methroughout the journey, never doubted me and spent a lifetime with me on my workand I will always be appreciative of her guidance, patience and support. This neverwould have happened without her guidance, scholarship and academic support. Dr. Paul Renard, my committee member who too spent countless hours and believedin me and was a source of inspiration in the journey by his intellect, charm andwriting abilities. His sports analogy was timely and Dr. Renard has a gift forscholarship. Dr. Marcie Boucouvalas, my committee member and whom I am thankful to be a partof her academic sphere. Marcie has been a tireless scholar whom I admire both nearand afar. Marcie is an intellectual powerhouse and I will always remember her spiritand intellect. Dr. Paul Parker, my committee member and whom I thank so much for his patiencewith me in quantitative methods and whose guidance with me on all of the variousinstruments and constructs. He always had the time and energy, day or night, to workwith me and believe in me. I thank my colleagues and peers who helped me along in the process with theirintelligence, friendship, encouragement, laughs, “being a sounding board”- CarlaPacalo, PhD, Cam Kiosoglous, PhD, Melisa Lubin, PhD, Art Conroy, PhD, StephanieStenard, PhD, Leslie Freeman, PhD, Judith Brown, PhD. Masters students Ruth Lee,MS, Jennifer Tyrrell, MS, I thank Dakar Ross and Joe DiPietro, my two college roommates at Rutgers for theirlove and academic guidance. I thank the Virginia Tech team in Northern Virginia who helped make this allpossible- Michele Eldredge, Debbie Cash, Debbie Payne and in Blacksburg VirginiaSandy Linkiv
I thank the different hospitality professionals I have worked with both at the humanresource level and at the General Manager level. Special note to Gary Walton, BobJanis, Paul Giovanini, Ken Peduzzi; human resource leaders- Jim MacDonald, FaithGrant, Michele Crabtree, Cindy Moradipour, Eileen Pevarski,, colleagues- TammyHance, Scott McAlister I thank the thirty –seven Directors and Managers of Human Resources at StarwoodHotels and Resorts who patiently took the time to complete the surveys and sharedtheir leadership abilities and emotions with me and the study. I thank all of the wonderful associates and leaders I have worked with throughout theyears in hospitality the past thirty plus years. The teams at the Hyatt Regency NewBrunswick New Jersey, the Holiday Inn Airport Windsor Locks Connecticut, TheHotel Roanoke and Conference Center Roanoke Virginia, Doubletree Hotel Tyson’sCorner Falls Church Virginia and the Sheraton National Hotel Arlington Virginia. I am eternally thankful for God and all of the blessings He has provided to me and forme.v
DEDICATION Maria Alexander, my spouse and partner for the past 31 years, who has beenunwavering in her support throughout and never once questioned our decision tomake this happen during the entire 10 plus years. My four children: Amari Alexander,Chloe Alexander, Errol D. Alexander III and Collin Alexander, my children (greatestkids in the world) who have been an inspiration to me more than they will ever know.They made this journey possible with their love, their academic and athletic prowess. Cherie Alexander, Dr. Mia Alexander-Snow, Lorre Legagneur-Hudson, PennyAlexander, my mom and three sisters who have made me the person that I am andwhom I am always grateful for the family. Family means everything to me and Idedicate this to you. Henry Potter and Freda Potter, my grandparents who have been there for me andpreached the power of education. The brave deed my grandfather did in 1912 andrisked his life to save another on Lake Erie as a Carnegie hero stays with me to thisday- unselfish behavior to save the life of another.vi
TABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACT . IIACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . IVDEDICATION. VILIST OF TABLES . XLIST OF FIGURES . XICHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION . 1Problem . 1Purpose. 2The Hospitality Challenge . 3Listening. 3Leadership. 3Transformational Leadership . 5Emotional Intelligence . 5Research Design and Approach . 6Significance of the Study . 7Research Questions . 9Organization of the Study . 10CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW . 12Leadership . 12Emotions and Leadership . 13Theoretical Framework . 13Historical Assessment of Emotional Intelligence through Testing Measures . 17Models of Emotional Intelligence . 17Empathy . 20Schutte Assessing Emotions Scale . 20Leadership. 21Ongoing Research . 23Transformational Leadership . 24Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership . 27Studies Covering Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership . 28Gaps in Literature . 29Summary . 30CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY . 31Restatement of Purpose. 31Hypotheses . 32Alternative Hypotheses . 33Selecting the Quantitative Method. 33Instrumentation . 35Schutte Assessing Emotions Scale (SEIS) . 35Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X (MLQ) . 37vii
The Demographic Survey . 38Administering the SEIS, MLQ, and Demographic Questionnaire . 38Sample Population . 40Data Analysis . 40Descriptive Statistics for the SEIS and MLQ . 40Correlations and Analysis . 41Scatter Plot. 41Pearson Correlation Coefficient . 41Statistical Significance Level . 42Regression Analysis . 42Conclusion . 43CHAPTER 4 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSES . 44Sampling and Procedures . 45Participants . 45Summary of Scores on SEIS and MLQ . 46Results . 48Research Question 1. . 49Research Question 2. . 51Research Question 3. . 53Research Question 4. . 53Research Question 5. . 55Summary . 57CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ANDCONCLUSIONS . 59Study Overview . 59Limitations of the Study. 60Discussion . 61Summary . 61Reflections on Applicability #1 . 62Reflections on Applicability #2 . 62Reflections on Applicability #3 . 63Reflections on Applicability #4 . 63Reflections on Applicability #5 . 64Conceptual Framework for Emotional Intelligence and the Transformational LeadershipPathway. 64Significance of Study . 66Recommendations for Further Research . 68Conclusion . 70REFERENCES. 71APPENDIX A IRB APPROVAL LETTER . 83APPENDIX B ABBREVIATIONS. 84APPENDIX C RESEARCH SUPPORTING THE INTERNAL CONSISTENCY, MEANS,AND STANDARD DEVIATION (SD) OF THE SEIS/AES . 85viii
APPENDIX D ASSESSING EMOTIONS SCALE. 86APPENDIX E MINDGARDEN MLQ PERMISSION . 88ix
List of TablesTable 2.1 Trait EI Versus Ability EI Comparison.18Table 2.2 Summary of Emotional Intelligence Mixed Models .19Table 3.1 Research Questions and Associated Variables.32Table 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Human Resource Participants .46Table 4.2 Summary of SEIS and MLQ .47Table 4.4 Correlation between pairs of scores on the Schutte Assessing Emotions Scale (SEIS)and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) .49Table 4.5 ANOVA for Regression of MLQ-TL Scores on SEIS Scores .51Table 4.6 ANOVA for Regression of MLQ-II Scores on SEIS Scores .53Table 4.7 ANOVA for Regression of MLQ-IS Scores on SEIS Scores .55Table 4.8 H1 or H0-4 SEIS Total and MLQ- IC .57Table 4.9 Summary of Research Questions and Results .58x
List of FiguresFigure 2.1. Emotional intelligence domains as an indicator of transformational leadershipdimensions. .29Figure 4.1. Distribution of scores on the Schutte Assessing Emotions Scale (SEIS). .48Figure 4.2. Distribution of participant scores on the multi-factor leadership questionnaire. .48Figure 4.3. Scatterplot of SEIS and total MLQ scores. .50Figure 4.4. Scatterplot of SEIS and MLQ II scores. .52Figure 4.5. Scatterplot of SEIS and total MLQ IS scores. .54Figure 4.6. Scatterplot of SEIS and total MLQ scores. .56Figure 5.1. Transformational leadership pathway. Copyright 2016 By Errol D. Alexander,Jr.65xi
CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTIONNot to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break topieces on coming in contact with the very first rock.- Mahatma Ghandi (1869-1948)In the workplace, leadership, teamwork, managing emotions, and excellent interpersonalcommunication are traits of successful leaders. Leaders of today must give their employeesencouragement, coaching, feedback, and create an environment where the workplace is engagingand stimulating, and provide an opportunity for collaboration to meet the challenges of leading asuccessful organization. In the tumultuous hospitality industry, chains and independententerprises are continuously challenging their leaders to look for ways of cutting costs,improving quality, enhancing customer experiences, increasing profits, and leading their people.ProblemThis study comes out of my experience with the hospitality industry where managingemotions is critical to leading. Over the past 30 years, I have observed that the inability tomanage change and manage the emotional aspects of changes—whether with your followers orwith a client—is a large problem and deserves further research. Research shows thattransformational leaders, utilizing their emotional intelligence (EI) abilities, are successful inemploying these effective leadership skills (B. J. Avolio, Waldman, & Yammarino, 1991;Barbuto & Burbach, 2006; Bass, 1990; Bradshaw, 2008; Brown & Moshavi, 2005; Caruso,Salovey, & Mayer, 2003; L. Gardner & Stough, 2001; Sosik & Mergerian, 1999). The hotelindustry is in flux, and the demand of the hotel guest in such a turbulent environment, coupledwith the need for associates to deliver excellent service, is stronger than ever. Human resourcedirectors and managers must lead the organization with fewer resources. In some cases, humanresource managers and directors are an “office of one” and must lead the organizational changeneeded, which often involves increasing the learning, leadership, performance, competencydevelopment, and changing role of the human resource professional.Without adequate leadership tools to adapt to the changes and stress related to their jobs,human resource professionals often experience frustration and are not able to manage either their1
emotions or the emotions of others within the organization. Hotels need human resource leaderswho can manage the daily stress, create a learning organization and lead their associates to excelin delivering great service. Additionally, in such a complex and changing environment, a humanresource professional must also be able to articulate a vision for success, inspire others toembrace the vision, and show empathy in the workplace, all while leading an organizationalchange effort. There is a gap in the literature in the review of human resource professionalsleading culture change in hospitality companies.PurposeDespite the importance of this issue, the amount of research on the behaviors of leaders inhospitality is small and in need of new models (Blum, Shumate, & Scott-Halsell, 2007). Thepurpose of this study is to examine the relationship between EI and transformational leadership(TL) behaviors of human resource professionals in hospitality. In a study published in theJournal of Business and Psychology (Mandell & Pherwani, 2003), researchers found that EIscores could predict the transformational behaviors of the leader through regression analysis ofself-reported data.Identifying specific emotional and social competencies that most heavily influence thetransformational leader behaviors would contribute the field of educational leadership. Mandelland Pherwani (2003) suggested, “if emotional intelligence scores can predict TL, organizationsmay find emotional intelligence measures to be valuable tools in the hiring, promotion anddevelopment of organizational leaders” (p. 400).Barbuto and Burbach (2006) investigated the relationship between trait EI discussed laterin this study, and its ability to predict TL, which then translates into superior leader performance.Their study indicated a link between EI and TL through which EI enables individuals to perceiveand understand social contexts, as well as their own and other’s emotional state to enhanceperformance. Since 2007, a trend among hospitality companies continues to increase the use ofEI instruction as part of orientation and training programs to include pre-employment testing toassess EI levels and provide follow-up curriculum to increase EI knowledge and application.Additionally, EI modules in the human resource training curriculum assist human resourceprofessionals at the property level (Arzi & Farahbod, 2014; Blum et al., 2007; Brownell, 2010;Dai, Dai, Chen, & Wu, 2013; Foster & Roche, 2014). This is a trend that will continue to2
enhance human resource development with an impact on the practice and effectiveness ofhospitality industry human resources professionals.The Hospitality ChallengeHotels across the globe are in a state of transition as they adapt to a changingenvironment and increased demands. External forces, such as higher energy prices, regionalconflicts, technology, and customer demands have left hoteliers searching for leaders to navigatethrough the dynamics of change and innovation. Internal challenges such as high staff turnover,job burnout, union organizing pressures, wage inflation and shrinking profit margins make thesedynamics that much more difficult to overcome (Brownell, 2010; Kim, 2008; Liao & Chuang,2007; Mathew & Gupta, 2015)ListeningThe ability to create service excellence with hospitality managers in a hotel can takeplace in many ways and occur in something as simple as listening to your team and making surethere is the accurate exchange of information to accomplish tasks or the facilitation of strongrelationships with the team (Brownell, 2009; Edgar & Nisbet, 1996; Gaby & Lewis, 2000). Thesupport of excellent listening practices in leaders’ daily activities is an organizational initiativeencouraged by the very best companies in hospitality and can help leaders meet challenges(Brownell, 2009; Edgar & Nisbet, 1996).LeadershipThe following extensive discussion of the definition and characteristics of leadership is acritical part of this dissertation. Agreeing on definitions, operationalization, and thepsychological underpinning of leadership are topics of wide-ranging discussion and significantdisagreement. This section attempts to define a specific way of understanding andoperationalizing leadership that is then used throughout the remainder of the dissertation. To beclear, there are many other views of leadership, operational models, and approaches (B. M.Avolio & Bass, 2004; Barbuto & Burbach, 2006; Bennis, 1994; Blum et al., 2007; F. W. Brown& Moshavi, 2005; Clarke, 2010; Collins, 2001; Davidson, McPhail, & Barry, 2010; Druskat &Druskat, 2006; Gill, Fitzgerald, Bhutani, Mand, & Sharma, 2010; Goleman, 2004; Goleman,Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002; Kara, Uysal, Sirgy, & Lee, 2013; Katou, 2015; Leban & Zulauf,3
2004a; Mathew & Gupta, 2015; Mumford, Zacarro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman, 2000; Patiar& Mia, 2009; Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005b).Strategic leaders give employees the ability and autonomy to exercise decisions overtasks-related behaviors, while serving a client or customer. A level of trust within anorganization may grow from delegating the responsibility for deciding on task related behaviorswhen providing services and empowering their employees to use their judgment (W. L. Gardner,Avolio, & Walumbwa, 2005; Mackoff & Wenet, 2001; Nadler & Nadler, 1998; Rude, 2013).Yukl (2002) observed the scope of leadership behaviors influences the interpretation of externalevents by members, the choice of objectives and strategies to pursue, the motivation of membersto achieve the objectives, and the organization of work activities. Yukl identified leadershipbehaviors where staff members developed mutual trust, cooperation, skills, and confidence, aswell as shared new knowledge and enlisted support and cooperation from outsiders.It is difficult to settle on one particular operational definition of leadership, but manyexperts agree that leadership addresses tasks, behaviors and outcomes (Becker, Huselid, &Ulrich, 2001; Bennis, 1994; DePree, 1989; Goleman et al., 2002; Mumford et al., 2000; Yukl,2002). For my research, the definition of leadership is best provided by Yukl (2002) who stated,“leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree what needs to be doneand how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collectiveefforts” (p. 7).Yukl (2002) identified three types of variables that were relevant for understandingleadership effectiveness: (a) characteristics of leaders, (b) characteristics of followers, and (c)characteristics of the situation. According to Yukl:Most leadership theories emphasize one category more than others as the primary basisfor explaining effective leadership. Most theories developed over the past half centuryhave emphasized leader’s characteristics, and it has been common practice to limit thefocus t
understanding of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. Three recommendations for practice include: (a) a proposed competency model as an antecedent to transformational leadership that advances a leaders' competency in reading and interpreting
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Emotional Intelligence and Management Emotional Intelligence and Perception Emotional Intelligence and Communication Conclusion Definition of Emotional Intelligence (EI) Emotional Intelligence- capacity to be Aware, Express & Control your Emotions, and handle interpersonal relationships Caringly and .
2.6.1 Emotional and Social Competency Inventory 51 2.6.2 Emotional Quotient Inventory 52 2.6.3 Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test 53 2.6.4 Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire 54 2.7 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE- RELATED STUDIES 55 2.8 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN EDUCATION 58
Ability-models versus mixed-models of emotional intelligence 49 Strengths and weaknesses in the three major views of emotional intelligence 50 Mayer and Salovey‟s view of emotional intelligence. 50 Bar-On‟s view of emotional intelligence. 51 Goleman‟s view of emotional intelligence. 53 Overarching reflections and conclusions 55 References 58
Emotional Intelligence Based on the Five Domains of Emotional Intelligence found in Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is 60% of performance in all jobs. - Emotional Intelligence Quick Book 15% of success is technical knowledge, 85% is people skills
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves Thesis-1: Emotional intelligence is a key factor in people’s success. Thesis-2: There is no known connection between cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence. Thesis-3: People can increase their emotional intelligence even though cognitive intelligence is set.
Reuven Bar-On: Emotional Quotient. Model of Emotional-Social Intelligence. Peter Salovey & John D. Mayer 1990: The Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman 1995: Emotional Intelligence Theory. Theory of Performance. 1970 1990 The pioneers of emotional intelligence. Emotions and cognitions influence each other. The
Emotional Intelligence by Team Publications How to Be an Even Better Manager by Michael Armstrong Mastering Mentoring and Coaching with Emotional Intelligence by Patrick E. Merlevede and Denis C. Bridoux Skill Briefs Skills that Enhance Emotional Intelligence (ID: COMM0141) Emotional Intelligence and Life Success (ID: COMM0141) Emotional .
Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I) 14 2.3.4. Emotional Intelligent Quotient (EIQ) 15 2.3.5. Work Group Emotional Intelligence Profile (WEIP) 15 2.3.6. Self-report of Emotional Intelligence (SREI) 16 2.3.7. Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) 16 2.4. Debates and Controversies on the subject of EI 17 .
