The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective

Orientation: The role of emotional intelligence, autonomy and leader member exchange (LMX) is examined in the relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance. Research purpose: The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotional intelligence and autono...

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Main Authors: Maryam Waglay, Jurgen R. Becker, Marieta du Plessis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2020-04-01
Series:SA Journal of Industrial Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1762
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author Maryam Waglay
Jurgen R. Becker
Marieta du Plessis
author_facet Maryam Waglay
Jurgen R. Becker
Marieta du Plessis
author_sort Maryam Waglay
collection DOAJ
description Orientation: The role of emotional intelligence, autonomy and leader member exchange (LMX) is examined in the relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance. Research purpose: The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in the effectiveness of leadership in organisations through high LMX relationships. Motivation for the study: The relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance is well documented. However, the specific role of emotional intelligence, job autonomy and high-quality LMX relationships as transmission mechanisms is not well understood. Research approach/design and method: The study used an ex post facto research design and a convenience sampling approach. A sample of employees working as managers (n = 226) in a large financial institution in South Africa participated in the study. The proposed conceptual model was empirically tested by means of simple and hierarchical regression analyses. Main findings: The results suggest that transformational leadership is effective in driving follower performance through emotional intelligence and strong LMX relationships. Furthermore, LMX and emotional intelligence fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Practical/managerial implications: The effectiveness of transformational leaders can be explained through the strong LMX relationships that they develop with followers by using emotional intelligence as an influencing strategy. Contribution/value-add: The study aims to explain the primary mechanism through which transformational leaders encourage job performance and high unit-level performance. The results indicate emotional intelligence as an important mechanism used by transformational leaders to build strong teams, which ultimately results in high-performing teams.
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spelling doaj.art-bd6488f8cdb2480b9f43ee6bab7a2a3a2022-12-21T18:42:58ZengAOSISSA Journal of Industrial Psychology0258-52002071-07632020-04-01460e1e1210.4102/sajip.v46i0.17621148The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspectiveMaryam Waglay0Jurgen R. Becker1Marieta du Plessis2Department of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape TownDepartment of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape TownDepartment of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape TownOrientation: The role of emotional intelligence, autonomy and leader member exchange (LMX) is examined in the relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance. Research purpose: The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in the effectiveness of leadership in organisations through high LMX relationships. Motivation for the study: The relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance is well documented. However, the specific role of emotional intelligence, job autonomy and high-quality LMX relationships as transmission mechanisms is not well understood. Research approach/design and method: The study used an ex post facto research design and a convenience sampling approach. A sample of employees working as managers (n = 226) in a large financial institution in South Africa participated in the study. The proposed conceptual model was empirically tested by means of simple and hierarchical regression analyses. Main findings: The results suggest that transformational leadership is effective in driving follower performance through emotional intelligence and strong LMX relationships. Furthermore, LMX and emotional intelligence fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Practical/managerial implications: The effectiveness of transformational leaders can be explained through the strong LMX relationships that they develop with followers by using emotional intelligence as an influencing strategy. Contribution/value-add: The study aims to explain the primary mechanism through which transformational leaders encourage job performance and high unit-level performance. The results indicate emotional intelligence as an important mechanism used by transformational leaders to build strong teams, which ultimately results in high-performing teams.https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1762transformational leadershipleader member exchange (lmx)emotional intelligencejob performancejob characteristicsautonomy.
spellingShingle Maryam Waglay
Jurgen R. Becker
Marieta du Plessis
The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
SA Journal of Industrial Psychology
transformational leadership
leader member exchange (lmx)
emotional intelligence
job performance
job characteristics
autonomy.
title The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
title_full The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
title_fullStr The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
title_full_unstemmed The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
title_short The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
title_sort role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership a leader member exchange perspective
topic transformational leadership
leader member exchange (lmx)
emotional intelligence
job performance
job characteristics
autonomy.
url https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1762
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