A leadership training program and its effects of participants' emotional intelligence scores

In today's constantly changing and competitive world, organizations are likely to look to leadership for ways to influence performance. Although it is generally believed that intellectual and technical abilities play an important role in leadership, there is mounting evidence that emotional intelligence predicts a range of positive outcomes, and it has been promoted as a possible factor in explaining success in life (Goleman, 1998). As organizations look at the potential management tools to assist in navigating through today's competitive world, emotional intelligence is touted as one area of intelligence worth considering. Emotional skills can work well with intelligence and technical skills to enhance performance in organizations. In light of this, many business organizations are not only seeking more emotionally intelligent employees, but they are increasingly investing in training programs that are designed to educate their employees about the relevance of emotional skills in the workplace and ways they can develop and enhance their emotional intelligence competencies.;Specifically, the study sought to determine if the program made a significant difference in the emotional intelligence scores of participants by comparing their EQ scores prior to and after the training. Additionally, the study sought to determine if gender and age made statistically significant differences in the total EQ score of participants. Also examined were the score profiles of participants in the study, as well as the relationships among the variables used in the study. A total of 124 participants were enrolled in the program. Of the 124 participants, 112 completed the Bar-On (1997) EQ-i questionnaire prior to the training. Of those 112 participants, 43 completed both the pretest and post-test and were included in the final data analysis.;Descriptive results indicated that overall, the female participants scored higher on most scales compared to men. Also, older participants scored higher on total EQ compared to younger participants in the study. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) results indicated that neither gender nor age were statistically significant after controlling for the pre-test scores. The interaction effect between gender and age was also not significant. Results of the t-tests indicated no significant differences between pre-test and post-test scores of participants as measured by total EQ scores and each of the five scales—intrapersonal, interpersonal, adaptability, stress management, and general mood. The results of the correlations indicated that adaptability and stress management were highly correlated (r=.715, p<.01). Finally, based on the results, additional research employing pre–post, with control and experimental groups, using large and diverse sample size is needed to examine the effects of emotional intelligence training programs on participants' emotional intelligence scores.;Despite the optimism that surrounds emotional intelligence training initiatives, little is known as to what extent these training programs actually enhance participants' emotional intelligence skills. While a significant amount of research on the developable capability of emotional intelligence exists, substantive evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of emotional intelligence training programs still remains elusive. This study examined the effects of a leadership training program on participants' emotional intelligence scores.