Leadership that inspires dedication: The relationship between the emotional intelligence of community college presidents and faculty and staff retention

In an era of unprecedented challenges and rapid change, community colleges need effective leadership that brings out the best in people, organizations, and communities. The diminishing supply of qualified leaders has been well documented (Campbell, 2002; Shults, 2001) at the same time that the complexity and challenges of leadership positions are increasing. Emotional intelligence may be a factor that helps differentiate an average community college leader from an outstanding one.; The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the emotional intelligence of community college presidents in North Carolina and faculty and staff retention. Specifically, the study assesses whether presidents in these educational institutions who possessed high levels of emotional intelligence were able to retain employees.; A total of 39 presidents participated in the study which yielded an overall response rate of 67.2%. The participating presidents completed an online, self-reported assessment of emotional intelligence, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On EQ-i).; The emotional intelligence scores were compared to unit record retention data of each institution for faculty and staff. The Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was conducted on the data sets to determine if a relationship existed between the emotional intelligence scores of community college presidents and their organizations' performance based on retention of faculty and staff. A t-test for statistical significance was then calculated. A 0.05 significance level was applied.; Study results indicated that there were no statistically significant correlations between the emotional intelligence of community college presidents and faculty retention. Findings also showed that Total EQ-i scores and Adaptability Composite Scores were the only two statistically significant scores related to staff retention. All other correlations of composite scores and staff retention were found not to be statistically significant.; While two scores when compared to staff retention showed statistical significance, the findings refute other studies because the relationship between the emotional intelligence scores of community college presidents and senior administrator retention were found to be inversely related. The data suggest that presidents with higher emotional intelligence and adaptability scores have senior administrators who are more likely to leave.