Relationships between critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and effective leadership practices in veteran-owned small businesses

Previous research has not definitively explained to what extent the concepts of emotional intelligence and critical thinking contribute to effective leadership practices. The focus of this correlational study was to determine if a researcher could use the study's predictor variables of emotional intelligence and critical thinking ability to predict the criterion variable, use of effective leadership practices. The study sample contained 90 leaders of veteran-owned small businesses. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, the Watson-GlaserTM II Critical Thinking Appraisal, and the Leader Practices Inventory-Self survey instruments helped with determining the participants' ratings of EI, critical thinking ability, and use of effective leadership practices. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, calculation of correlation coefficients, and regression analysis. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient for the relationship between participants' overall ratings for emotional intelligence and the overall ratings for effective leadership practices was 0.102, with a 2-tailed test of significance result of 0.338 for the correlation. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient for the relationship between the participants' overall scores for critical thinking ability and for effective leadership practices was -0.124, with a 2-tailed test of significance result of 0.244 for this correlation. The data analysis results indicated no statistically significant correlation between the study's predictor variables, emotional intelligence and critical thinking ability, and the criterion variable, use of effective leadership practices. Analysis of veteran ratings for emotional intelligence and critical thinking ability identified opportunities for stakeholders to assist veteran-owned small business leaders to improve these skills.