Retail Managers' Situational Leadership Style and Emotional Intelligence

Researchers of leadership in management have explored why some managers excel in their positions and others fail. Some researchers have suggested that managers who use emotional intelligence while leading have a better opportunity to promote organizational success. Ineffective leadership may contribute to employees' poor performance and lack of commitment to the organization's mission. This study used a quantitative survey design to evaluate the correlation between situational leadership styles and emotional intelligence in retail managers. Data were collected from 130 participants' responses to two instruments: the Leadership Behavior Analysis II-Self and the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test. The results indicated that more than half of the respondents were above normal on their flexibility scores and below normal on their effectiveness scores, which indicates that more leadership training is needed. Flexibility of leadership styles was negatively correlated with emotional intelligence and educational level was positively correlated to emotional intelligence. Exploring the relationship between situational leadership and emotional intelligence is a new endeavor in social sciences research. Implications for positive social change include leaders of retail organizations being able to understand how situational leadership styles and emotional intelligence work together to build leadership effectiveness. Managers will learn how to produce long-term results while improving their emotional intelligence skills. Furthermore, employee effectiveness can be increased through motivation and education, making a positive impact on retail organizations' financial stability.