| Leadership is an essential component to the success of the company. Over the last few years, researches have focused their attention on Emotional Intelligence (EI), particularly in the field of organizational leadership and management (Cote, Lopes, Salovey, & Miners, 2010; Ryan, Spencer, & Bernhard, 2012; Webb, 2009). The existing literature revealed that leaders who possess high levels of EI are more effective leaders than those with low EI. Moreover, leaders with high EI were capable of turning past experiences into present solutions. While a plethora of studies examined the role of EI in effective leadership, there is not much research dedicated to establish the association between leaders' EI and the profitability of small businesses. This correlational, quantitative non-experimental study aims to explore the relationship of the EI levels of managers and the profitability of companies belonging to small businesses in the service sector. The researcher utilized systematic random sampling to choose the participants for the study. A total of 139 of managers of small businesses belonging to the service sector participated in this study. The independent variable is measured by the fifteen competencies in the TEIQue-SF, which is divided into five scales: (a) interpersonal (b) intrapersonal, (c) adaptability, (d) stress management, and (e) general mood (Seal & Andrews-Brown, 2010). On the other hand, the dependent variables are measured by the ratings of the average profit of the company before interest and taxes within the past three years. The Pearson's correlation test was utilized to determine the correlation between the study variables. It was found in this study that there is a positive and direct relationship between EI levels of leaders and profits of small businesses. |
