WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS LEADER: A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Kristen C. Turlis, Quinnipiac University
This research project was designed to test the perception of business students in the United States, France and Germany on the subject of business leadership. Given this sample, it was determined, of the five sub-constructs of emotional intelligence (EI) tested, that U.S. business students perceive motivation and German business students perceive self-awareness as being the most important factor in what makes an effective business leader. There was insufficient variance in the data collected to determine if French business students perceive social skills as the most important of the five EI sub-constructs.
Introduction and Literature Review
This research project was designed to test the perception of business students in the United States, France and Germany on the subject of business leadership. For the purpose of this study, leadership is defined as pursuing one’s “vision by intentionally seeking to influence others and the conditions in which they work, allowing them to perform to their full potential and thus both increasing the probability of realizing the vision and maximizing the organizational and personal development of all parties involved” [Beckhard 1996].
In the 1980’s the question arose about why some very intelligent people made horrible leaders and managers. A successful leader “maintains absolute integrity, is knowledgeable, declares expectations, shows uncommon commitment, gets out in front, expects positive results, takes care of employees and puts duty before self” [Cohen 2002], “someone who can communicate and motivate” [Barrier 1995]. In their study, Practical Intelligence, it was determined by Walters and Gardner [1986] that a manager needed more than general intelligence to be an effective and successful leader. Within this study, they identified a new theory of “practical” or “multiple...