Trait emotional intelligence and leadership

This study examined whether trait emotional intelligence (trait El or

emotional self-efficacy) can differentiate between leaders and non-

leaders (N = 96) employed by a major multinational company in

Europe. Available intelligence test scores along with age, gender,

and tenure were used as control variables. Trait El, cognitive ability,

and gender were significant predictors in a logistic regression

model. Further, both leaders and non-leaders scored significantly

higher on trait El compared to the standardization sample of the

Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Petrides, 2009), though

the effect size for the former (Cohen's d = 2.80) was considerably

larger than for the latter (Cohen's d = 1.23). The results support the

notion that leadership and management positions require high trait

EI.