LEADERSHIP AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DURING A CRISIS 1

Leadership and Emotional Intelligence during a Crisis

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Leadership and Emotional Intelligence during a Crisis

Introduction

Coronavirus-related societal and economic problems, as well as other catastrophic

occurrences like unfavorable weather patterns brought on by climate change and global

warming, particularly in the United States and China, make the world a hostile place for

enterprises. As a result, in order to compete, business organizations must implement

restructuring procedures to address economic issues. The modern business climate presents

enterprises with additional challenges, including globalization. As a result, multinational

corporations are being forced to implement change management strategies due to cultural,

societal, managerial, and economic developments.

As they engaged their workforce, executives must also take into account, among other

things, geographical specificity and cultural diversity. Employees may not adapt well to the

substantial change management procedures that business executives implement to be competitive

in the current chaotic and dynamic operating environment. Therefore, to effectively manage

change amid crises, unique leadership techniques are required. Regarding how leaders handle the

process of changing in their commercial organizations, emotional intelligence is a key idea in the

literature on change management and leadership. The literature on the connection between

emotional intelligence and leadership in influencing management of change during a crisis is

examined in the current study. It suggests a mechanism for evaluating how well two leadership

philosophies—transformational and transactional—can ensure effective change management in

enterprises during times of crisis.

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The concept of crisis

We must consult De Nicolás ET alto.’s define the term "crisis" (2000). According to

them, a crisis is a precarious and contentious situation in which the equilibrium and regularity of

the structure are disturbed due to internal or external factors, and there is a propensity for

disarray. While phases are "periods of social crisis as well as generators of collective stress,"

Britton (1986) defines terms as "periods of social crisis and/or phases" in the context of social

sciences. The following are these phases:

• The variety and quantity of participants.

• The extent to which society or the affected area's residents are involved.

• The degree to which the agent causing collective stress disrupts or destroys the social system.

The concept of emotional intelligence

The study of social intelligence as well as multiple intelligences by Gardner and

Thorndike, respectively, led to the development of the idea of emotional intelligence. According

to Chopra and Kanji (2010), Gardner's work made clear that intellect is made up of a variety of

intertwined and interconnected talents that interact to shape outcomes in both personal and

professional contexts. In a succinct description offered by these writers, emotional intelligence is

defined as the connection between thinking and feeling; in other terms, it is the ability to think

about and feel about feelings. When organisational environments are changing during a crisis,

interpersonal and intrapersonal complications must be managed. This is where emotional

intelligence comes in. Emotional intelligence is described as "a sort of social cognition that

encompasses the ability to track one's own and others' emotions and moods and to discriminate

among them," and to use the knowledge obtained to inform one's actions and thinking, according

to Maulding et al. (2012) (p. 21). The researchers note that IQ alone is a poor indicator of an
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individual's success in organisations because people can have a high IQ yet still failing to get the

effective information (Maulding et al., 2012).

Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles, and Organizational Performance

One of the leadership literature's most widely used concepts is emotional intelligence.

The type of leader a person will become and the style of leadership used in change management

are both influenced by emotional intelligence. The two leadership styles that are currently most

effective are transformational and transactional leaders.

A transformational leader inspires others to put aside their personal interests in favor of

the group's, boosts others' abilities, informs staff members of the organization's goals and

objectives, motivates staff to approach their work from a different perspective, and generally has

an indirect or direct impact on how the organization runs. Therefore, individual concerns,

intellectual stimulation, inspiring motivation, and idealistic influence are the four components of

transformative leadership (Batool, 2013).

A concise review of the distinctions amongst transformational and transactional

leadership is offered by Maamari and Majdalani (2017). According to the experts,

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transformational leaders inspire loyalty, trust, respect admiration in their workforce. Employees

are so inspired to go above and beyond what top management expects of them in order to

accomplish both organisational and individual goals and objectives. Conversely, transactional

leaders play to their staff members' self-interests (Maamari & Majdalani, 2016). Transactional

leaders utilize rewards as incentives to boost performance, claims Batool (2013) These

executives put a lot of emphasis on things like using sanctions and rewards to raise staff

standards, compliance, and performance. The former had greater predicted evaluations of

happiness and effectiveness, according to research comparing the benefits of transactional and

transformational leadership.

A paradigm that combines emotional intelligence and seems to have components

compatible with transformational leadership philosophies is the deliberate change theory (Figure

3). Performance development plans, a hallmark of transactional leadership techniques, can stress

and depress a person's motivation to alter and learn, based on the intentional change hypothesis.

The establishment of a learning agenda that specifies learning actions and objectives that

people may eagerly engage in throughout the change management process is the strategy

suggested by the purposeful change theory, which is aligned with transformational leadership
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styles. The third finding in the purposeful change theory framework is the creation of a learning

agenda. Contrary to performance expansion plans, the training agenda fosters employee

development, particularly in actualizing one's self by bridging the gap between one's ideal and

actual selves (Boyatzis et al., 2013). In order to provide effective change management

throughout time, Jordan (2005) underlines the significance of the learning organization in

continuously enhancing the competencies of personnel.

The fourth finding is in line with both the leadership style of transformation which entails

trying out new emotions, ideas, and actions in order to maximize one's strengths and lessen the

pervasive impact of weakness on job performances (Boyatzis et al., 2012). Transformational

leaders may guide their team members through the process of aligning their ideal and true selves

since they have attained self-actualization.

Emotional intelligence and organizational change

Change management is crucial to organisational operations because responding to a

volatile and dynamic operational environment can boost competitiveness. Depending on the new

management method, employees may oppose or inertia. Change management requires employee

cooperation, influence, and information on the company's route. Emotional intelligence can assist

employees accept change, comply in change initiatives, and recognize the need for change

(Ugoani, 2017).

In a transformational leadership climate, it's hard to get employees to comply. Raithatha

(2015) examines change management's history. Top management and staff were hierarchical and

transactional in the first phase. Thus, companies saw employees as servants relying on them for

employment and pay, while employers were the masters who controlled their fortunes.
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From the traditional master-servant connection to strategic leadership with specialization and

division of labor, change management has advanced to an organisational context whereby human

resources views workers as valuable organisational assets (Raithatha, 2015). Encouragement of

staff to support the overall reform activities is challenging in the later things started. According

to Raithatha (2015), in the current organizational paradigm, businesses have come to rely more

and more on individuals with superior emotional maturity to accurately assess circumstances,

deal with employee opposition to transformation, and handle change management.

Synopsis

Self-Control

Self-awareness means perceiving and understanding our feelings. Crisis causes stress.

Being honest with yourself helps you manage your emotions and cope. Emotional self-

management leads to more constructive, intelligent acts. Many firms closed or went remote due

to the epidemic. Self-aware and self-managed leaders can stay calm and find answers in this

situation.

Sociability

Social awareness involves understanding and empathizing with others. Your employees

may be experiencing panic, tension, and anxiety due to uncertainty. Crisis requires teamwork. To

be there for you, your team must be aware you're there. Successful businesses depend on

employee morale. Your team needs to know that care about their health, workplace adjustments,

and uncertain timescale for a return to normal.

Relations

In a crisis, communicating tough news is key. Knowing how to gently communicate

layoffs, reduced hours, or remote work is crucial to maintaining healthy relationships and
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reputations. No matter what, managing current and former personnel is essential for success.

Don't abandon your employees or business if layoffs or terminations occur. Cenera helps Alberta

companies with employee terminations.

Leaders must use ego, ego, awareness, and relationship building to navigate the COVID-

19 epidemic. Leaders who can develop their emotional intelligence or adapt will be better

prepared to succeed in the turbulence.

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References

Ugoani, J. N. N. (2017). Emotional intelligence and successful change management in the

Nigerian banking industry. Independent Journal of Management &Amp; Production,

8(2), 335. https://doi.org/10.14807/ijmp.v8i2.550

Raithatha, H. (2015). The role of emotional intelligence in change management. Paripex-Indian

Journal of Research, 4(2), 43-44.

Boyatzis, R. E., Smith, M. L., Van Oosten, E., & Woolford, L. (2013). Developing resonant

leaders through emotional intelligence, vision and coaching. Organizational Dynamics,

42(1), 17-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2012.12.003

Jordan, P. (2005). Dealing with organizational change: Can emotional intelligence enhance

organizational learning. International Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 8(1), 456-471.

Batool, B. F. (2013). Emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Journal of Business Studies

Quarterly, 4(3), 84.

Maamari, B. E., & Majdalani, J. F. (2017). Emotional intelligence, leadership style and

organizational climate. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 25(2), 327-345.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoa-04-2016-1010

Chopra, P. K., & Kanji, G. K. (2010). Emotional intelligence: A catalyst for inspirational

leadership and management excellence. Total Quality Management & Business

Excellence, 21(10), 971-1004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2010.487704

Britton, N. R. (1986). Developing an understanding of disaster. Australian & New Zealand

Journal of Sociology, 22(2), 254-271. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1177/144078338602200206
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De Nicolás, L., Artetxe, A. I., Jauregi, A., & López, S. (2000). Intervención psicológica en

situaciones de emergencia y desastres. Vitoria.