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Emotional Intelligence and Its
Relationship to Transformational
Leadership and Key Project Manager
Competences
Nicholas Clarke, School of Management, University of Southampton, Southampton,
United Kingdom
ABSTRACT ■
INTRODUCTION ■
Key dimensions of project manager behaviors
considered to be associated with successful
project outcomes have included both appropriate
collaborative behaviors and transformational
leadership. More recently, emotional intelligence
has been suggested as a unique area of individual differences that is likely to underpin sets of
behaviors in this area. Based on a sample of 67
UK project managers, it was found that emotional intelligence ability measures and empathy
explained additional variance in the project manager competences of teamwork, attentiveness,
and managing conflict, and the transformational
leadership behaviors of idealized influence and
individualized consideration, after controlling for
cognitive ability and personality.
iven that the interest in the concept of emotional intelligence is a
rather recent phenomenon, it is surprising that the importance of
emotionally associated abilities or skills in project management
was recognized over three decades ago. Hill (1977) identified how
high-performing project managers were more likely to adopt greater listening and coaching behaviors, as well as facilitate openness and emotional
expression. More recently, these skills or abilities have again resurfaced as a
major focus of attention within project management, driven by the wider
research in emotional intelligence (EI) and the increasing literature that
voiced concerns over the appropriate knowledge and skill base required for
project managers to be effective (Crawford, Morris, Thomas, & Winter, 2006;
El-Sabaa, 2001; Sizemore House, 1988; Zimmerer & Yasin, 1998). Writers such
as Winter, Smith, Morris, and Cicmil (2006), for example, have suggested that
emotional competences are associated with the intuition and skills necessary for project managers to become reflective practitioners. As a result,
project managers with high emotional intelligence should be better
equipped to solve the new challenges and problems that each new project
brings.
Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) initial paper on emotional intelligence identified EI as a subset of social intelligence and characterized the concept as
consisting of a set of four interrelated cognitive abilities associated with the
processing of emotional information. Similar to the broader notion of intelligence, EI is described as the ability to reason about a particular type of
information as follows: “The ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and
express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they
facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth” (Mayer & Salovey, 1997, p. 10).
A significant body of research has been building over the past two
decades that has found these emotional intelligence abilities to be associated with a range of important work-related behaviors. Particularly significant
from a project’s perspective have been associations found between EI and
leadership (Barling, Slater, & Kelloway, 2000; Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005),
team effectiveness (Jordan, Ashkanasy, Hartel, & Hooper, 2002), and workgroup effectiveness (Druskat & Wolff, 2001).
Druskat and Druskat (2006) suggested that the nature and characteristics
of projects place a particular emphasis on the need for project managers to
KEYWORDS: emotional intelligence; project
competences; leadership.
Project Management Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2, 5–20
© 2010 by the Project Management Institute
Published online in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com)
DOI: 10.1002/pmj.20162
G
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
possess emotional intelligence. They
put forward four key arguments in this
respect. First, the temporary nature of
projects means that trust and commitment, which arise through interpersonal
interaction, need to be quickly established (Kloppenborg & Petrick, 1999;
Sweeney & Lee, 1999). Emotional competences that underpin effective communication and social skills are therefore likely
to assist project managers to more easily form good interpersonal relations.
Second, and related to the former, emotional intelligence that facilitates interpersonal relationships should also support greater knowledge exchange, thus
enabling project managers to deal with
the uniqueness of differing projects
(Frame, 1995). Next, the complexity
associated with projects often involves
dealing with considerable ambiguity
and change (Briner, Geddes, &
Hastings, 1990; Slevin & Pinto, 1991),
and emotional intelligence should play
a role in enabling project managers to
inspire fellow project workers and generate higher levels of motivation and
commitment toward change. Finally,
emotional intelligence and empathy
are likely to be key strengths in helping
project managers to successfully manage conflict, especially where there is
scope for misunderstanding and miscommunication arising from cross-cultural projects.
Findings from recent studies examining emotional intelligence within a
project management context have
found emotional intelligence to be a significant area of individual difference
associated with effective leadership,
and transformational leadership more
specifically (Butler & Chinowsky, 2006;
Leban & Zulauf, 2004; Muller & Turner,
2007; Sunindijo, Hadikusumo, &
Ogunlana, 2007). However, a significant
limitation of these studies is that in neither instance was there an attempt to
control for personality effects. In addition, as yet no studies have examined
relationships between emotional intelligence and those specific project management competences posited to be
6
important for successful project outcomes, as discussed by Druskat and
Druskat (2006) earlier.
This study therefore aims to build
on this previous literature by presenting
findings from a study that examined
relationships between emotional intelligence, project management competences, and transformational leadership.
Based on a sample of project managers
in the United Kingdom, the findings suggest that emotional intelligence abilities
and empathy may be a significant
aspect of individual difference that contributes to behaviors associated with
project manager competences in the
areas of teamwork, attentiveness, and
managing conflict, as well as dimensions of transformational leadership.
Importantly, these findings add to the
growing body of literature that suggests
emotional intelligence may be a new
and independent area of individual difference that may predict sets of project
manager behaviors that are increasingly
recognized to be associated with successful outcomes in projects.
Previous Findings Examining
Emotional Intelligence in
Projects
Five studies have appeared in the literature specifically investigating emotional
intelligence in project contexts. Four
of these examined the relationship
between emotional intelligence and
leadership in projects. Leban and Zulauf
(2004) conducted a study of 24 project
managers from six different organizations drawn from a wide range of industries. Data on the project manager’s
leadership style was obtained from
team members and stakeholders, while
the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso-Emotional
Intelligence Ability Test (MSCEIT)
(Mayer & Salovey, 1997) was used to
assess the emotional intelligence of
project managers. Overall emotional
intelligence scores and the ability to
understand emotions were found to be
significantly related with the inspirational motivation dimension of transformational leadership.
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Butler and Chinowsky (2006) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership
among senior-level (vice president or
above) construction executives; however, this study used Bar-On’s (1997)
model of emotional intelligence, the
EQ-I. This is a multifactorial model of
emotional, personal, and social abilities that includes the five EI domains of
interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills,
adaptability, stress management, and
general mood. Collecting data from 130
executives, they found a significant
relationship between the total EQ-I
score and transformational leadership.
Of significance, this accounted for 34%
of the variance of transformational
leadership behavior. Of all of the emotional intelligence dimensions that they
examined, interpersonal skills were
found to be the most significant.
Muller and Turner (2007) sought to
determine whether different types of
leadership were more important
depending upon the type of project. In
a survey of 400 project management
professionals, they identified which
sorts of leadership competences were
associated with success in different
project types. Their overall results point
to the variegated nature of leadership
and how different sets of competences
are appropriate for leadership in projects depending upon its degree of complexity (high, medium, or low), and the
application area (e.g., engineering and
construction, information systems,
business). However, here they used a
further model of emotional intelligence
to underpin their study, drawing upon
Dulewicz and Higgs’ (2003) 15 leadership competences. Within this EI
model, 15 leadership competences are
identified. Seven of these competences
are categorized as emotional leadership competences that encompass
(1) motivation, (2) conscientiousness,
(3) sensitivity, (4) influence, (5) selfawareness, (6) emotional resilience,
and (7) intuitiveness. Among their
results, they found that the leadership
competences of emotional resilience
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and communication accounted for the
most success in projects of medium
complexity, while the emotional competency of sensitivity was found to be
most important for high-complexity
projects. Different competences were
also found to be associated with greater
success, depending upon the application area in which the project was
based.
Finally, Sunindijo et al. (2007) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence competences and
leadership styles in 54 projects based in
Bangkok, Thailand. They identified 13
leadership behaviors from the literature and collected usable data on four
dimensions of emotional intelligence
from 30 project managers and engineers (PMEs). They also collected data
on their leadership behaviors from
their supervisors. This time they used a
fourth differing model of emotional
intelligence to underpin their study, an
instrument they obtained commercially that they suggest was based on
Goleman’s (1995) EI competency
model. Their results showed that those
PMEs with higher EI mean scores
demonstrated a greater frequency in
the use of key leadership behaviors
compared to PMEs with low EI scores.
This included behaviors such as stimulating, rewarding, delegating, leading
by example, open communication, listening, participating, and proactive
behavior. However, it is important to
note that statistically significant differences were found only for the leadership behaviors of open communication
and proactive behavior, and these were
both at the 10% level of significance.
The final study focused instead on
examining relationships between emotional intelligence and project management competences. Mount (2006) presented results from a study that was
designed to identify the job competences that were associated with superior performance in a major international
petroleum corporation. Using a range of
data-collection techniques including
focus groups, interviews, and surveys,
as well as data from critical incidents,
data was collected on job roles performed by, among other staff groups, 74
asset construction project managers.
The roles these project managers occupied was under transition, moving from
a traditional engineering role to one
that was more strategically aligned to
individual business units. Using
Goleman’s (1995) set of emotional competences, they found that seven emotional
competences (influence, self-confidence,
teamwork, organizational awareness,
adaptability, empathy, and achievement
motivation) accounted for 69% of the
skill set that these project managers
considered most significant for their
success on projects.
Together these studies suggest a significant role for emotional intelligence in
terms of underpinning both leadership
and important project manager behaviors. However, these studies suffer from a
number of limitations. The first of these
relates to criticisms associated with the
validity of the particular EI measures
used. Two studies used either Goleman’s
(1995) and Bar-On’s (1997) measures of
emotional intelligence. These contain a
number of dimensions (such as achievement motivation and organizational
awareness in relation to the former,
and assertiveness, stress management, and
general mood in relation to the latter)
that have been argued as technically not
falling within the EI domain. The use of
such measures to capture emotional
intelligence has led a number of authors
to raise serious doubts as to whether
these conceptualizations and measures
of EI are able to offer anything new over
other existing measures already well
known in the literature (Conte, 2005).
Instead, the ability model of emotional
intelligence and its associated measure
has received far greater support as offering
a more valid and conceptually distinct
approach to considering the EI construct
(Brackett & Mayer, 2003; O’Connor &
Little, 2003). Studies using this measure
of EI within the project management
field may therefore be able to more clearly delineate the specific contribution that
emotional intelligence may make in
actually explaining key project manager
behaviors.
Focus of the Current Study
This study builds on the current literature in two major ways. First, it investigates whether emotional intelligence is
associated with a number of behaviors
posited as key for successfully working
in project contexts. Druskat and
Druskat (2006) have previously suggested that the specific characteristics
of projects are unique from other forms
of work organization that place an
additional premium on the importance
of emotional intelligence. They identified four specific characteristics alongside specific project manager behaviors
that are necessary for successful project
management. However, much of this
has yet to receive any empirical support
based upon research in projects.
Second, the study examines the relationship between emotional intelligence
and the project manager’s transformational leadership style through using an
ability-based model of emotional intelligence and importantly controls for
both cognitive ability and personality.
Five specific hypotheses were tested in
the study. Each of these and their
rationale are as follows.
Teamwork skills have been identified in a number of studies as among
the “critical success factors” of projects
(Rudolph, Wagner, & Fawcett, 2008;
Tisher, Dvir, Shenhar, & Lipovetsky,
1996). Many authors have suggested
that emotional intelligence is either
responsible for or underpins an individual’s ability to engage in social interactions (Caruso & Wolfe, 2001; Lopes,
Salovey, & Strauss, 2003) such that it
may well be an underlying construct of
social skills (Fox & Spector, 2000).
Supporting this proposition have been
a number of studies that have demonstrated significant relationships between
EI measures and a range of social interaction indices, including more positive
social interactions with peers and
friends (Brackett, Mayer, & Warner,
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
2004). Individuals scoring higher on
emotional ability (e.g., managing emotions) have reported more satisfying
interpersonal relationships [Lopes et
al., 2003; Lopes et al., 2004]). Elsewhere,
research examining emotional intelligence within a team context has found
positive relationships between EI and a
propensity for teamwork (Ilarda &
Findlay, 2006). This therefore leads to
the first hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Emotional intelligence abilities and empathy will be
positively associated with the project management competence of
teamwork.
Differences in individuals’ emotional skills have long been suggested
as accounting for variations in the extent
to which they are able to decode nonverbal and emotional communication
(Hall & Bernieri, 2001). Both emotional
intelligence abilities and empathy have
been identified as underpinning
more effective communication (Riggio,
Riggio, Salinas, & Cole, 2003).
Previously, Sunindijo et al. (2007) found
a positive relationship between emotional intelligence competences and
project manager competences that
included communication. This gives
rise to the second hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Emotional intelligence abilities and empathy will be
positively associated with the project management competence of
communication.
Addressing the individual needs and
concerns of team members and involving them in decisions have long been
recognized as important behaviors
associated with effective leadership of
teams (Fleishman, 1974). These attentiveness behaviors have been identified
as important for relationship building,
social integration, enhancing group
identification, and developing commitment and trust, all seen as key elements
associated with the effectiveness of
teams (Bishop & Scott, 2000). More
recently, these behavioral dimensions
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of project managers have also been suggested to be important to success in
projects (Dvir, Ben-David, Sadeh, &
Shenhar, 2006; Taborda, 2000). These
attentiveness behaviors are likely to
assist project managers in building
high-quality interpersonal relationships
within short periods of time important
given the unique and temporary nature
of projects (Druskat & Druskat, 2006).
Emotional sensitivity and emotional
expression are key aspects associated
with emotional intelligence and empathy that have been suggested to be associated with performing attentiveness
behaviors (Rapisarda, 2002; Riggio &
Reichard, 2008). This gives rise to the
third hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Emotional intelligence abilities and empathy will be
positively associated with the project management competence of
attentiveness.
Relationship conflict between partners and members has often been cited
as a major factor undermining effectiveness or contributing to failure in
projects (Nordin, 2006; Terje &
Hakansson, 2003). Previous research
has found relationships between emotional intelligence and better conflict
management strategies in team settings
(Ayoko, Callan, & Hartel, 2008; Jordan &
Troth, 2004); however, these studies
used team-level measures. Rahim and
Psenicka (2002) reported findings
examining emotional intelligence and
conflict management strategies at the
individual level using Goleman’s model
(1995) of EI. They found that
self-awareness was associated with selfregulation and empathy. Empathy was
associated with Goleman’s motivation
measure, which in turn was positively
associated with more effective approaches to conflict management. A positive
relationship between self-regulation and
the use of positive approaches to managing conflict have also been found,
using a trait measure of EI (Kaushal &
Kwanters, 2006). This gives rise to the
fourth hypothesis:
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Hypothesis 4: Emotional intelligence abilities and empathy will be
positively associated with the project management competence of
conflict management.
Transformational leadership (Bass &
Avolio, 2000) comprises the four key
dimensions of (1) idealized influence,
(2) inspirational motivation, (3) intellectual stimulation, and (4) individualized
consideration. This type of leadership is
associated with higher levels of motivation in followers through activating
their higher-level needs and generating
a closer identification between leaders
and followers. A number of authors
have suggested that underpinning
transformational leadership is the
enhanced emotional attachment to the
leader (Ashkanasy & Tse, 2000;
Dulewicz & Higgs, 2003) that arises as a
result of leaders using emotional intelligence. Through accurately identifying
emotions in followers, leaders are able
to respond more effectively to their
needs. Through expressing emotions
effectively, leaders can generate compelling visions for followers and gain
greater goal acceptance (George, 2000).
The use of positive affect can also
influence followers’ mood states,
which in turn have an impact on different outcomes (Sy, Cote, & Saavedra,
2005). A number of studies previously
have found significant relationships
between emotional intelligence and
transformational leadership (Barling
et al., 2000; Downey, Papageorgiou, &
Stough, 2005; Mandell & Pherwani,
2003), as well as a number specifically
within project contexts (Butler &
Chinowsky, 2006; Leban & Zulauf,
2004). This gives rise to the fifth
hypothesis:
Hypothesis 5: Emotional intelligence abilities will be positively
associated with project management transformational leadership.
The Study and Method
Sixty-seven project managers were
recruited from two organizations based
in the United Kingdom and from the
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U.K. chapter of the Project Management Institute to take part in the study.
Both organizations were actively
engaged in projects as their major form
of work process. The first was a national arts organization involved in commissioning and developing projects
within the cultural sector. The second
was a national organization comprising
a number of divisions ranging from
construction to research and development to professional services, working
across a range of differing business sectors. The average age of participants
was 39.6 years (SD ⫽ 7.9), and ages
ranged from 23 to 58 years old.
Eighteen of these participants (27%)
were qualified in project management.
Participants identified their functional
areas as follows: general management
(20) (30%), marketing/sales (2) (3%),
HRM/training (3) (4.5%), finance (2)
(3%), R&D (2) (3%), technical (6) (9%),
and other (32) (47.5%). The relatively
large number of participants identifying “other” as a functional area can be
explained by the significant number of
participants working in specialist fields
in either education or the arts. All participants were asked to complete online
instruments to assess emotional intelligence, empathy, cognitive ability, personality, transformational leadership,
and project management competences
within a two-week period in 2008.
Measures
Independent Measures
Emotional Intelligence. Emotional
intelligence was measured using the
MSCEIT V2.0 available from MHS
assessments. The MSCEIT V2.0 consists
of 141 items divided into eight sections,
or tasks, that correspond with the four
branches or abilities of Mayer and
Salovey’s (1997) ability model of emotional intelligence: (1) perceiving emotions
(B1), (2) using emotions to facilitate
thinking (B2), (3) understanding emotions (B3), and (4) managing emotions
in oneself and others (B4). Reliabilities
for the scales have previously been
reported as 0.90, 0.76, 0.77, 0.81, and
0.91 for each of the four branch scales
and the full scale, respectively (Mayer,
Salovey, & Caruso, 2002). Reliabilities
obtained here for each of the four
branches were 0.88, 0.69, 0.90, and 0.55,
respectively, and 0.92 for the full scale
(total EI).
Empathy. Mehrabian and Epstein’s
(1972) used 33 items of emotional
empathy to assess empathetic tendency. Responses to each item are given on
a scale ranging from ⫹4 (very strong
agreement) to –4 (very strong disagreement). Reviews on 17 items are negatively scored in that the signs of a participant’s response on negative items
are changed. A total empathy score is
then obtained by summing all 33 items.
Sample items include (1) (⫹) It makes
me sad to see a lonely stranger in a
group and (24) (–) I am able to make
decisions without being influenced by
people’s feelings. The scale authors previously reported the split-half reliability
for the measure as 0.84. Here the
Spearman-Brown split-half coefficient
was found to be 0.82, suggesting good
reliability.
Dependent Measures
Project Manager Competences. An
instrument for measuring four project
management competences posited to
be associated with emotional intelligence was constructed. Each project
management competence contained
three or more behaviors within an overall scale. Participants were asked to rate
how well they performed each behavior
in the last project in which they were
involved. Each item was assessed using
a seven-point Likert scale ranging from
1 (not at all well) to 7 (very well). A score
for each competence was then obtained
by summing all relevant behavioral
items and obtaining the mean score for
each scale. Details of scale validation are
provided below. Sample items for each
of the four scales and reliability coefficients obtained are as follows:
A. Communication (alpha ⫽ 0.70):
Sample items include (1) understood
the communication from others
involved in the project and (2) maintained informal communication channels.
B. Teamwork (alpha ⫽ 0.78): Sample
items include (1) helped to build a positive attitude and optimism for success on
the project and (2) helped others to see
different points of view or perspectives.
C. Attentiveness (alpha ⫽ 0.68):
Sample items include (1) responded to
and acted upon expectations, concerns, and issues raised by others in the
project and (2) actively listened to other
project team members or stakeholders
involved in the project.
D. Managing conflict (alpha ⫽ 0.86):
Sample items include (1) helped to
solve relationship issues and problems
that emerged on the project and
(2) managed ambiguous situations satisfactorily while supporting the project’s goals. All scales were found to
have good reliabilities.
Project Managers’ Transformational
Leadership. The Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire Form 5X (MLQ-5X; Bass &
Avolio, 2000) was used to measure
transformational leadership behaviors.
All of the MLQ-5X responses are made
on a five-point scale ranging from 0 (not
at all) to 4 (frequently, if not always).
Transformational leadership is measured by four subscales: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized
consideration. Items from these subscales were summed, and then the
mean was used to provide a total score
for each scale. Previous research has
shown good reliability and validity of
the total scales and subscales, ranging
from 0.74 to 0.94 (Bass & Avolio, 2000).
Reliabilities for each of the subscales
obtained here were 0.68, 0.52, 0.85, and
0.55 for idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration,
respectively. Reliability for the overall
scale was 0.84.
Control Variables
Personality. Personality was assessed
using the Individual Perceptions
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
Inventory (IPI; Goldberg, 1999). This
consists of a 50-item questionnaire
designed to capture the personality
dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness. Previous studies
have shown the IPI to have strong convergent validity with other personality
measures such as the 16PF and the
NEO-PI (Goldberg, 1999). Scale reliabilities were found here to be: extraversion
(0.89), agreeableness (0.83), conscientiousness (0.78), emotional stability
(0.84), and openness (0.81).
General Mental Ability. General mental
ability (GMA) was measured using the
50-item Wonderlic Personnel Test
(WPT; Wonderlic & Associates, 1983).
Participants completed the timed test
online, and a single score is provided
indicative of an individual’s overall level
of GMA. Reported reliabilities for the
Wonderlic test range from 0.78 to 0.95
and has been shown to have good convergent validity with other measures of
intelligence such as the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Wonderlic &
Associates, 1983).
Project Management Qualification.
Previous certification in project management is likely to have familiarized
participants with those competences
that were being self-assessed in the
study and might therefore influence
more positive responses. Thus, in order
to control for the effects of familiarity
with project management competences, certification in project management was entered as a further control
variable. This was similarly entered as a
simple dichotomous coding, with 1 ⫽
certified in project management and
0 ⫽ not certified.
Procedure for Validation of Project
Manager Competence Scales
Druskat and Drukat (2006) put forward
arguments suggesting that the characteristics of projects placed particular
emphasis on project manager behaviors associated with communication,
teamwork, building interpersonal relationships (attentiveness), and managing
10
conflict. In order to ground behavioral
items associated with these competences within project management,
items were initially selected from
the Project Manager Competency
Development Framework (Project
Management Institute [PMI], 2008)
that appeared to correspond with
these four competences. Although
project type and characteristics are
acknowledged as perhaps placing
more emphasis on some competences
than on others, the competences identified within the framework are suggested to have a broad application.
The competency framework categorizes competences into two groups:
those pertaining to performance and
those pertaining to personal dimensions. Personal competences are those
identified as capturing the specific sets
of skills to “enable effective interaction
with others” (PMI, 2008, p. 23). These
are further arranged into six unit areas
(communicating, leading, managing,
cognitive ability, effectiveness, and
professionalism) containing 25 elements overall.
The first stage thus involved selecting items for inclusion in each of the
four competence areas from the complete range of behaviors identified in
the framework, which on face content
appeared to be associated with the four
project manager competences that are
the focus of the study. This resulted in
24 project management behaviors that
were grouped into the four project
manager competence domains. These
are shown in Table 1, mapped against
the specific PMI competence elements
listed in the PMI framework. Face validity of these items was then further
investigated with a small group of six
project managers not participating in
the research. This resulted in all 24
items being retained for each of the
competences as follows: communication (four items), teamwork (seven
items), attentiveness (five items), and
managing conflict (eight items).
All 24 items were then organized
into an instrument that formed part of a
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larger questionnaire that participants
completed
online.
Participants’
responses were subject to an exploratory factor analysis using principal components with a varimax rotation. The
rotation converged in 15 iterations,
resulting in a six-factor solution,
accounting for 36.4%, 9.6%, 7.5%, 5.6%,
4.6%, and 4.5% of the variance, all with
eigenvalues greater than 1. The factor
loadings are presented in Table 2. Items
were retained for factors where weights
were greater than 0.40, where there was
no cross loading, and where items
appeared theoretically consistent.
Nearly all items retained on scales were
consistent with those initially identified
through face validity. The major exceptions were the teamwork scale, where
only one item was retained from those
initially posited, and with two further
items loading, which were drawn from
the attentiveness and managing conflict
behavioral domains. These three items
were seen as having theoretical integrity
when compared to the literature relating to effective teamwork behaviors and
therefore were retained (Cohen & Bailey,
1997; Marks, Mathieu, & Zaccaro, 2001;
Rickards, Chen, & Moger, 2001; Salas,
Sims, & Burke, 2005).
Data Analyses
All statistical analyses were conducted
using SPSS 15. Initial tests began by
performing bivariate correlations in
order to explore initial relationships
between variables measured in the
study. This was then followed by conducting a series of regressions analyses
where each of the four project manager
competences was regressed in turn
against emotional intelligence measures and empathy. The next set of
analyses followed the same procedure
as before but regressing each of the four
dimensions of transformational leadership. Both investigations were undertaken by entering IQ, personality measures,
and certification as control variables in
the first step, followed by the four EI
branch scores, total EI score, and empathy in the second step.
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PMCD Framework
Element
Project Manager Competences
Communication
1. Understood the communication from others involved in the project?
2. Maintained formal communication channels?
3. Maintained informal communication channels?
4. Communicated appropriately with different audiences?
6.1
6.2
6.2
6.4
Teamwork
5. Encouraged teamwork consistently?
6. Shared your knowledge and expertise with others involved in on the project?
7. Maintained good working relationships with others involved on the project?
8. Worked with others to clearly identify project scope, roles, expectations, and tasks specifications?
9. Built trust and confidence with both stakeholders and others involved on the project?
10. Helped to create an environment of openness and consideration on the project?
11. Helped to create an environment of confidence and respect for individual differences?
8.1
8.1
8.1
8.2
11.4
11.4
11.4
Attentiveness
12. Responded to and acted upon expectations, concerns, and issues raised by others in the project?
13. Actively listened to other project team members or stakeholders involved in the project?
14. Expressed positive expectations of others involved on the project?
15. Helped to build a positive attitude and optimism for success on the project?
16. Engaged stakeholders involved in the project?
6.1
6.1
7.3
7.3
10.2
Managing Conflict
17. Helped others to see different points of view or perspectives?
18. Recognized conflict?
19. Resolved conflict?
20. Worked effectively with the organizational politics associated with the project?
21. Helped to solve relationship issues and problems that emerged on the project?
22. Attempted to build consensus in the best interests of the project?
23. Managed ambiguous situations satisfactorily while supporting the project’s goals?
24. Maintained self-control and responded calmly and appropriately in all situations?
8.3
8.3
8.3
9.1
10.1
10.2
10.3
11.3
Table 1: Grouping PMI project management competence elements into key project management competence measures.
Results
Correlational analyses were used as an
initial examination of relationships
between the variables studied. Table 3
summarizes the means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations among all
the variables used in the study. Total EI
was significantly correlated with all four
of its constituent branches: perceiving
emotions (r ⫽ 0.82, p ⬍ 0.01), using
emotions to facilitate thinking (r ⫽ 0.81,
p ⬍ 0.01), understanding emotions (r ⫽
0.52, p ⬍ 0.01), and managing emotions
(r ⫽ 0.59, p ⬍ 0.01). The significant correlations found are to be expected if
these individual branches are part of a
much wider overall construct of emotional intelligence. A number of significant
correlations were found between EI
measures and the dependent measures
examined in the study. Branch 2 (using
emotions to facilitate thinking), Branch
3 (understanding emotions), and the
overall EI score were all found to positively correlate with the project manager competence of managing conflict (r
⫽ 0.27, p ⬍ 0.05), (r ⫽ 0.31, p ⬍ 0.05),
and (r ⫽ 0.30, p ⬍ 0.05), respectively.
Both the abilities of using emotions and
of understanding emotions also positively correlated with the project manager competence of teamwork (r ⫽ 0.29,
p ⬍ 0.05) and (r ⫽ 0.31, p ⬍ 0.05). Using
emotions to facilitate thinking was the
only EI ability found to have any significant correlations with transformational
leadership, and this was in relation to
the two dimensions of idealized influence (r ⫽ 0.26, p ⬍ 0.05) and individualized consideration (r ⫽ 0.27,
p ⬍ 0.05). Both total EI and branch
scores showed minor correlations with
personality measures, offering further
support for the predominantly independent nature of these two aspects of
individual difference.
Results of the first set of hierarchical
regressions are shown in Table 4. The
emotional intelligence ability, using
emotions to facilitate thinking, was
found to be significantly associated
with the project manager competence
of teamwork (b ⫽ 0.28, p ⬍ 0.05, ⌬R2 ⫽
0.07). The two personality dimensions
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
Factor 1:
Managing
Conflict
Factor 2:
Communication
Factor 3:
Teamwork
Factor 4:
Attentiveness
Factor 5
Comm 1
–0.01
0.57
0.03
0.30
0.25
–0.31
Comm 2
0.03
–0.02
0.14
0.87
–0.16
–0.03
Comm 3
0.11
0.58
0.16
0.26
0.27
0.09
Comm 4
0.16
0.58
0.14
0.33
0.17
0.07
Team 5
0.37
–0.04
0.75
0.14
0.02
0.04
Team 6
0.77
0.16
0.20
0.08
–0.02
–0.06
Team 7
0.14
0.38
0.12
0.45
0.42
–0.13
Team 8
0.00
0.12
0.48
0.45
0.32
0.16
Team 9
0.28
0.49
0.20
0.36
0.20
0.00
Team 10
0.35
0.02
0.44
0.29
0.48
0.16
Team 11
0.30
0.26
0.23
–0.08
0.72
0.16
Atten 12
0.28
0.17
0.38
0.49
0.10
–0.33
Atten 13
0.14
0.37
0.20
0.52
0.13
–0.43
Atten 14
0.04
0.61
0.57
0.05
0.21
0.02
Atten 15
0.15
0.22
0.66
0.14
0.17
0.36
Atten 16
0.10
0.16
0.04
0.70
0.08
0.18
Conflict 17
0.38
0.20
0.74
0.13
0.16
–0.17
Conflict 18
0.41
0.67
–0.21
–0.01
–0.09
0.20
Conflict 19
0.77
0.17
0.14
0.10
0.16
–0.02
Conflict 20
0.16
0.12
0.21
0.16
0.22
0.72
Conflict 21
0.73
0.22
0.11
0.16
0.37
0.18
Conflict 22
0.65
0.26
0.12
0.14
0.41
0.04
Conflict 23
0.69
0.07
0.33
–0.03
0.16
0.14
Conflict 24
0.19
0.09
0.09
0.04
0.82
0.02
Competence
Factor 6
Table 2: Varimax-rotated loadings on a six-factor solution of project manager competences (N ⫽ 67).
of openness and emotional stability
together accounted for 13% in the variation of this competence, with this EI
ability explaining a further 7%. Partial
support was therefore found for
Hypothesis 1. None of the relationships
with EI measures or empathy with the
project manager competence of communication was found to be significant
(F (6.61) ⫽ 0.85, p ⬎ ns), providing no
12
support for Hypothesis 2. Empathy was
found to be significantly associated
with the project manager competence
of attentiveness (b ⫽ 0.28, p ⬍ 0.05).
However, no significant relationships
were found between this project manager competence and any of the EI
measures. Partial support was therefore
found for Hypothesis 3. Of note, neither
cognitive ability nor personality were
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
found to be associated with this competence, with empathy alone accounting for 7% variation in this competence.
The overall EI score was also found to
be significantly associated with the
project manager competence of managing conflict (b ⫽ 0.26, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽
0.06). Partial support was therefore
found for Hypothesis 4. Finally, the
emotional ability, using emotions to
–0.14
0.40**
0.05
41.03 (5.08)
4. Conscientiousness 36.97 (6.09)
5. Emotional Stability 33.78 (7.15)
30.87 (4.50)
94.54 (17.72)
95.52 (14.88)
98.05 (8.85)
94.48 (7.48)
94.52 (12.49)
31.33 (22.15) –0.07
5.43 (0.82)
5.55 (0.68)
5.59 (0.65)
5.30 (0.78)
2.79 (0.48)
2.55 (0.54)
2.40 (0.71)
2.80 (0.59)
3. Agreeableness
6. Openness
7. Perceiving
Emotions
8. Using Emotions
9. Understanding
Emotions
10. Managing
Emotions
11. Total EI
12. Empathy
13. Teamwork
14. Communication
15. Attentiveness
16. Managing
Conflict
17. Influence
18. Motivation
19. Stimulation
20. Consideration
Table 3: Intercorrelations between all variables.
*p ⬍ 0.05. **p ⬍ 0.01.
0.11
–0.02
0.17
0.12
0.06
0.13
–0.07
0.07
0.26*
0.09
0.12
0.24
0.06
–0.05
0.39**
0.24
0.34**
0.29*
0.38**
0.26*
0.10
0.04
0.23
0.10
–0.07
–0.04
–0.08
0.03
–0.07
0.07
4
0.27*
0.29*
0.08
0.30*
0.24
0.23
0.20
0.22
0.16
0.59**
0.25*
0.21
0.01
0.33**
0.14
0.18
0.25*
0.02
0.11
0.23
0.11
0.20
0.12
0.17
0.05
0.24
0.33**
0.01
0.06
0.24
0.32** –0.03
–0.09
0.12
3
0.33**
0.12
0.44**
0.20
0.25*
0.36**
0.13
0.18
0.27*
–0.28*
0.03
0.09
0.12
–0.03
–0.00
–0.02
5
0.16
0.16
0.07
0.13
0.08
0.16
0.52**
0.03
0.05
0.51** –0.07
0.46**
0.42**
0.42**
8
0.16
0.27*
–0.04
0.08
0.26*
0.27*
0.21
0.21
0.29*
0.24*
0.82** 0.81**
0.28*
0.22
0.51**
7
0.46** –0.02
0.20
0.43**
0.13
0.12
0.28*
0.00
0.06
0.09
0.11
0.11
–0.02
6
10
0.21
0.09
0.08
0.07
0.05
–0.03
0.11
0.12
0.21
0.19
0.17
0.13
0.19
0.31* 0.21
0.16
0.11
0.31* 0.14
0.21
0.52** 0.59**
0.14
9
0.07
0.07
0.59**
0.46**
0.58**
0.12 –0.07
0.16 –0.06
0.60**
0.42**
15
16
17
0.17
0.07
0.22
0.17
0.05
18
19
20
0.62** 0.71** 0.85** 0.83** 0.80**
0.45** 0.47** 0.54** 0.53**
0.53** 0.37** 0.65**
0.26* 0.28* 0.53** 0.55**
0.33** 0.27* 0.49**
0.41** 0.40**
0.61**
14
–0.02 –0.25* 0.46** –0.03
0.07
0.23
0.36**
13
0.28* 0.46**
0.20
0.10
12
0.30* –0.04
0.17
0.18
0.25*
0.28*
11
12:21 PM
0.17
0.04
–0.08
0.23
2
3/12/10
21. Transformational
–0.07
33.54 (7.47)
2. Extraversion
–0.10
118.85 (9.55)
1. GMA
1
Mean (SD)
Variables
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
Teamwork
B
Step 1
Certification
GMA
Extraversion
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Emotional Stability
Openness
R2
⌬R 2
Communication
F
0.01
0.24
0.16
0.18
0.08
0.29* 0.13 0.05
0.26* 0.07 0.07
B
R2
⌬R 2
0.00
0.08
0.00
0.14
0.12
0.26
0.10
Step 2
Perceiving (B1)
–0.07
0.42
Using (B2)
0.28* 0.20 0.07 6.33** 0.43
Understanding (B3) 0.16
0.17
Managing (B4)
–0.03
0.16
Total EI
–0.01
–0.75
Empathy
0.13
0.17
Attentiveness
B
F
R2
–0.12
0.06
0.08
0.18
0.05
0.23
0.23
0.03
0.16
0.10
0.04
0.10
0.85 n.s. 0.28* 0.07
⌬R 2
Managing Conflict
F
B
R2
⌬R 2
F
0.22
–0.06
0.21
0.07
0.16
0.37* 0.30 0.12
0.43** 0.18 0.18
–0.14
0.09
0.12
–0.02
0.26** 0.36 0.06
5.62* –0.02
13.41**
Note. Standardized regression coefficients are from the full model. R 2 is adjusted.
*p ⬍ 0.05. **p ⬍ 0.01.
Table 4: Results of hierarchical regression analysis of project competences (N ⫽ 67).
facilitate thinking, was found to be significantly associated with the transformational leadership dimensions of idealized influence (b ⫽ 0.23, p ⬍ 0.05,
⌬R2 ⫽ 0.04) and individualized consideration (b ⫽ 0.26, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.06)
(see Table 5). Partial support was therefore found for Hypothesis 5.
Significantly, the personality dimensions of emotional stability (b ⫽ 0.31,
p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.08) and openness
(b ⫽ 0.26, p ⬍ 0.05, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.06) were
also found to be positively associated
with teamwork and with managing
conflict (emotional stability: [b ⫽ 0.27,
p ⬍ 0.05, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.15]; openness
[b ⫽ 0.38, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.08]. In addition, personality attributes were also
found to be significantly associated
with all four transformational leadership dimensions. Four out of the five
measures of personality were found to
be associated with the overall transformational leadership scale: openness (b ⫽
0 .48, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.26), emotional
stability (b ⫽ 0.31, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.10),
extraversion (b ⫽ 0.31, p ⬍ 0.01, ⌬R2 ⫽
0.08), and conscientiousness (b ⫽ 0.20,
p ⬍ 0.05, ⌬R2 ⫽ 0.03). Together, personality
14
characteristics were found to account
for 26% variation in the measure of
overall transformational leadership
behavior.
Discussion
The results from this study take forward
our understanding of the role that emotional intelligence may play in projects
in two major ways. The first concerns
demonstrating relationships between
emotional intelligence abilities and
project manager competences that
have been suggested as important for
successful outcomes in projects. Both
the emotional intelligence ability, using
emotions to facilitate thinking, and an
overall measure of EI ability were found
to be associated with the project manager competences of teamwork and
managing conflict, respectively. Druskat
and Druskat (2006) suggested that emotional intelligence is likely to underpin
behaviors associated with these competences. This study is the first to offer
some empirical support for this proposition. Of importance, both of these
measures of emotional intelligence
were found to provide additional
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
explanatory power in these competences
after controlling for both cognitive ability and personality. These findings are
also in broad support of previous findings in the literature that have found
significant relationships using ability
conceptualizations of emotional intelligence and the use of better conflict
management strategies ( Jordan &
Troth, 2004), as well as the limited studies that have investigated their relationships with key behaviors associated
with teamwork (Ilarda & Findlay, 2006).
The finding obtained here that cognitive ability was not associated with
either of these two project manager
competences would also seem to offer
some support for the view that cognitive ability plays a far more limited role
in these particular relationship management behaviors.
The study also found a significant
positive relationship between empathy
and the project manager competence
of attentiveness. This competence captures key behaviors associated with
engaging with project members in order
to build strong relationships, responding to their concerns, and building
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Idealized Influence
R2
B
Step 1
Certification
GMA
Extraversion
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Emotional Stability
Openness
0.02
0.09
0.39**
0.25*
0.05
0.22
0.12
0.13
0.19
Step 2
Perceiving (B1)
0.02
Using (B2)
0.23*
Understanding (B3) 0.06
Managing (B4)
0.03
Total EI
0.04
Empathy
–0.04
0.23
⌬R 2
Inspirational Motivation
B
F
⫺0.03
0.23
0.22*
0.14
0.14
0.19
0.42***
0.13
0.06
0.04
R2
⌬R 2
0.23
0.03
0.20
0.20
Intellectual Stimulation
F
B
11.03***
0.05
–0.01
0.24**
0.02
–0.10
0.44***
0.48***
0.01
0.04
0.08
0.10
0.06
0.05
7.62***
Step 1
Certification
GMA
Extraversion
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Emotional Stability
Openness
0.03
–0.04
0.18
0.27*
0.12
0.11
0.47***
Step 2
Perceiving (B1)
Using (B2)
Understanding (B3)
Managing (B4)
Total EI
Empathy
0.51
0.79*
0.19
0.30
–1.24
–0.10
⌬R 2
R2
0.26
0.06
0.20
0.20
0.30
0.04
⌬R 2
0.48
0.04
0.44
0.24
0.20
0.24
F
21.69**
–0.05
–0.09
–0.12
0.09
–0.05
–0.17
Individualized
Consideration
B
R2
Transformational
Leadership
F
B
0.03
–0.01
0.31**
0.20*
0.06
0.31**
0.48**
4.50**
R2
⌬R 2
F
0.44
0.47
0.08
0.03
15.71**
0.36
0.26
0.10
0.26
0.01
0.10
0.00
0.09
0.06
–0.03
Note. Standardized regression coefficients are from the full model. R 2 is adjusted.
*p ⬍ 0.05. **p ⬍ 0.01. ***p ⬍ 0.001.
Table 5: Results of hierarchical regression analysis of transformational leadership (N ⫽ 67).
positive attitudes for project success.
More recently, it has also been linked to
effective leader behaviors such as showing consideration and attentiveness to
the needs of followers (House &
Podsakoff, 1994; Yukl, 1998). Emotional
abilities such as perceiving and understanding emotions in others may also
underpin empathy (Ashkanasy & Tse,
2000). It may well be that the failure to
find any significant relationships
between emotional intelligence abilities
and this project manager competence is
due to the fact they are mediated by
empathy.
The second major contribution of
the study is that this is the first study to
show a relationship between emotional
intelligence abilities and transformational leadership, after controlling for
both cognitive ability and personality.
Here the emotional ability, using emotions to facilitate thinking, was found to
account for a further 4% in variation of
both the transformational leadership
dimensions of idealized influence and
individualized consideration after first
controlling for personality. However, it
should be borne in mind that, to date,
there have been mixed results regarding the significance of transformational
leadership within project contexts.
Keller (2006) studied 118 research and
development project teams from five
firms. He found transformational leadership predicted 1-year-later technical
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
quality, schedule performance, and
cost performance, and 5-years-later
profitability and speed to market. By
contrast, Keegan and Den Hartog
(2004), in their study of project managers who also had line-manager
responsibilities, found that transformational leadership correlated positively
with commitment and motivation in
the line team, but that there was no significant link within the project team.
They suggested that although the performance of these leadership behaviors
was the same in both contexts, their
effects appear to be diluted or have less
effect in project contexts. Similarly,
Strang (2005), in his case study of four
project leaders, found that project leadership did not always require strong
transformational leadership behavior
to produce effective outcomes. Osborn
and Marion’s (2009) study of transformational leadership in network
alliances also offers further support for
the notion that leadership within such
systems is about creating order from
chaos rather than focused on motivation. To the extent that some projects
may reflect contexts with greater uncertainty associated with “near-edge
chaos,” the importance of transformational leadership, and therefore its
association with emotional intelligence, may be of less significance.
Finally, the failure to find any significant relationships between any of the
independent variables and the project
manager competence of communication was surprising. The measure used
was found to have good reliability
(alpha ⫽ 0.70) and captured behaviors
associated with both informal communication and understanding communication from others involved in the project.
Emotional intelligence abilities are
believed to be associated with more
effective communication through emotional expressivity and in recognizing
the emotional content of others’ communication (emotional sensitivity)
(Riggio & Reichard, 2008). It may be
that the measure of project manager
competence utilized here is far too
16
broad in its domain to sufficiently capture the type of communication more
likely to be associated with either emotional intelligence or empathy.
A number of limitations are associated with the study that suggest exercising some caution in reaching any firm
conclusions at present. The most significant of these concerns the approach
used to measure both project manager
competences and transformational
leadership behaviors. This approach
relied on self-report ratings from those
taking part in the study. Subjective selfratings of performance have consistently been found to be more lenient
than those provided by observers
(Carless, Mann, & Wearing, 1998), and a
number of authors have urged caution
in relying on such measures within
organizational research (Schmidt &
Hunter, 1998). This has often resulted in
researchers using peer report measures,
believing that these offer improved
validity in performance measures.
However, recent research suggests that
the picture is somewhat more complicated. Recent research by Atkins and
Wood (2002) comparing self, peer, and
supervisor ratings of performance with
objective measures of performance in
an assessment center found that peer
and supervisor ratings of performance
were not always predictive of objective
performance measures. It is not at all
clear, then, that using aggregated peer
measures of either project manager
competence or transformational leadership behavior would necessarily have
offered more objective measures.
A further limitation of the study is
problems of validity due to common
method variance. However, following
recommendations
by
Podsakoff,
MacKenzie, Podsakoff, and Lee (2003),
a number of procedural strategies were
used to attempt to minimize these
effects. The first of these related to a
proximal separation of measures.
Measures were obtained from participants completing two tests and one
questionnaire. The two tests measured
EI and cognitive ability and presented
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
items in a format different than that of
the questionnaire. In addition, where
scales were used to assess differing
measures, these varied in length,
including 5-, 7-, and 9-point scales. A
psychological separation was also
made between these measures, in that
individuals had to log onto three different websites, with each individual having his or her own passcode, in order to
complete each measure. Instructions
given to respondents were to complete
each of the instruments at different sittings over the 2-week data-collection
period, thereby also providing a temporal separation between measures.
Assurances of confidentiality were also
made in order to reduce problems associated with social desirability in
answering. It should also be borne in
mind that the study only used crosssectional data to analyze relationships
between emotional intelligence and
dependent measures, thus precluding
any definitive statements relating to
causality.
Relatively low reliabilities were also
found for a number of scales used in
the study. A reliability coefficient of
only 0.55 was obtained for the managing emotions ability branch of EI. This
is lower than has been reported in previous studies and suggests that there
were problems encountered here with
the validity of this measure. Previously
Clarke (2006) has raised concerns
specifically regarding the use of a test to
satisfactorily capture an ability such as
managing emotions, where strategies
used are so varied and dependent on
context. This may represent a wider
problem with the measure itself or
related to the particular sample. The
low reliability may then have accounted for the failure to detect any significant relationships with this particular
branch of EI. In addition, the two measures of transformational leadership
dimensions representing inspirational
motivation and individualized consideration similarly were found to have
low reliabilities of 0.52 and 0.55, respectively. The use of self-report measures
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may well account for these low reliabilities. However, it does suggest that the
significant relationship found between
the emotional ability, using emotions to
facilitate thinking, and individualized
consideration should be treated as tentative at this stage.
Finally, the relatively modest sample size of 67 should also be noted. This
may have increased the risk of statistical Type I errors where results are found
to be significant. The population upon
which this study is based was drawn
from two organizations involved in arts,
education, research and development,
and construction, as well as a small
number from the U.K. chapter of the
Project Management Institute predominantly involved in consultancy and
professional services. These arguably
represent a far more diverse project
management base than has been traditionally studied. In addition, just over a
quarter of these (27%) were certified in
project management. The extent to
which the results found here are able
to generalize beyond this particular
sample to project managers more widely operating in traditional project management industries and sectors is
therefore unknown.
Conclusions and Practical
Implications
Emotional intelligence has been suggested to be particularly important in
projects due to the nature of this form
of work organization. This places specific emphasis on project manager
behaviors associated with communication, teamwork, attentiveness, and
managing conflict and their importance to successful project outcomes.
This is the first study to use the ability
measure of EI and examine its relationship with specific behaviors associated
with project manager competence in
these areas. Both the emotional intelligence ability, using emotions to facilitate thinking, and participants’ overall
EI scores were found to be significantly
associated with the competences of
teamwork and managing conflict,
respectively. Project managers’ empathy was also found to be significantly
associated with the competence of
attentiveness. In addition, the emotional intelligence ability, using emotions to
facilitate thinking, was also found to be
significantly associated with the transformational leadership dimensions of
idealized influence and individualized
consideration. The results suggest that
emotional intelligence abilities and
empathy offer a means to further
explain aspects of individual differences between project managers that
can influence their performance in
projects.
These findings do need to be placed
in context given that in both instances,
personality was found to account for far
greater variation in both teamwork
(13%) and managing conflict (20%).
Personality differences would therefore
seem to be far greater predictors for
these two competences. It would seem
logical to conclude that, certainly in
terms of implications for selecting project managers to perform in projects
where these competences are a premium, agencies or organizations would do
better to screen based on personality
differences in the first instance, with
emotional intelligence providing a subsidiary mechanism.
However, this is of little help to
those organizations considering how
best to improve the performance of
project managers in these competence
areas, given that personality is a
relatively stable set of individual characteristics. Instead, the finding that
emotional intelligence does contribute
to both these competence areas does
suggest potential avenues for organizations to consider in terms of improving
the emotional intelligence of project
managers. This is especially true given
arguments that these emotional intelligence abilities may be susceptible to
development through organizationally
sponsored interventions (Clarke, 2006;
Moriarty & Buckley, 2003).
The study’s findings are promising,
but future research could improve on the
current study in a number of ways. First,
more objective means for measuring the
project manager competences of teamwork, attentiveness, and conflict management would be preferable. Previous
studies in conflict management, for
example, have assessed this competence
through videotaped performance simulations that could be adapted for project
management contexts (Webster-Stratton
& Hammond, 1999). Similarly, in relation
to transformational leadership, the use
of ratings from others involved in a project, combined with supervisory ratings,
might offer an advance on the methodology employed here.
Next, although it is intuitive to consider that differences in emotional
abilities may account for variations in
particular project manager competences, it is possible that proficiency in
such competences could lead to the
enhancement of these emotional intelligence abilities. Future studies that
employ a longitudinal design may
therefore reveal insights into the direction of causality here. Future studies
should also seek to identify whether
the significant relationships found
here can be replicated using much
larger populations.
There is also a need to identify more
clearly the extent to which these project
manager competences that are thought
to be associated with emotional intelligence abilities actually account for
variations in project outcomes. This
should involve researchers specifying a
priori which specific project manager
competences or behaviors are likely
to be more important within differing
project contexts. A major area of research
here involves identifying how differences in managing change, complexity,
and ambiguity may be defining features
that affect the relative influence of
emotional intelligence. Given empirical
findings elsewhere suggesting that
emotional intelligence may differentiate how individuals manage change
(Groves, 2006) and theoretical propositions suggesting that emotional intelligence may influence how individuals
April 2010 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
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Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Transformational Leadership
respond to change (Huy, 2002), this is a
further area that would seem to warrant
future research.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to express gratitude to the Project Management Institute for funding this research. ■
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PAPERS
Rallying the Troops or Beating the
Horses? How Project-Related Demands
Can Lead to Either High-Performance or
Abusive Supervision
Erin C. Gallagher, PhD, The University of Queensland, UQ Business School, Brisbane,
QLD 4072, Australia
Alicia K. Mazur, PhD, Queensland University of Technology, QUT Business School, Brisbane,
QLD 4000, Australia
Neal M. Ashkanasy, PhD, The University of Queensland, UQ Business School, Brisbane, QLD
4072, Australia
ABSTRACT ■
In today’s high-pressure work environment,
project managers are often forced to “do
more with less.” We argue that this imperative can lead project managers to engage in
either high-performance or abusive supervision behaviors. To understand this process,
we develop a model and associated propositions linking a project manager’s cognitive appraisal of project-related demands
to high-performance work practices versus
abusive supervision behaviors—both of
which impact three project outcomes: stakeholder relationships, people-related project
success factors, and employee well-being.
We propose that the choice between highperformance work practices and abusive
supervision behaviors is moderated by a
project manager’s personal resources (psychological capital, emotional intelligence,
and dark triad personality).
KEYWORDS: high-performance work
practices; abusive supervision; stressor–
strain model; psychological capital; emotional intelligence; dark triad personality;
project manager
Project Management Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3, 10–24
© 2015 by the Project Management Institute
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/pmj.21500
10
June/July 2015
I
n today’s economic environment, and particularly since the 2009 global
financial crisis, employers have been under pressure to cut costs; traditionally, staff reductions have been the strategy of first resort to achieving
such cuts (Parker, Chmiel, & Wall, 1997). In the Australian context, since
2009 for example, there have been large-scale staff reductions in the private
(Holden, Scuffham, Hilton, Vecchio, & Whiteford, 2010) and public (McKenna,
2012) sectors, resulting in plummeting morale, as employees struggle to complete additional work with less staff (Wiltshire, 2012). Following such cuts,
“survivors” are inevitably placed under increasing pressure to “do more with
less” (e.g., see Unikel, 2013)—often working longer hours (Holden et al.,
2010). Moreover, survivors’ supervisors are under increased pressure to maintain or increase productivity (Carter et al., 2011). This increased pressure to
perform can result in supervisors engaging in over-zealous supervision practices that can be interpreted by employees as abusive. In this article, we focus
on how supervisors deal with such situations within the specific context of
project-oriented organizations.
Although emerging research is providing insight about the overall negative consequences of abusive supervision, less is known about the negative
consequences of abusive supervision within a project management environment. In this regard, Kerzner (2013) defines project management as use of
company resources to achieve an objective within a set timeframe and budget. Moreover, and as Jugdev and Müller (2005) point out, an organization’s
reliance on a project approach to achieving objectives generally requires
sustained project success. Thus, as put by Huemann, Keegan, and Turner
(2007, p. 317), an “ideal project-oriented company has a specific management
culture expressed in the empowerment of employees, process orientation and
teamwork, continuous and discontinuous organizational change, customer
orientation, and networking with clients and suppliers.” Given the nature of
projects as transient, complex, and continuously evolving, however, this ideal
might be difficult to achieve because projects inevitably comprise numerous
job demands.
Demerouti and Bakker (2011, p. 2) define job demands as “physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of the job that require
sustained physical and/or psychological (cognitive and emotional) effort
or skills and are therefore associated with certain physiological and/or
■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
psychological costs.” Within the context of project-oriented organizations,
these job demands are likely to include
constant change, multiple concurrent
and sequential activities, numerous
stakeholders, constant deadlines, and
budgeting constraints (Leung, Chan,
& Dongyu, 2011). Demerouti and Bakker (2011, p. 2) have stated that, while
job demands are not necessarily negative in and of themselves, an individual
may perceive them as stressors when
“meeting those demands requires high
effort from which the employee fails to
recover adequately.”
In this article, therefore, our specific
objective is to explore how a project
manager’s cognitive appraisal of project-related demands might cause the
project manager (in the role of supervisor) to practice high performance
supervision1 (through engagement in
high-performance work practices) versus abusive supervision.2 We identify
project managers’ supervision (i.e.,
high-performance versus abusive) in
particular as having the potential to
impact project outcomes either positively or negatively. Consistent with this
objective, we seek to answer two questions: (1) When does a project manager’s
cognitive appraisal of project-related
demands result in high-performance
supervision and when does it result in
abusive supervision? (2) How do project managers’ high-performance versus
abusive supervision practices impact
key project outcomes such as stakeholder relationships, people-related
project success factors, and employee
well-being?
High-Performance Work
Practices
As noted in the introduction, today’s
managers often face the challenge of
1For the purpose of this article, we refer to “highperformance supervision” as supervision in which
the project manager engages in, or is perceived as
engaging in, high-performance work practices.
2We use the term “abusive supervision” to represent
all behaviors associated with abusive supervision
practices.
“doing more with less.” As a consequence, the way in which employees
are managed and treated to achieve
ambitious organizational goals and
objectives has become a frequently
discussed topic in organizational
research (Tamkin, 2004). Practices
that enhance employee engagement,
empowerment, productivity, and
effectiveness are collectively referred
to as high-performance work practices (HPWPs; see Combs, Liu, Hall,
& Ketchen, 2006; Kirkman, Lowe, &
Young, 1999). Becker and colleagues
(see Becker & Huselid, 1998; Becker,
Huselid, Pickus, & Spratt, 1997; see
also Way, 2002) note that outcomes of
HPWPs are intended to be increased
job satisfaction and motivation. In
turn, these attitudes are seen to result
in high-performance work organizations and the attainment of a sustainable strategic competitive advantage.
In this regard, Thompson (2000, as
cited in Tamkin, 2004) reduced over
thirty high-performance practices into
three clusters: (1) Opportunities for
engagement through high-involvement practices (e.g., participative decision making); (2) building employees’
knowledge, skills, and abilities and
motivation through human resource
practices (e.g., strategic recruitment
and selection); and (3) building trust,
loyalty, and organizational identity
through employee relations practices
(e.g., via formal grievance procedures).
Organizations and organizational
leaders empower employees to act and
to increase knowledge, skills, and attributes when they engage in these practices; HPWPs are meant to motivate
employees to work to their full potential with a high level of organizational
commitment (Combs et al., 2006; Sun,
Aryee, & Law, 2007). The success of
HPWPs is not a result of the combination of bundles of practices; rather, it is
the result of aligning different HPWPs
with each other and with the strategic goals of the organization (Timiyo,
2014) in conjunction with developing
strong internal organizational social
roles and sophisticated management
and leadership capabilities to promote information sharing, communication, and employee cooperation. As
such, HPWPs are intended to “rally the
troops” to enhance individual and organizational performance (Combs et al.,
2006; Evans & Davis, 2005).
Positive Project Manager Influence
In the specific context of project management, project managers who seek
to use HPWPs often face unique and
complex environments. Consequently,
requirements for successful project
management have garnered considerable attention in the project management research sphere. Most recently,
project management researchers have
given increased consideration to the
knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for success in the role of project
manager—shedding light on how project
managers’ competencies impact overall
project success (e.g., see Geoghegan &
Dulewicz, 2008; Keegan & Den Hartog,
2004; Mazur, Pisarski, Chang, & Ashkanasy, 2014; Müller & Turner, 2010).
Though differences vary as a function of project type (Müller & Turner,
2007), some knowledge, skills, and
abilities have emerged as especially
relevant to the success of all projects—
regardless of project type, complexity,
or size. These include implementation, participation, documentation,
development, maintenance of quality
assurance processes, project reviews,
critical thinking, communication, flexibility, and leadership (e.g., see the
O*NET® Content Model, http://www
. o n e t c e n t e r. o r g / c o n t e n t . h t m l ) .
Moreover, the competencies identified across all project management
domains (which are therefore seen
to be the most important for project managers to possess in relation
to project success) include: critical
thinking, vision and imagination,
self-awareness, sensitivity, influence,
motivation, and conscientiousness
(Geoghegan & Dulewicz, 2008; Müller
& Turner, 2010).
June/July 2015 ■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
11
PAPERS
Project-Related Demands
Negative Project Manager Influence
In this article, we focus in particular on
some of the murkier aspects of a project
manager’s role as a supervisor. In this
regard, and despite research into the
positive behaviors of leaders and their
effects on employee and organizational
performance, many researchers also
acknowledge the detrimental effects of
bad leaders and abusive supervision
behaviors (Schyns & Schilling, 2013;
Tepper, 2000). Tepper (2000, p. 178)
uses the term “abusive supervision” to
refer to “subordinates’ perceptions of
the extent to which their supervisors
engage in sustained display of hostile, verbal, and non-verbal behaviors
excluding physical contact.” Related
constructs include: bullying (Ferris,
Zinko, Brouer, Buckley, & Harvey, 2007),
petty tyranny (Ashforth, 1994), undermining (Duffy, Ganster, & Pagon, 2002),
aggression (Schat, Frone, & Kelloway,
2006), victimization (Aquino, 2000), and
negative mentoring (Eby, McManus,
Simon, & Russell, 2000).
Moreover, since the perceptual
basis of the person targeted by the
behaviors is perpetually biased (see
Martinko, Harvey, Sikora, & Douglas,
2011), abusive supervision behaviors
are often nonphysical and subjective.
More importantly, such practices are
systematic and repeated rather than a
once-off event or just someone “having a bad day at the office.” They can
consist of personal attacks (e.g., humiliation), task attacks (e.g., excessive
monitoring), or a combination (e.g., isolating an employee from colleagues; see
Rodwell, Brunetto, Demir, Shacklock,
& Farr-Wharton, 2014). Characteristics
of abusive supervision include privacy
invasion, degrading treatment, ridiculing, and scapegoating. Abusive supervisors are prone to angry outbursts and
taking credit for subordinates’ success
(Keashly, Trott, & MacLean, 1994; Tepper, 2007). Note, however, that behaviors
can be perceived as abusive supervision even if there is no intent to harm;
outcomes, rather than the intentions
behind the behaviors, matter.
12
June/July 2015
Engagement in abusive supervision
can be exacerbated by supervisors’ perceptions of injustice. In this regard,
Tepper (2007) and Aryee, Chen, Sun,
and Debrah (2007) found that supervisors are more likely to engage in
abusive behaviors when they perceive
themselves as victims of interpersonal
or organizational injustice. In addition, Aryee and his colleagues report
that the interactive effects between
the supervisor’s perception of interactional justice and his or her authoritarian style of leadership tend to be
associated with abusive supervision.
Moreover, as supervisors’ authoritarian
styles of leadership increase so does
the strength of the association between
their perceptions of procedural injustice and subordinates’ perceptions of
abusive supervision.
Other antecedents of abusive supervision include supervisors’ psychological contract violations, which can
be intensified by hostile attribution
bias (Hoobler & Brass, 2006); supervisors’ perceptions of deep-level dissimilarity between themselves and their
subordinates (Tepper, Moss, & Duffy,
2011); supervisor–coworker conflict,
which is often attributed to a displaced
response to the conflict by the supervisors (Harris, Harvey, & Kacmar, 2011);
supervisors’ perceptions of aggressive norms within their organization,
which can be attributed to the likelihood of supervisors being more ready to
adopt preexisting sanctioned behaviors
(Restubog, Scott, & Zagenczyk, 2011);
subordinates’ hostile attribution styles
(Martinko et al., 2011); and subordinates’ neuroticism (Park, 2012). We note
further that nonwork related events can
contribute to the likelihood of abusive
supervision occurring (e.g., a history of
family undermining), thereby indicating a potential dispositional tendency
toward abusive behaviors (Kiewitz
et al., 2012). Thus, cognitive appraisal
processes appear particularly pertinent
in determining whether an individual
will or will not be prone to engaging in
abusive behaviors.
■ Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
In other research, Burton, Hoobler,
and Scheuer (2012) reported that
increased stress experienced by the
supervisor also increases the likelihood
of engaging in behaviors perceived by
subordinates as abusive. Similarly, in an
investigation of individual differences
associated with abusive supervision,
Kiazad, Restubog, Zagencyzk, Kiewitz,
and Tang (2010) found that subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision
are positively associated with supervisor Machiavellianism. Moreover, Kiazad
and colleagues posited that individuals
often engage in abusive behaviors to
obtain resources to which they believe
they are entitled and that narcissistic
individuals are more likely to engage in
abusive behaviors than nonnarcissistic
individuals—especially when low in
political skill and self-regulation behaviors (see also Grijalva, Harms, Newman,
& Gaddis, 2015). Finally, Whitman, Halbesleben, and Shanine (2013) found
that leaders low on the ability to regulate their emotions tend to be more
likely to engage in abusive supervision
behaviors than in behaviors intended
to promote positive high performance.
Project Manager Supervision: High
Performance or Abusive?
Research into organization-level factors
and industry-specific abusive supervision seems to be lacking. As far as we
can ascertain, it looks like researchers
have yet to examine abusive supervision per se within the specific context
of project management. This represents
an issue for the field because there is
evidence to suggest a project environment may be particularly conducive to
abusive supervision practices. Tepper
(2007) posits that abusive supervision
might be more prevalent in industries
characterized by high pressure work
demands, risks, and high costs associated with failure. Hostile work climates
may also foster abusive supervision
(Mawritz, Mayer, Hoobler, Wayne, &
Marinova, 2012).
Bassman and London (1993) argue
that a stressful work environment
(i.e., one characterized by a lack of top
management support, job insecurity,
pressure to perform, job ambiguity,
inability to influence top management,
and inability to meet job demands) can
trigger abusive management practices.
These authors note further that abuse
appears more likely to occur when the
manager perceives the costs or risks of
the abuse to be lower than the benefits.
In this case, a perception of low costs
or risks might arise if the subordinate is
dependent on the supervisor, is unable
to make a complaint, or is perceived by
others to be difficult or incompetent.
In turn, benefits might be perceived as
high if the supervisor enjoys the abuse
or believes the abuse is necessary to
achieve an outcome.
Given the inherent capacity for project managers to influence the outcomes
of projects (Anantatmula, 2010; Fisher,
2011; Mazur et al., 2014), it is necessary
to identify the specific factors that might
lead project managers to engage in abusive supervision. Research within the
context of a large construction project
by Toor and Ogunlana (2009) identified four organizational factors liable
to impact project managers’ leadership
performance: (1) insufficient top management support, (2) lack of planning
and control, (3) lack of resources, and
(4) a lack of synergy between the performance goals. Although these particular
factors are more likely to be present in
projects based in developing countries,
this research nonetheless supports
the notion that factors outside of project managers’ personal attributes can
impact their leadership performance.
An additional factor to consider
is that project managers performing
supervision roles possess legitimate
sources of organizational power. As
such, and as Lloyd-Walker and Walker
(2011, p. 388) note, “project managers are good at ‘cracking the whip’ to
ensure that … performance is achieved.”
In “whip cracking” situations, project
managers can thus be expected to consider abusive behaviors as necessary
to exert their influence and achieve
organizational goals (Ferris et al. 2007).
Clearly, goals may be achieved but …
at what cost? We discuss the consequences of abusive supervision next.
Consequences/Outcomes of Abusive
Supervision
Though abusive supervision has only
recently been a focus in academic literature, interest has grown substantially in
the past decade and documentation of
the negative outcomes is now plentiful
(see Martinko, Harvey, Brees, & Mackey,
2013, for a recent review). Research
indicates that the consequences of abusive supervision are the antithesis of
high-performance supervision; they can
include increased work–family conflict
(Carlson, Ferguson, Hunter, & Whitten,
2012; Tepper, 2000); psychological distress and job and life dissatisfaction
(Tepper, 2000); emotional exhaustion
(Chi & Liang, 2013; Wu & Hu, 2009);
counterproductive work behaviors
(Duffy et al., 2002); employee turnover
(Tepper, 2000); burnout (Carlson et al.,
2012); decreased organizational citizenship behavior (Zellars, Tepper, & Duffy,
2002); affective organizational commitment (Aryee et al., 2007); and overall
poorer job performance of subordinates
as rated by both the subordinate and
the leader (Harris, Kacmar, & Zivnuska,
2007).
Employees who believe they have
been subjected to abusive supervision
are more likely to be demotivated and
to engage in retaliatory and counterproductive behaviors; such behaviors
can be aimed at people other than the
source of abuse. For example, Mitchell
and Ambrose (2007) found that subordinates who perceive their supervisors
to be abusive take their aggression out
not only on their supervisors, but also
on people and objects that were not
the sources of their abuse—including
coworkers and the organization.
Equally concerning is the apparent
spiral effect of abusive supervision, similar to the downward spiral identified by
Pearson and Porath (2005) in studies of
incivility. For example, Liu, Liao, and
Loi (2012) found that high-level managers’ abusive behaviors impact the abusive supervision behaviors of midlevel
managers, which then impacts lower
level employees. This negative impact
appears to be greatest when the motive
of the abusive behaviors is perceived as
injurious as compared with constructive and performance-driven.
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory
In this article, we focus on projectrelated demands, and how these can
result in either high-performance
supervision or abusive supervision.
In this regard, the stressor–strain
association that we posit between
project-related stressors (which are
project-related demands perceived as
stressors by the project manager) and
the resulting strain experienced by
project managers has been well documented. In particular, the Folkman,
Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis,
and Gruen (1986) stressor–strain
model suggests that a project manager’s response to a stressor is an outcome of his or her cognitive appraisal
of that stressor. The extent of the strain
the manager then experiences as a
result of the stressor is determined by
this appraisal.
To identify potential moderators or
buffers of the stressor–strain association, we draw upon Bakker and Demerouti’s (2007) Job Demands-Resources
(JD-R) theory, which aligns with the
Folkman et al. (1986) model. Applying
JD-R theory to project management, we
deduce that project-related demands
(e.g., deadlines, role ambiguity, uncertainty, and multiple stakeholders) are
likely to result in the project manager
experiencing strain and, consequently,
negative work and personal outcomes
(Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, &
Schaufeli, 2001; Ilies, Dimotakis, & De
Pater, 2010). The JD-R model then suggests job resources (physical, social,
personal, or organizational; Demerouti
& Bakker, 2011), buffer the...
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