The influence of emotional intelligence on leadership styles in agriculture students

Abstract

This study explores how emotional intelligence (EI) influences leadership styles among college students. Emotional intelligence, defined by Daniel Goleman, encompasses the skills to recognize, understand, manage, and effectively use emotions. The research aims to understand how EI affects various leadership behavior, including authoritarian, democratic, and transformational styles. The research investigates how different dimensions of EI—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills—correlate with various leadership styles, including transformational, transactional, authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. Using a quantitative research design, surveys were distributed to a sample of 100 college students to measure their EI and leadership styles. Results showed that most respondents had medium levels of EI, with a mean EI score of 36.44 and a leadership score of 37.05. Statistical analysis revealed no significant relationship between age and leadership styles, and while there was a trend towards a positive correlation between EI and leadership styles, it was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that other factors besides EI and age may play a significant role in leadership development among college students. This study underscores the importance of integrating EI training into educational programs to better prepare students for leadership roles. Understanding how EI influences leadership can help develop training programs that foster effective, empathetic, and adaptable leaders.