How Emotional Intelligence Affects LMX Relationships

This study explored the utility of emotional intelligence (EI) as a predictor of leader-member exchange (LMX). To date, there has been very little research exploring the relationship between these constructs. It was hypothesized that EI in both supervisors and employees would have positive relationships with employee-rated LMX quality. A study was conducted with 24 working students at a Southeastern University and their supervisors at work. The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and LMX-7 were administered to participants along with a measure of the Big Five. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses did not demonstrate support for the hypothesized relationships. There was weak to no support that employee EI predicted employee-rated LMX (r = .16) within a larger sample obtained in the study but was not statistically significant within the 24 dyads examined. The results of this study suggest that if a relationship does exist between EI and LMX, it is likely to be small. Some support was also offered for supervisor-employee similarity of EI being a predictor of employee-rated LMX scores.