Summary:

Extravagant claims have been made about the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in Effective Leadership (EL); (Ashkanasy & Daus, 2005; Barbuto & Burbach, 2006; Goleman 1995, 1998). Other researchers question the linkage between EI and EL (Smith, 2005; Weinberger, 2003). The purpose of this paper was to conduct a meta-analysis to ascertain if there was empirical evidence to support the inclusion of emotional intelligence in the formal leadership evaluation process. It is proposed in this paper that Emotional Intelligence be a part of formative evaluation. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of emotional intelligence on effective leadership. One Hundred and Forty-one studies were reviewed for possible analysis.  Ultimately, 48 studies met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The study concludes that there is a moderately strong relationship between emotional intelligence and effective leadership. This study has implications for both the assessment of EI in current leaders and candidates for Educational Leadership Preparation Programs (ELPP). FULL MANUSCRIPT AVAILABLE IN PDF (attached below) AND/OR ONLINE AT: http://cnx.org/content/m24427/latest/