Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Styles among Catholic Priests in Umuahia Diocese, Nigeria

Catholic Priests as Church leaders provide care for God’s people. To be an effective leader, the priest requires not only the traditional intelligence but also emotional intelligence. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles among Catholic Priests in Umuahia Diocese, Nigeria. The study was grounded on the Emotional Intelligence theory of Daniel Goleman and employed a quantitative approach, using the correlational research design. The target population was 119 priests residing and working in Umuahia Diocese, while the sample size of 92 priests was obtained using the simple random technique. Two standardized self-report questionnaires, the Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) were adapted and used as instruments of measure for the quantitative data. The Pearson’s correlation test was used to analyze the quantitative data with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The findings of the study showed a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style, democratic leadership style, and servant leadership style. There was no relationship found between emotional intelligence and transactional leadership style, and autocratic leadership style. However, a significant negative relationship exists between emotional intelligence and the lassiez-faire leadership style. The study therefore concludes that emotional intelligence has a significant relationship with certain leadership styles, and that improving emotional intelligence will enhance leadership effectiveness.