The ability to create and spread vision inside a company is a skill of a true leader, as defined by many employees. In the past, there have been attempts to measure the extent to which leaders could influence the organizational culture. Researchers usually hired professional actors that spoke in front of audiences to study how the emotional expressivity could affect people. However, recent studies have chosen real managers to test their expression styles and the effect they have on employees.
Emotional Intelligence
There is a theory that links leadership outcomes with emotional intelligence. The claim is that the more emotional competencies a person has, the more he or she is able to influence the audience. For instance, this could be the language used during a presentation or other types of communication. Expressing emotions is thought to create a connection between a speaker and an audience, letting the former translate the ideas and beliefs effectively. In addition, non-verbal communication is also perceived as a powerful tool for creating a vision and defining roles in the working community. This non-verbal communication may include body posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, etc.
Visionary Leadership
Emotional performance is not the only thing that is important to leaders. They must also translate the appealing and inspiring vision to their audience. The vision, when positively accepted, may enhance performance, cooperation, and behavior of the workers. Thus, visioning may be a measure of the leadership’s effectiveness. However, there has been little research on the actual result of the visionary leadership regarding the organizational change. In fact, the change is something that should be targeted by leaders and promoted among the workers since businesses cannot survive while keeping constantly stable. The number of changes made in an organization may be another factor by which the leadership’s effectiveness is measured. Moreover, emotional expressivity may influence the level of changes made by the visionary leadership.
Research
The research was conducted to study whether the statements mentioned above were true. Several hundred managers were chosen as interviewees for this research. The criteria included racial and gender diversity, the number of years on the position, and the existence of followers. Four different organizations were chosen, including the health university, the governmental agency, the association of medical colleges, and the leadership development program. The first three groups received questionnaires via e-mails, while the last one was mailed questionnaires for both leaders and their followers. The questionnaires contained self-assessment tests targeted at measuring the leader’s emotional expressivity and the visionary leadership. The organizational change magnitude was also assessed by the leaders through analyzing the changes that had occurred in the company under their leadership.
The results of the study proved that there is a direct relationship between the emotional intelligence and the visioning process. Managers who claimed to be emotionally expressive were more effective as leaders. This was proposed by the answers provided by their followers. The less distinct relationship was found between the visionary leadership and the magnitude of changes. Although leadership had an effect on changes, it was rather indirect and shown through the work report. It showed that the visionary leadership alone could not be viewed as the only measure for creating significant changes in the company. The study proposed to pay more attention to the emotional communication as it can motivate followers to make changes.