Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

isolation ... or analyzed apart from the social relations that shape legitimate peripheral
participation” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 97).
Statement of Potential Significance
The experiences of effective Federal government leaders in the development of
their EI are examined herein. In so doing, it may illuminate perceptions on how
leadership development and EI can be better integrated, in order to develop “whole
leaders” who can optimally leverage intellect and emotions. Heightened effectiveness in
developing Federal government leaders is important, since “governmental power
increasingly asserts itself today through the decisions and actions of civil servants”
(Rourke, 1992, p. 544). The application of developmental interventions as regards EI
was explored. The study subscribes to the Shuck and Herd (2012) perspective that
leadership as a position is diminishing in import; accordingly, “new perspectives of
leadership as well as new scaffolding for understanding the complexities of leadership
development in an evolving landscape” (p. 157) are needed.
Work-related developmental experiences and learning processes emphasizing
affective, EI-oriented characteristics were subjected to the study’s research query. In so
doing, the Federal government may be able to more effectively and responsibly develop
leaders with the cognitive and emotional capacities needed to lead in a dynamic and
complex adaptive system (Buckley, 1968; Schwandt, 2005; Yukl, 2012). The primary
audiences (and benefactors) of this research are learning and development scholars and
practitioners, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Federal government
leaders (including those aspiring to move up the leadership continuum). The study may