Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

objectives and sequencing content (Yukl, 2010). According to Yukl (2010), however,
leadership development has unique attributes such as role modeling behavior, feedback,
action learning (Marquardt, 2011a), and experiential learning techniques (e.g.,
simulations, case studies). “Exceptional leaders live the ideals they espouse ... they
motivate others through their example” (Blank, 2001, p. 167). As advanced by Ulrich
and Smallwood (2007), developing a leader’s brand entails formal training (20 percent),
life experience (30 percent) and work experience (remaining 50 percent). Furthering the
branding concept, Whetten and Cameron (2010) asked leaders to imagine their best
selves and to then develop a road map for how to get there. Likewise, Nelson and Low
(2011) prescribed a leadership development activity in which leaders imagine a dream or
vision of excellence. In a similar vein, Marquardt (2011b) accorded being a reflective
practitioner as a lynchpin for improving leadership competence. As will be discussed
later, reflection, particularly in the form of self-awareness, is instrumental to EI.
The study’s purpose is on the experiences in developing EI within effective
Federal government leaders. The narrative that follows concentrates on leadership
theories and the degree to which EI (or EI-related attributes) are developed using those
theories. Figure 2. 5 below depicts the levels of EI and people versus mission centric
orientation for the leadership theories described. The relationship between these
constructs creates paradoxical tensions between a “comfort of the past [leadership
theories] and uncertainty of the future [the association between EI and development]”
(Lewis, 2000, p. 766).