Leadership of project teams and emotional intelligence in the interior

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been a revelation in the business world since the 1990s, and was found to be a great contributor to leadership success and employee development across the globe. Leadership has immense effects on organizational development and project success. However, no research has been conducted to determine which leadership style is most appropriate in the interior design industry. Moreover, no research has investigated the link between leadership style emergence and EI or the effects of both on followers in the interior design industry. Therefore, this study aims to assess the level of use and effect of EI and leadership styles on followers within the interior design industry. To achieve the aim of this study, a thorough literature review of relevant research was conducted along with a survey consisting of two questionnaires, one targeting team leaders in the interior design industry and the other interior designers working within a team in project based organizations in the UK and Jordan. 63 responses were gathered and analysed using a quantitative research method. A combination of descriptive and comparative analysis was conducted to determine leadership style emergence, levels of leaders’ emotional intelligence and their effect on followers. Transformational leadership as well as EI were found to be a large contributors to followers’ performance and had various positive effects on followers. When both aspect were linked, we found that all transformational leaders who were assessed have either high or medium levels of emotional intelligence. We also found that all transformational leaders as well as all leaders with high EI enhanced followers’ creativity and work experience, leading to the conclusion that transformational leadership could be the most appropriate leadership style to lead project teams in the interior design industry. However, we recommend future research to develop a scientific tool that measures EI accurately, as well as more comprehensive research of leadership in the interior design industry and how it can enhance followers’ design process.