The Impact of Emotionally Intelligent Academic Leadership on Faculty Members: Evidence from the Education System of India

Abstract This study investigates the impact of emotionally intelligent academic leadership on faculty members’ organizational commitment and citizenship behaviour in selected colleges in south India. The data for the study is collected from 352 faculty members using a survey study approach and assessed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical results suggest that respondents’ perceptions of their academic leaders were more or less similar, and most of them rated self-awareness as the essential characteristic of emotional intelligence of their academic leaders. The findings demonstrate that most faculty members are dedicated to their organization and exhibit relatively high affective commitment compared to other aspects of organizational commitment. The relationship between emotionally intelligent leadership and faculty members’ organizational commitment is partially mediated by faculty members’ citizenship behaviour. This research contributes to the Indian academic system in developing strategies for academic leaders’ emotional growth and increasing the level of commitment and citizenship behaviour of faculty members.