Przywództwo polityczne: w stronę inteligencji emocjonalnej? Adaptacja teorii przywództwa Golemana

Milena Drzewiecka , Wojciech Cwalina

Abstract

​Political leadership depends on democratic tradition, crossed interests of different social groups or media influence. In the “age of manufactured images” response to voters’ needs remains crucial. According to business theories of leadership, the most effective leaders are these, who master emotional intelligence (EI) abilities. The paper tries to adapt business leadership theory to politics. Cross-cultural studies conducted in Poland, Switzerland and Georgia show that, however profiles of perception and preferences of leadership styles might differ within level of democracy maturity, in politics -as well as in business- coercive leaders gain the lowest support contrary to strongly supported democratic, affiliative, coaching or authoritative leaders. Understanding of EI role and voters’ needs might be helpful in developing leaders’ skills and their proper positioning in political campaigns.