Emotional Intelligence: A Catalyst for Leaders in Digital Era

Abstract

Emotional intelligence appears to be a critical competency for effective leadership in the fast-growing digitalised world, where remote work environments, technological advancements and AI are playing an important role in transforming organisational practices organizational practices. This review paper pay emphasis on examining the role of EI as a catalyst for leadership effectiveness by combining existing literature on EI, leadership competencies , AI and digitisation. The study also reviews contemporary and classical perspectives of EI by Salovey and Mayer, Bar-On and Goleman and other scholars, while exploring it’s influence on social competence, personal competence, self-management, self- awareness, decision making and communication. The review also discusses the relation of EI with age, gender and digital intelligence l, which highlights the mixed findings which have been reported in the studies done earlier.
Moreover it also analyses how EI leaders can successfully channelise digital transformation, overcome hurdles like inertia, cynicism and self-doubt, and also maintain employee engagement in the places which are technology-driven.
The findings also indicate that although digital technologies and AI significantly enhance organisational efficiency, they cannot entirely replace human attributes like empathy, relationship management, ethical judgment and emotional understanding that are provided by emotionally intelligent leaders.
The review also concludes that EI remains a necessary leadership competency in the digital age and supports technological capabilities rather than contending with them. Organisations should therefore incorporate EI development into leadership training and HR practices to encourage resilient, people-centric , adaptive leadership in wok environments which is digitally enhanced.