Analysis of emotional intelligence in project managers: Scale development and validation

There is a growing awareness of the positive effects that Emotional Intelligence (EI) has on Project Management (PM). Project Managers (PMs) with high levels of EI have been shown to positively affect project performance, therefore, PMs with high EI should be sought to manage projects. Despite its importance, understanding, measuring, and managing emotional intelligence is an arduous task. Organizations struggle to harness and leverage the benefits that EI is lauded to bring. While previous studies have identified the need for more proactive management practices, there are few practical guidelines available to managers to help them improve their performance as it relates to EI. This exploratory paper addresses this deficit and contributes new knowledge on emotional intelligence for project managers. Through an in-depth analysis of the existing literature, we developed an instrument that allows decision-makers to measure emotional intelligence. This instrument is in the process of validation and thus far, our results show that it is an accurate, reliable, and valid mechanism to measure project managers' emotional intelligence.