Emotional Intelligence as the Basis for the Development of Organizational Leadership During the Covid Period (Educational Institution Case)

Abstract

The period of coronavirus disease pandemic caused new challenges in leadership development and reflected transition to collective leadership as the most effective method. Because (emotional) unity of the corporate team (which is practically realized in collective leadership) is a primary factor for overcoming the crisis, human resources will be saved as much as possible in this context. The use of emotional intelligence tools and organizational leadership development becomes highly relevant. The emphasis is placed on the fact that organizations’ adaptive, innovative activities and online work lead to new trends in the leadership development paradigm. However, most managers are not ready to apply them. The case study of an educational organization shows numerical indicators of the emotional intelligence levels of managers and essential characteristics of their emotional literacy. It is found out that less than half of managers can ensure employees’ psychological safety with the help of emotional intelligence. It is emphasized that leaders can quickly change the climate of their teams and have the most significant impact on the psychological security of organizations. Leadership development can bring additional dividends in times of instability. So coronavirus disease pandemic increases management decentralization trends.