Impact of meditation on emotional intelligence and self-perception of leadership skills

Effective leadership is still a subject of much research, but it seems that the questions of what is an effective leadership and how to be an effective leader, still remain. In order to address this issue, the transformation of leaders in terms of self-development, attitude, their perception and behaviour is necessary in order to help leaders cope with the uncertainties and continuous change in business environments. This research investigates the role of meditation for enhancing emotional intelligence and self-perception of leadership skills of executives.

An experimental research involving 80 executives in Bangkok and 64 executives in London has been conducted for 12 weeks in each city. Study participants have been divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Experimental groups in Bangkok and London had 40 and 32 participants respectively from different organisations. Through testing the two groups of executives, this research explored the differences between executives in an experimental group who practised an one-hour meditation for every week for 12 weeks, and executives from the control group who were merely monitored. All research participants in both groups completed 125 items EQ-i Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On EQ-i) as well as 25 items of Self-perception of Leadership Skills Inventory before the start of the first session, and after the last session.

Results of the overall test for analysis using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) showed that the Wilks Lambda multivariate tests of overall differences obtained for experimental groups in both Bangkok and London were statistically significant (p<.05). This implies that there are statistically proven significant differences in emotional intelligence and self-perception of leadership skills simultaneously due to meditation practice within experimental groups. Furthermore, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed a particular impact was made on the management of stress, intrapersonal awareness and motivating people. Meditation helps to gradually cultivate mindful awareness and concentration, resulting in a direct effect of enhancing emotional intelligence and selfperception of leadership skills. Insight competence resulting from meditation, if utilised in an appropriate way, can be a potential tool for enhancing the skills of business leaders.