This research examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and meaning making, marital friendship, and transformational leadership among 30 senior pastors who participated in a feedback-intensive leadership development experience called LEAD (Leadership Evaluation And Development). In addition, the study examined the relationship of emotional intelligence and the level of impact of LEAD. The study was built on previous research in the areas of transformational leadership, transformational teaming, emotional intelligence, pastoral studies, and coaching. This research used the following instruments: Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (Mayer & Caruso, 2001), Kegan and Lahey's (1984) Subject-Object Interview, Gottman's (2002) Marital Friendship Questionnaire, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X (Bass & Avolio, 1995). This study demonstrated that emotional intelligence is linked to developing more advanced meaning structures. The study also found a link between emotional intelligence and two subscales of marital friendship: (a) fondness and admiration and (b) turning towards, turning away. Emotional intelligence and fondness and admiration were inversely related, the opposite of one hypothesis. The study also found a link between emotional intelligence and one subscale of transformational leadership: individualized consideration. When coaching was factored into the examination, however, existing relationships were strengthened. In addition, two additional subscales of transformational leadership (idealized influence-attributed and idealized influence-behavioral) were linked to emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence was also inversely linked to the level of impact of LEAD, the opposite again of what was hypothesized.
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