Information technology professionals effectively manage complex, tactical processes and procedures for internal and external customers. At the time of this study there was a gap in the literature regarding the effects of emotional intelligence on information technology professionals. An organization's internal and external customers may become dissatisfied with the information technology professionals because of their communication style lacking an increased level of emotional intelligence. The purpose of this quantitative study was to research the effects of increased emotional intelligence by surveying 315 information technology professionals. Data were collected using 3 electronic surveys including a general questionnaire to collect demographic data, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, and the EQ-i. 2.0 questionnaire to capture the relationships between leadership styles (transformational, transactional and Laissez-Faire) of information technology professionals and gender, race, or levels of emotional intelligence. Using descriptive, multiple regression, and independent-samples t tests, the results indicated there were no statistically significant difference in levels of emotional intelligence with transformational (.615) and transactional (.068) leadership where p < .005. There was a statistically significant difference with Laissez-Faire leadership results of .004 (p < .005). The study findings indicated that the variables investigated provided only predictive value with the Laissez-Faire leadership style of information technology professionals. This study contributes towards positive social change within the information technology community by supporting the value of emotional intelligence, regardless of leadership styles.
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