Developing Emotional Intelligence in University Leaders: Evidence from A Structured Training Intervention

Abstract

Emotional intelligence has become an increasingly important competence for university leaders who must manage interpersonal relationships, organizational pressure, conflict, staff motivation, and complex decision-making. This study evaluated changes in emotional intelligence following a structured social-psychological training program for higher education leaders in Uzbekistan. The broader diagnostic study involved 421 university leaders from three higher education institutions. Based on their initial diagnostic profiles, 38 leaders demonstrating comparatively low or moderate levels in selected emotional intelligence components participated in the developmental intervention. The program consisted of ten training sessions integrating emotional awareness, empathy, active listening, emotional self-regulation, stress management, constructive conflict resolution, reflective analysis, role play, case-based activities, and feedback. Emotional intelligence was assessed before and after the intervention using D.V. Lyusin’s EmIn methodology. Paired-samples Student’s t-tests were used to evaluate pre–post changes. Significant improvements were identified in seven of the ten assessed indicators. Overall emotional intelligence increased from 9.98 to 11.35, representing a 13.7% improvement (t = −3.42, p = .001). Interpersonal emotional intelligence increased by 13.3%, while intrapersonal emotional intelligence improved by 9.4%. The findings indicate that participation in structured, context-sensitive social-psychological training was associated with meaningful improvements in emotional intelligence among university leaders.