Emotional intelligence and leadership behaviors of school principals

This study aims to reveal how school administrators relate their emotional intelligence to their managerial skills. In this context, the study examines what emotions school administrators feel when they encounter any problems in the management process and what solutions they resort to when they experience any conflicts with school staff, parents, or students. A case study design was used in this study. A semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher was used as the data collection tool. The data were analyzed through content analysis. According to the findings, 16 of the 22 school administrators indicated that there was an interaction between emotional intelligence and educational management. It was determined that empathy and effective communication skills, which are the most prominent emotional intelligence skills among school administrators, influence leadership behaviors, and that the relationship between managerial behavior and emotional intelligence skills is most clearly explained by empathy, communication, team spirit, problem-solving skills, and cooperation. On the other hand, it was found that school administrators most commonly feel empathy when faced with problems in the school environment; when faced with negative emotions, they most often use methods of controlling their emotions and building empathy. Among the solutions that administrators resort to in the event of any conflict within the school, the most common response was found to be establishing healthy communication. Active listening, using a solution-oriented approach, empathizing, and remaining calm were identified as other commonly used methods.