The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance of Female Principals in Education Sector of District Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

Abstract

An emotionally intelligent principal, in particular, can inspire and foster a self-aware organizational culture by embracing values such as understanding, trust, vision, achievement, and efficiency, while flexibly blending emotions, beliefs, and values to enhance their job performance as well. This study seeks to evaluate emotional intelligence’s impact on female principals' job performance in the education sector of Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study examines the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), which comprises three dimensions—self-regulation, self-awareness, and social skills (relationship management) and job performance. A quantitative approach was used for the research, with the sample selected through the Proportional Allocation Rule and Stratified Random Sampling. The sample included 370 female principals, 304 from government institutions and 66 from private institutions, following the "rule of thumb" sampling method to ensure representativeness. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23, applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. The results proved that emotional intelligence and job performance are influenced by several factors, including managing expectations, self-management strategies, self-awareness, resisting biased judgments, maintaining focus, avoiding negative perspectives, and ignoring insignificant issues. The current study also found a strong correlation between emotional intelligence and job performance, with key indicators such as anticipating task outcomes, expanding knowledge, assessing risks, and showing flexible work routines. These findings underscore the significant role of EI in enhancing job performance, enabling female principals to handle the complexities of their roles more effectively. The association between EI indicators (0.840) and job performance (0.773) was confirmed by high Cronbach Alpha values, highlighting the reliability of the data. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and effective leadership in promoting strong job performance, offering valuable insights for leaders, administrators and the higher education system in Pakistan