Beyond Emotional Intelligence: A Re-Conceptualisation of Resonant Leadership

This paper critiques the concept of resonant leadership which focuses on utilising emotional intelligence in managing an organisation. It is argued that the prevailing understandings of resonant leadership over-emphasise individual attributes and neglect the social processes of communication. This article proposes a re-conceptualisation of resonant leadership by drawing on pertinent principles from the Chinese classic Huainanzi (The Master of Huainan). Instead of linking resonance to emotional intelligence, ancient Chinese thinkers interpret the former as pre-existing mutual responsiveness (xiangying) that contributes to synchrony, cooperation and harmony. A resonant leader promotes mutual responsiveness by modelling it and sustaining the conditions for people to (re)act and flourish according to the Way (dao). This study provides an original formulation of resonant leadership that shifts the attention from the creation and development of resonance by an emotionally attuned leader or manager, to the recognition and preservation of resonance by leaders, managers and other employees through interactive processes in an organisation. The proposed conception also illustrates a hybrid orientation of relationship-focused leadership styles that integrate key elements from the entity and relational perspectives at the workplace.