The relationship between sports managers' emotional intelligence and communication skills and employee voice and performance: A path analysis.

Considering the increasing interpersonal, emotional, and performance-related demands in modern sports organizations, understanding the managerial factors that support employee voice behavior and performance has become an important research need. This study aims to examine the effects of sports managers' emotional intelligence and communication skill levels on employee voice and employee performance. A total of 196 people (60 sports managers and 136 employees) participated in the study. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form and standardized measurement instruments—including the Emotional Intelligence Trait Scale, Active-Empathic Listening Scale, Employee Voice Scale, and Employee Performance Scale—with established psychometric properties. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS software, while path analysis was conducted using AMOS software. Following preliminary assumption testing, the data were analyzed using the proposed model, which yielded acceptable fit indices, and results were reported using standardized path coefficients at the p ≤ .05 and p ≤ .001 levels. The findings indicate that increases in sports managers' emotional intelligence levels significantly improve their communication skills (β = 0.35), while improvements in communication skills significantly increase employee voice (β = 0.46) and employee performance (β = 0.28). Furthermore, it was found that increases in employee voice have a strong and direct effect on employee performance (β = 0.41). The findings show that improving the emotional intelligence of sports managers significantly strengthens active and empathetic listening skills, which are one of their communication skills. Furthermore, it has been revealed that employee voice is a direct and powerful determinant of employee performance. In conclusion, this study shows that sports managers' emotional intelligence and communication skills provide important findings that can form the basis for organizational policies aimed at increasing employee voice and performance. Overall, the study provides novel insights into leadership practices in sports organizations, offering evidence-based guidance for policies aimed at enhancing employee engagement and performance.