Emotional Intelligence in the Personality of Leaders Based on the Paradoks Novel by Affifudin Omar
Abstract
This study aims to examine the role of emotional intelligence in shaping the personality of a leadership figure in the novel Paradoks, using two main theoretical frameworks: Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence and Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality. The research problem arises from the fact that the emotional and psychological aspects of leadership in Malay literary works have received limited attention, even though analyzing the inner dimensions of a character can enrich the understanding of leadership grounded in humanistic values. The leader figure in Paradoks exhibits inner conflicts, moral dilemmas, and struggles between instinct and reason, reflecting the balance between the id, ego, and superego. Therefore, this study analyzes how the five components of Goleman’s emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills interact with Freud’s three personality layers (id, ego, and superego) in shaping an effective and ethical leadership style. The study employs a qualitative approach with a textual analysis design, focusing on the novel Paradoks as the primary data source. A checklist derived from both theories is used to ensure that the analysis is conducted systematically and structurally. The findings indicate that a balance between emotional intelligence and the layers of personality plays a crucial role in shaping the integrity, humanity, and visionary outlook of the leader figure. In conclusion, the integration of emotional intelligence theory and personality theory provides a significant framework for understanding leadership in Malay literature and contributes to the development of leadership discourse based on psychology and humanistic values.
Keywords: emotional intelligence, leader personality, id, ego, superego and Malay literature.
Full text: PDF
References
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38. Michael Maccoby & Mauricio Cortina (2021) Prologue: Leadership, psychoanalysis, and society. Routledge.
39. Nedoh, B. (2024). Between dirty and necessary: The politics of the superego and the jouissance of transgression in Chicago PD television series. Journal for
40. Cultural Research, 28(3), 268–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2024.2 373442 Taylor & Francis Online+1
41. Nyamai, D K. (2022, February 3). Emotional atmosphere’s role on people’s application of their emotional intelligence in the fight against COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.581970
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43. Pusat Ilmuan Darul Aman.(2024). Dato Wira Dr Affifudin Omar. Darul Aman Berbudaya
44. Rao, P. (2006, July 5). Emotional intelligence: the Sine Qua Non for a clinical leadership research/Journal of medical internet research, 20(6), e231-e231.
45. Rocha, L. R., & Martins, W. E. B. (2024). Freud, Shakespeare’s apprentice? An analysis of the interaction between Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Ciência Dinâmica – Revista Multidisciplinar, 15(e252406). https://doi.org/10.70406/2176-6509.2024.265 revista.faculdadedinamica.com. br+1
46. Rosli, N. N., Hamzah, N., & Mohd, F. H. (2021). Emosi positif pemimpin Melayu dahulu dalam teks tradisional Melayu. International Journal of Creative Industries, 3(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.35631/IJCREI.36001 GA Excellence+1
47. Senseney, M., Dickson, E., Namachchivaya, B S., & Ludäscher, B. (2018, December 27). Shamir, B., Dayan-Horesh, H., & Adler, D. (2005, February 1). Leading by Biography: Towards a Life-story Approach to the Study of Leadership. Leadership, 1(1), 13-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715005049348
48. Significance Of Emotional Intelligence In Leadership. (2020, January 29). Singh, A A. (2021, June 30). Emotional Intellignece and Other Constructs: A Literary
49. Smock Potter, T. M. (2025). A phenomenological study: Emotional intelligence and the impact on stress and decision-making among K-12 school administrators (Doctoral dissertation, University of St. Thomas). UST Research Online. https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/1064 Society, Psychoanalytic Inquiry,
50. Williams, C. (2024). Emotional intelligence in school leadership and teachers’ perceptions of efficacy (Doctoral dissertation, Abilene Christian University). Digital Commons @ ACU. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/630
51. Woodbrook, R., & Carruthers, M. (2023, January 1). Library (University of Michigan Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2017, August 28). Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature
52. Yusof, H., Kadir, H., & Mahfar, M. (2014, April 29). The Role of Emotions in Leadership.
53. Zhang, S. (2020, January 1). Psychoanalysis: The influence of Freud’s theory in personality psychology.In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (No. 125939185; Vol. 433, pp. 229–232).https://library.cityu.edu/researchguides/researchmethods/qualitative
2. Almalki, M., & Wang, J. (2018, January 1). Impact of laissez-faire leadership on role ambiguity and role conflict: Implications for job performance. https://doi. org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.41.2003
3. Asmamaw, A. T. (2023). Exploring the influence of leader emotional intelligence on faculty engagement: A qualitative descriptive study. Cogent Education, 10(1), 2277547. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2277547
4. Bateman, T. S. (2013). Self-management and personal agency. In S. W. J. Kozlowski (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of organizational psychology (pp. 291–314). Oxford University Press.
5. Bazan, L. O. (2023). The importance of emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness in schools: A phenomenological study (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). UTRGV ScholarWorks. https:// scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1524
6. Bektiningsih, P. (2023, June 7). Efektivitas pengolahan bahan pustaka monograf di Bloomsbury.
7. Brooks, E. K. (2023). Emotional intelligence in difficult decision-making: A multiplecase study of community college academic deans (Doctoral dissertation, Old Dominion University). ODU Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.odu. edu/efl_etds/256
8. Chambers, A. L. (2022). Emotional intelligence as a leadership strategy before and during a crisis: A qualitative study of Pennsylvania state government managers (Doctoral dissertation, Drexel University). Drexel Research Discovery. https:// idea.library.drexel.edu/islandora/object/idea%3A9562
9. Chaudry, A. (2024). The role of emotional intelligence in surgical leadership: A qualitative study. British Journal of Surgery, 111(Suppl. 6), znae163.174. https://academic.oup.com/bjs/article/111/Supplement_6/znae163.174
10. Clair, E S. (2021, November 10). City University of Seattle Library: Research Methods and dalam-sejarah/details/1/6081/dato-wira-dr-affifudin-omar?start=20
11. Data mining research with in-copyright and use-limited text datasets: Preliminary design: Qualitative research methods.emotional intelligence in education. https://doi.org/10.3311/ope.526
12. Fourie, C., Potgieter, I. L., & Coetzee, M. (2024). A qualitative illuminative evaluation of emotional intelligence training as transformative learning. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 50, a2243. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip. v50i0.2243 Taylor & Francis Online
13. Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIX (1923–1925): The ego and the id and other works (pp. 1–66). London: Hogarth Press and the Institute of PsychoAnalysis.
14. Freud’s psychoanalytic theories. (2013, September 16). https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Freud%27s_psychoanalytic_theories
15. Freud’s theory of the id, ego & superego: Definitions & Examples. (2021, October 22). https://study.com/academy/lesson/id-ego-and-superego.html
16. Gehrs, L M. (1994, October 1). The relationship between literature and leadership:
17. A humanities-based approach for studying leadership. ˜The Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(4), 145-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179199400100413
18. George, J M. (2000, August 1). Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional global leadership and diversity. https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n3p161
19. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
20. Goleman, D. (1998, October 4). What makes a leader?
21. Goleman, D. (2006, January 1). What makes a leader: why emotional intelligence
22. Gómez Leal, R., Gutiérrez Cobo, M J., Cabello, R., Megías, A., & Fernández Berrocal, P. Grotstein, J S. (2014, August 1). Notes on the Superego.
23. Hamzah, N., Baharum, H., & Mohd, F. H. (2024). Emotional analysis of the leader in the IMAM novel based on Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence. Perspektif Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, 16(2), 88–99.
24. https://doi.org/10.37134/perspektif.vol16.2.8.2024
25. Hartmann, H., & Loewenstein, R M. (1962, January 1). Notes on the Superego.
26. Hassanzadeh, M., Silong, A D., Asmuni, A., & Wahat, N W A. (2015, September 1). Id, Ego and Superego. (2005, January 1). SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 137-140.
27. Jackson, G. M. (2023). Leading with emotional intelligence: How campus leadership skills impact school culture (Doctoral dissertation). ERIC (ED647394). https:// eric.ed.gov/?id=ED647394
28. König, H.-D. (2023). Performing as a firefighter: Reconstruction of Donald Trump’s speech on the storming of the Capitol through depth hermeneutics. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 24(3).
29. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-24.3.4029 qualitative-research.net
30. Kotagal, M., & Pellegrini, C A. (2018, January 1). Qualities of a Good Leader. Success in Kotsou, I., Mikolajczak, M., Heeren, A., Grégoire, J., & Leys, C. (2018, November)
31. Kotsou, I., Mikolajczak, M., Heeren, A., Grégoire, J., & Leys, C. (2018). Improving emotional intelligence: A systematic review of existing work and future challenges. Emotion Review, 10(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073917735902
32. Kusuma, A. W., & Al Fajri, A. A. (2025). Psychosocial conflicts and defense mechanisms in leadership: A psychoanalytic view in Elizabeth: The Golden Age movie. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 8(1), 11–28. (Tiada DOI; naskhah tersedia di laman jurnal) https://diglosiaunmul.
33. com/index.php/diglosia/article/view/1116 diglosiaunmul.com+1
34. Ma, L., Wang, X., Yang, Z., Huang, D., Weng, H., & Zeng, X. (2020, February 29).
35. Matters. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20913334-what-makes-a-leader medical studies: what are they and which is better?. Military medical research
36. Mészáros, A., & Szalóki, R. (2023, March 21). The need and opportunities for developing Methodological quality (risk of bias) assessment tools for primary and secondary
37. Miao, C., Humphrey, R. H., & Qian, S. (2018). A cross-cultural meta-analysis of how leader emotional intelligence influences subordinate task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.03.003
38. Michael Maccoby & Mauricio Cortina (2021) Prologue: Leadership, psychoanalysis, and society. Routledge.
39. Nedoh, B. (2024). Between dirty and necessary: The politics of the superego and the jouissance of transgression in Chicago PD television series. Journal for
40. Cultural Research, 28(3), 268–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2024.2 373442 Taylor & Francis Online+1
41. Nyamai, D K. (2022, February 3). Emotional atmosphere’s role on people’s application of their emotional intelligence in the fight against COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.581970
42. Othman, M F., Islam, R., & Ghani, A B A. (2019, May 30). The Role Of Perpustakaan Universitas Gadjah Mada. https://doi.org/10.22146/mi.v32i1.7936 Personality Psychology. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200425.051 Processing: Methodological Study. JMIR. Journal of medical internet psychodynamically informed psychological science.. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.333
43. Pusat Ilmuan Darul Aman.(2024). Dato Wira Dr Affifudin Omar. Darul Aman Berbudaya
44. Rao, P. (2006, July 5). Emotional intelligence: the Sine Qua Non for a clinical leadership research/Journal of medical internet research, 20(6), e231-e231.
45. Rocha, L. R., & Martins, W. E. B. (2024). Freud, Shakespeare’s apprentice? An analysis of the interaction between Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Ciência Dinâmica – Revista Multidisciplinar, 15(e252406). https://doi.org/10.70406/2176-6509.2024.265 revista.faculdadedinamica.com. br+1
46. Rosli, N. N., Hamzah, N., & Mohd, F. H. (2021). Emosi positif pemimpin Melayu dahulu dalam teks tradisional Melayu. International Journal of Creative Industries, 3(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.35631/IJCREI.36001 GA Excellence+1
47. Senseney, M., Dickson, E., Namachchivaya, B S., & Ludäscher, B. (2018, December 27). Shamir, B., Dayan-Horesh, H., & Adler, D. (2005, February 1). Leading by Biography: Towards a Life-story Approach to the Study of Leadership. Leadership, 1(1), 13-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715005049348
48. Significance Of Emotional Intelligence In Leadership. (2020, January 29). Singh, A A. (2021, June 30). Emotional Intellignece and Other Constructs: A Literary
49. Smock Potter, T. M. (2025). A phenomenological study: Emotional intelligence and the impact on stress and decision-making among K-12 school administrators (Doctoral dissertation, University of St. Thomas). UST Research Online. https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/1064 Society, Psychoanalytic Inquiry,
50. Williams, C. (2024). Emotional intelligence in school leadership and teachers’ perceptions of efficacy (Doctoral dissertation, Abilene Christian University). Digital Commons @ ACU. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/630
51. Woodbrook, R., & Carruthers, M. (2023, January 1). Library (University of Michigan Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2017, August 28). Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature
52. Yusof, H., Kadir, H., & Mahfar, M. (2014, April 29). The Role of Emotions in Leadership.
53. Zhang, S. (2020, January 1). Psychoanalysis: The influence of Freud’s theory in personality psychology.In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (No. 125939185; Vol. 433, pp. 229–232).https://library.cityu.edu/researchguides/researchmethods/qualitative
Published
2025-12-31
How to Cite
HAMZAH, Nordiana.
Emotional Intelligence in the Personality of Leaders Based on the Paradoks Novel by Affifudin Omar.
Malay Literature, [S.l.], v. 38, n. 2, dec. 2025.
ISSN 2682-8030.
Available at: <http://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/MalayLiterature/article/view/9150>. Date accessed: 21 jan. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.37052/ml38(2)no6.
Section
Articles
