This pilot study demonstrates that the Multidimensional Empathy Scale is an appropriate tool for use in measuring empathy in an education setting. It furthered Skinner's (2001) findings that empathy shows a significant relationship with transformational leadership behavior and influence. Principals in this study who showed more empathy as rated by the MES showed a positive and moderate relationship with transformational leadership behavior as rated by their teaching staff. There were also statistically significant relationships between teachers' willingness to give extra effort and their satisfaction with their principal's leadership style with those principals who self-rated as more empathic. There is also a negative relationship between principals rating themselves as less empathic and teachers rating the principals as more transactional. The results of this study suggest that individual teachers seem to respond to the empathy of their principal, responding positively to the care and individualized concern shown to them by their leader and partially translating this to their view of their principal as being transformational.

In addition, this study furthers findings that transformational leadership in schools is related to teachers' willingness to give extra effort, their satisfaction with the leadership, and the view of the principal as being effective. It also furthers understanding of the relationship between transformational leadership and teacher self-efficacy, in that transformational leadership behavior shows a significant relationship with teacher self-efficacy.