Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether emotional intelligence and political skill (PS) of school principals influence the way they exercise leadership and the job satisfaction of their teachers. Design/methodology/approach: As regards to the methodology, quantitative research methods were used to conduct the research. Specifically, the data analysis was performed with the statistical program SPSS and the EQS program for the development of structural equation models. Participants were 182 principals of Cyprus public elementary schools and 910 teachers. Findings: The findings indicated that the emotional intelligence and PS of school principals are related to the educational leadership styles they use and to teachers' job satisfaction. Such a relationship highlights the social skills of principals as an important area for further research. Research limitations/implications: Future research may benefit from developing and validating an investigating tool which rates school principals' Emotional-Political Capacity because, as revealed from the current research, this new construct directly affects the leadership radius and teachers' job satisfaction. Practical implications: This research provides important feedback to those organizations interested in educational leadership and reform, as it can further illuminate (unknown until now) qualities that an effective school principal must have. Originality/value: The importance of this research and its contribution to science, is illustrated by the fact that this is one of the first research efforts undertaken, which indicates that the emotional and political skills may be factors that shape effective educational leadership styles.