CHAPTER

3
Emotionally Intelligent
Leadership in Nursing and
Health Care
Organizations
Susan H. Taft





e!ne emotional intelligen"e #EI$%
istinguish &et'een emotional intelligen"e and emotional "ompeten"ies%
Name the (our emotional intelligen"e "lusters%
Identi(y the )* emotional "ompeten"ies dis"ussed in the emotional intelligen"e
"lusters%
Identi(y (a"tors that may enhan"e or diminish one+s innate emotional intelligen"e
and learned
emotional "ompeten"ies%
es"ri&e the !,e "ore "ompeten"ies and 'hy they are "onsidered "ru"ial%
is"uss 'hy nursing settings are intensely emotional%
Identi(y the desira&le "hara"teristi"s and "apa&ilities o( middle- and e.e"uti,e-le,el
nurse
leaders and ho' to sele"t (or these /ualities%
is"uss the emotional "ompeten"ies that may &e most important to pra"ti"ing
nurses%
Identi(y the emotional intelligen"e strengths and 'ea0nesses o( the nurses in these
"ase
studies1 2igures 3-34 3-34 and 3-5%
es"ri&e ho' to de,elop emotional "ompeten"ies%
E.amine the EI "hara"teristi"s o( &est and 'orst &osses you ha,e 0no'n%
Identi(y areas o( resear"h6(rom nursing and other dis"iplines6that support
emotional
"ompeten"ies as predi"tors o( leadership su""ess%
es"ri&e ho' middle- and e.e"uti,e-le,el nurse leaders might use emotional
"ompeten"ies in
di7erent situations%
is"uss ho' emotionally intelligent nurse leaders might

Quote
My continuing passion is to part
a curtain, that invisible shadow
that falls between people, the veil
of indifference to each others
presence, each others wonder,
each others human plight.

6Eudora 8elty

59 CHAPTER 3 Emotionally Intelligent Leadership in Nursing and Health Care Organizations






Emotional intelligen"e4 emotional "ompeten"y4 so"ioemotional leadership4 e7e"ti,e and
ine7e"ti,e leaders4 'or0 engagement4 sel(-a'areness4 sel(-assessment4 sel(-"on!den"e4
sel(-"ontrol4 trust and trust'orthiness4 adapta&ility4 a"hie,ement dri,e4 initiati,e4
optimism4 empathy4 in:uen"e4 organizational politi"s4 ser,i"e orientation4 de,eloping
others4 inspirational leadership4 "hange agent4 "on:i"t management4 team'or04
"olla&oration4 nurse manager4 leader "ompeten"ies




Unit-Based or Service-Line-Based Authority: ;anaging onesel( su""ess(ully4
relating e7e"ti,ely
to others4 assuming a""ounta&ility4 a"ting ethi"ally and 'ith integrity4 leading "hange
initiati,es and other people4 "ommuni"ating e7e"ti,ely4 modeling pro(essionalism4
managing relationships and di,ersity4 sharing de"ision ma0ing4 impro,ing per(orman"e4
in:uen"ing4 maintaining patient sa(ety4 understanding and 'or0ing 'ith organizational
politi"s4 &uilding trust4 promoting team'or0 and "olla&oration4 sele"ting and de,eloping
sta74 and managing "on:i"t% All &eha,iors are strengthened 'ith greater "on"entrations
o( emotional "ompeten"ies%
Organization-Wide Authority: In"ludes all &eha,iors e.pe"ted o( nurse managers plus
assuming
organization-'ide s"ope o( responsi&ility and engaging in strategi" planning%







Opportunities abound! The imperative for leadership practice by nurses has never been greater. Rapidly
advancing knowledge and technologies in the healthcare sector are creating new priorities for the nurs- ing role.
The 20 !nstitute of "edicine #!O"$ report calls for% among other developments% markedly e&panded
leadership by nurses. "embers of the nursing workforce are needed to assume leadership activities and positions
across all types% levels% and locations of healthcare settings. 'urse leadership capabilities will increasingly
become part of the knowledge and skill set of all practicing nurses(not )ust those holding formal positions. To
e&pand leadership capacity% nursing educational institutions must incorporate leadership development throughout
all levels of study% with the necessity for doing so most compelling in baccalaureate and higher degree programs.
The *merican Organi+ation of 'urse ,&ecutives% the premier nursing leadership organi+ation in the -nited
.tates% has called for baccalaure- ate and master/s degrees as the minimal educational preparation of nurse leaders
and doctoral degrees for those in e&ecutive positions.2
,ffective nursing leadership in organi+ations re0uires numerous talents% skills% competencies% and types of
knowledge% as the e&istence of this te&tbook demonstrates. *t its core% leadership is about rela- tionships with
other people. 1eaders/ accomplishments are largely achieved through the individual and coordinated efforts of
others. 2ithout followers% there are no leaders.3
1eadership theories have developed since before the time of "achiavelli% but the most recent theo- ries originated
in the industriali+ed world of the 20th century. !n the works of scholars% researchers% e&emplary leaders% and
undistinguished nonleaders alike% there are few topics in management about which more has been written. .ince
the 450s% research has tended to focus on 2estern methods of leadership in traditional industries. "ore recently%
leadership research has e&panded our traditional
8hat Is Emotional Intelligen"e< 5)




understanding by focusing on leadership behaviors at different levels and within different functional
areas of organi+ations% women/s leadership styles% leader diversity as a competitive advantage to
organi- +ations% multicultural and global leadership% the role of leaders in attaining safety and 0uality
outcomes% and an acknowledgment that 6no one si+e fits all7 practicing leaders. 8ut consistently
throughout time and across cultures% leadership has been recogni+ed as a people-oriented business.9
This chapter is devoted to e&ploring the people skills of good leaders(leaders who enable 6their
people7 to be happy and productive workers and engaged employees% who support employees to grow
and develop to their full potential% and who themselves work successfully as committed organi+ational
agents. *s the standard bearers for high performance% effective leaders empower good performers but
also counsel irretrievably poor employees to leave a setting where they perform poorly. The leadership
framework discussed in this chapter is emotional intelligence% a composite of : intra- and interper-
sonal competencies that predicts successful leadership at work.5
8HAT I= E;OTIONAL INTELLI>ENCE<
,motional intelligence is defined as 6the capacity for recogni+ing our own feelings and those of oth-
ers% for motivating ourselves% and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in others.7;
,motional intelligence #,!$ includes capabilities distinct from% but complementary to% intelligence or
the purely cognitive capacities measured by intelligence 0uotient. ,motional competencies are defined
as 6learned capabilities based on emotional intelligence that contribute to effective performance at
work.7< =rom e&tensive research conducted by >oleman and his associates and by The ?ay >roup of
8oston% emo- tional competence has been found to matter twice as much as intelligence 0uotient and
technical skill combined in producing superior managerial )ob performance. The nursing literature
shows widespread support for ,! as central to nursing practice.:
,motional intelligence develops in humans as a result of genetic inheritance and the sociali+ing
influences of childhood% adolescence% and adulthood@ emotional competencies are a result of
emotional intelligence plus opportunities we have to develop related competencies. They are
capabilities we can learn and e&pand. Thus an individual born with average emotional intelligence
might become e&cep- tionally emotionally competent in adulthood if she had parents who% during her
upbringing% tuned in well to her feelings@ practiced leadership in college through her sorority@ and
worked with emotion- ally competent managers #positive role models$ in her early work e&periences.
.imilarly% it is possible to have life e&periences that erode one/s emotional intelligence. *n individual
born with high natural emotional intelligence could become limited in emotional competencies if he
came from a home in which a parent was an alcoholic% suffered taunting or ha+ing in school% or had
previous bosses who were abusive #negative role models$.
The nursing profession re0uires a high degree of emotional labor(the ability of nurses to regulate
their own emotions and the e&pression of emotions for the sake of their patients/ needs.4 'urses are
e&pected to display emotions that convey caring% understanding% and compassion toward patients
while regulating their own feelings. =or newly graduated nurses% the added emotional burdens of
coping with the transition from school to work are enormous.0 The role of the nurse leader% then%
becomes critical 6in creating a supportive and positive work environment to help nurses cope with the
stress of managing their own and others/ emotions7 concurrently. The *merican 'urses *ssociation
defines the nurse administrator as one who 6orchestrates and influences the work of others in a
defined envi- ronment . . . to enhance the shared vision of an organi+ation%72 and identifies
emotional intelligence as one of nine frameworks for administrative practice. The emotional
intelligence framework provides for understanding the ways in which leader behaviors are necessary
for the creation of a positive emotion- intensive work environment.3