Editorial

EditorShruti Kamath
Commercial ManagerEdward Croome
Classified Sales ManagerDaniel Doherty Emotional awareness and
emotional intelligence
Circulation DirectorSally Boettcher
Production ManagerKyri Apostolou
Production Assistant Larry Oakes
Editorial ManagerBenjamin Wakefield
Associate PublisherSophie Gardner
Managing DirectorAnthony Kerr
Publishing DirectorAndrew Iafrati

I
Chief Executive OfficerBen Allen
Editorial enquiriesshruti.kamath@markallengroup.com
would like to start this editorial with a polemic discussion about ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills, which
Commercial enquiriesedward.croome@markallengroup.com some literature name as technical and non-technical skills, respectively. We know that the
CONSULTANT EDITOR
‘hard’ (or technical) skills are specific, teachable abilities and can be defined and measured; for
Alison While, Emeritus Professor of Community Nursing, King’s example, interpreting an electrocardiogram (ECG) or dressing a wound. Non-technical (or ‘soft’)
College London
skills are personality traits and as such, they are difficult to be measured, but they are the ones
EDITORIAL BOARD
Ben Bowers, Clinical Research Associate, University of Cambridge; measured by every patient and relative.These include communication, compassion and patience,
Community Palliative Care Nurse; Queen’s Nurse
Julie Bliss, Head of Practice Learning, Florence Nightingale Faculty
flexibility, adaptability, emotional stability, honesty, team-playing, work-ethic, time management,
of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London; Chair of the situation awareness, leadership. In a nutshell: emotional intelligence.
Association of District Nurse Educators; and Queen’s Nurse
Ann Bryan, Executive Director of International Partnerships, Health The capacity to recognise, assess and control one’s own emotions, as well as those of others’,
and Social Care, University of Chester
Julie Clennell, Regional Director of Nursing—Clinical Quality, NHS
is known as emotional intelligence. It is the ability to understand when and how to interact
England & NHS Improvement, North East & Yorkshire with people (Clancy, 2014), especially in times of high stress and strain. According to Salovey and
Jane Griffiths, Senior Lecturer, Division of Nursing, Midwifery and
Social Work, University of Manchester Sluyther (1997) and Mayer et al (2001), people with emotional intelligence will:
Maria Horne, Associate Professor in Community and Public Health,
School of Healthcare, University of Leeds
Julie Hughes, Queen’s Nurse, Independent Healthcare Consultant • Accurately recognise and communicate emotions
Catriona Kennedy, QNIS Professor of Community Nursing, School
of Nursing and Midwifery, Robert Gordon University • Use emotions to support cognitive processes, such as, by being aware of how to react in
Brian Nyatanga, Senior Lecturer, Three Counties School of Nursing
and Midwifery, University of Worcester
intensely emotional and delicate circumstances
Patricia Robinson, Senior Lecturer, Community Health Team, • Have an awareness of one’s own and other people’s feelings
University of Brighton
Vera Todorovic, Manager, Dietetics & Nutrition Service, • Control emotions for personal development.
Bassetlaw Hospital
Cate Wood, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing,
University of Winchester Hughes et al (2005) and Lambert (2021) claimed that leaders, regardless of the type of leadership
UK PERSONAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES they employed, must possess high levels of emotional intelligence in order to succeed, both
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Annual credit card £105 foundation of emotionally intelligent leadership is the individual’s capacity to manage their
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social interactions and behaviours (Daramadi and Aghayar, 2008, Raeissi et al, 2019; Lambert,
Institutional pricing: institutions@markallengroup.com 2021). Emotionally intelligent nurses guide others toward shared goals, while fostering strong
personal bonds with their coworkers and team members. They are sensitive to their own and
others’ psychological health and wellbeing.
Part of
The importance of the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective leadership
was acknowledged by Carragher and Gormley (2017), who also stressed that it is possible to
develop personality traits necessary for emotionally intelligent leadership. The five emotional
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intelligence domains, outlined by Goleman (1995), that may be included into leadership strategies
The British Journal of Community Nursing is published by
MA Healthcare Ltd, St Jude’s Church, are: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. The following are some
Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB suggestions realted to each domain that could benefit nurses in their leadership strategies:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7738 5454 | Web: www.bjcn.co.uk

• Self-awareness:
The views expressed do not necessarily represent - Keep a diary: setting aside a few minutes each day to write down our thoughts and feelings
those of the editor or the British Journal of Community
Nursing. Advertisements in the journal do not imply could increase our own self-awareness
endorsement of the products or services advertised.
- Examine the causes of certain emotions: leaders should take some time to consider the causes
© MA Healthcare Ltd, 2022. All rights reserved. No part
of the British Journal of Community Nursing may be of their strong emotions, such as rage or anger. Leaders must keep in mind that they always
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
have a choice in how they respond to any circumstance.
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior
written permission of the Publishing Director.
• Empathy:
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- Exercise empathy: leaders should strive to imagine themselves in other people’s shoes and
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Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, view things from people’s points of view
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The paper used in this publication has been sourced
- React to emotions: for instance, a team member could tell the leader that they are dissatisfied
from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, with the lack of employees and the resulting increase in their task. The leader can reply
operating within international environmental
standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw by empathising with them and expressing their appreciation for all the work they have
materials, sustainable production and to minimise our
carbon footprint
done, while also expressing their frustration with the staffing shortages and their efforts to
remedy it

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 Editorial

- Pay attention to team members’ body language: this might reveal how they truly feel about
an issue, which leaders can then discuss with them.

• Self-regulation:
- Be aware of your personal values: leaders may utilise this knowledge to determine the values
that are most important to them while also making moral or ethical judgments
- Practice maintaining composure: leaders should consider how they responded to difficult
circumstances and find strategies that they can employ, such as deep breathing exercises,
some stretching or qigong exercises
- Show accountability: avoid placing the blame elsewhere when anything goes wrong. By
owning up to your errors and taking responsibility for the results, leaders may gain the respect
of their coworkers and team members.

• Social skills:
- Discover effective conflict resolution techniques: leaders must acquire the information and
abilities necessary to settle disputes with their teams, patients and families
- Improve communication skills: leaders should think about their verbal and non-verbal
communication styles and determine how they may improve
- Praise people when they deserve it: by doing this, leaders may increase team loyalty. However,
remember that excessive praise may cause the compliment to lose its significance and worth.

• Motivation:
- Remind yourself of what motivates you: leaders should write out why they accepted their
position and what they find rewarding about it
- Adopt an upbeat and hopeful outlook: leaders should make an effort to maintain their
optimism in the face of difficulties. This mentality may need some practise to adopt.

We live in unprecedented times, where people are under severe stress and team members are more
likely to be emotionally vulnerable due to either structural or personal problems. I hope this editorial
provides the readers with further insight and motivation to take on leadership strategies to improve
upon their emotional intelligence. BJCN

Tiago Horta Reis da Silva

Lecturer in Nursing Education AEP, Department of Adult Nursing, Florence
Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London
tiago.horta_reis_da_silva@kcl.ac.uk

Carragher J, Gormley K. Leadership and emotional intelligence in nursing and midwifery education and practice: a discussion paper. J Adv
Nurs. 2017;73(1):85-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13141
Clancy C.The importance of emotional intelligence. Nurs Manag (Harrow). 2014;21(8):15. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.21.8.15.s21
Daramadi P, Aghayar S. Emotional intelligence and improvement communication with others.Tehran: Sepahan; 2008
Goleman D. Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books; 1995
Hughes M,Terrell JB. Emotional intelligence in action: training and coaching activities for leaders, managers, and teams. John Wiley &
Sons; 2005
Lambert S. Role of emotional intelligence in effective nurse leadership. Nurs Stand. 2021;36(12):45-49. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2021.
e11782
Mayer JD, Salovey P, Caruso DR, Sitarenios G. Emotional intelligence as a standard intelligence. Emotion. 2001;1(3):232-242. https://
psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/1528-3542.1.3.232
Raeissi P, Zandian H, Mirzarahimy T et al. Relationship between communication skills and emotional intelligence among nurses. Nurs
Manag (Harrow). 2019. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.2019.e1820
Salovey P, Sluyther DJ. Emotional development and emotional intelligence: educational implications. 1st edn. New Work: Basic
Books; 1997

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