Emotional Intelligence and Its Benefits, Essay Example

Five Elements of Emotional Intelligence

Goleman’s  (2003) theory about the five basic elements of emotional intelligence at work provides both definitions and hallmarks of all components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. These components will be analyzed in detail in relation with their impact on nursing leadership.

Realistic self-assessment is important for nursing leaders, as it helps them build on their strengths and identify their development areas. Self-regulation in nursing is also extremely important, as in a business health care unit, several disturbances could occur, and leaders need to think before taking an action instead of reacting to events. Motivation of the self in health care can strengthen teams, through providing an example of motivation, and communicating a clear vision. Empathy is also one of the major assets of nursing managers, as they need to understand different viewpoints: patients’ and team members’. Further, this skill can be useful in nurturing talent. Social skills in the globalized world are also important for managing relationships and building successful teams. Bakr & Safaan (2012) states that emotional intelligence is the key to successful nursing leadership.

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence in the Nursing Profession

In a nurse manager role within a maternity care unit, emotional intelligence is extremely important. However, reviewing the five elements of emotional intelligence has revealed that all of them are needed for building and nurturing successful teams. As Whitley-Hunter (2014, p.  138) confirms, emotional intelligence is a “critical component of a nurse’s characteristic trait which is known as a significant predictor of a person’s job performance and life success”. One of the main reasons for the need of emotional intelligence in nursing management highlighted by Whitley-Hunter (2014) is the fact that patient care is becoming multifaceted (p. 139). In maternity care, it is important that the leader is aware of the difference between the preferences/demands of patients,  team members, and themselves. And improving one’s emotional intelligence can help finding relevant responses to situations and build emotional connections, as well as trust.

References

Bakr, M. M., & Safaan, S. M. (2012). Emotional Intelligence: A Key for Nurses’ Performance. Journal of American Science, 8(11).

Goleman, D. (2003). What makes a leader. Organizational Influence Processes (Porter, LW, et al. Eds.), New York, ME Sharpe, 229-241.

Whitley-Hunter, B. L. (2014). Validity of transactional analysis and emotional intelligence in training nursing students. Journal of Advances in Medical Education &        Professionalism, 2(4), 138.