I would like to start this editorial with a polemic discussion about ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills, which some literature name as technical and non-technical skills, respectively. We know that the ‘hard’ (or technical) skills are specific, teachable abilities and can be defined and measured; for example, interpreting an electrocardiogram (ECG) or dressing a wound. Non-technical (or ‘soft’) skills are personality traits and as such, they are difficult to be measured, but they are the ones measured by every patient and relative. These include communication, compassion and patience, flexibility, adaptability, emotional stability, honesty, team-playing, work-ethic, time management, situation awareness, leadership. In a nutshell: emotional intelligence.
The capacity to recognise, assess and control one's own emotions, as well as those of others', is known as emotional intelligence. It is the ability to understand when and how to interact with people (Clancy, 2014), especially in times of high stress and strain. According to Salovey and Sluyther (1997) and Mayer et al (2001), people with emotional intelligence will:
- Accurately recognise and communicate emotions
- Use emotions to support cognitive processes, such as, by being aware of how to react in intensely emotional and delicate circumstances
- Have an awareness of one's own and other people's feelings
- Control emotions for personal development.
Hughes et al (2005) and Lambert (2021) claimed that leaders, regardless of the type of leadership they employed, must possess high levels of emotional intelligence in order to succeed, both personally and organisationally, particularly in person-centered professions like nursing. The foundation of emotionally intelligent leadership is the individual's capacity to manage their emotions, which allows them to accept the emotions and opinions of others and govern their social interactions and behaviours (Daramadi and Aghayar, 2008, Raeissi et al, 2019; Lambert, 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.
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 intelligence domains, outlined by Goleman (1995), that may be included into leadership strategies are: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. The following are some suggestions realted to each domain that could benefit nurses in their leadership strategies:
- Self-awareness:
- – Keep a diary: setting aside a few minutes each day to write down our thoughts and feelings could increase our own self-awareness
- – Examine the causes of certain emotions: leaders should take some time to consider the causes of their strong emotions, such as rage or anger. Leaders must keep in mind that they always have a choice in how they respond to any circumstance.
- Empathy:
- – Exercise empathy: leaders should strive to imagine themselves in other people's shoes and view things from people's points of view
- – React to emotions: for instance, a team member could tell the leader that they are dissatisfied with the lack of employees and the resulting increase in their task. The leader can reply by empathising with them and expressing their appreciation for all the work they have done, while also expressing their frustration with the staffing shortages and their efforts to remedy it
- – 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.