Roles and Responsibilities in Leadership and Management using Emotional Intelligence as a measuring tool
Introduction
Leadership is influenced by the nurse manager’s (NM) personal behavior and strategies creating connections in the organization. The personal attributes include having compassion and responding appropriately to the emotions of the group/team. It’s difficult to exercise this behavior hence needs a strong foundation of emotional intelligence (EI).EI is a tool used to measure leadership skills. Self-awareness is a distinct component in EI and the NM is responsible for. This paper focuses on the need of EI and its effectiveness in leadership in nursing.
Roles and Responsibilities in Leadership and Management
It’s the NM responsibility to have collective goals and objectives to guide a course of action. The physiological mindset of the NM influences his/her emotional leadership skills. EI is a vital skill in an organization for a leader to demonstrate. Having an understanding of your own emotions as an NM and the emotions of team members, EI allows leaders to create an environment of open communication, enhanced trust and greater empathy Crowne et al,(2017). Therefore, using self-awareness, a key aspect in EI, the NM is able to ensure performance of the organization is maintained and group is satisfied by eliminating biases and prejudices.
Emotional Intelligence
According to Edbor & Singh (2016) “EI is that sense of internal balance within us that enables us to keep our composure, make good decisions, communicate successfully, and maintain effective leadership even when under stress.” It equips NM with the ability to control impulses, stressful events and to cooperate in the group through communication. A higher degree of EI creates a happy working environment and good interpersonal relations by willingness to participate in the organizational activities unlike the leaders with low EI.
Role of Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership.
Spano-Szekely et al, (2016) stated “Nursing administrators should consider EI characteristics when hiring NM and lead efforts to advance education to align with organization needs for business and strategic essentials necessary for NM effectiveness.” EI requires that a leader should poses some essential personal human qualities like empathy and compassion for effective leadership. Self-awareness in EI is discovering new information. By critically examining the behavior of self, the NM can create a safe, trustworthy and caring relational structure with employees. Self-management is taking responsibility of our emotions and letting them not to interfere with changes within the organization. This helps to be calm and communicate to employees in calm manner during stressful circumstances. Higher degree of EI requires the NM to be empathetic to fellow tem members in order to relate without causing harm that will affect their productivity. EI helps in managing relationships through collaboration, communication, creating influence and management of conflict Goleman, (2006).
Discuss what behaviors someone with a high degree of self-awareness would demonstrate within the context of leading and managing groups: The process of self-awareness requires that the NM examine their personal values so that personal bias and prejudice do not project onto their group. It allows the NM to treat everyone with respect, create a safe, trustworthy and caring relational structure. A higher degree of self-awareness demands self-confidence that is knowing capabilities: NM demonstrates self-confidence as the final decision maker using critical thinking skills especially in intensive care unit. Another aspect is accurate self-assessment which is identifying strengths and limitations: NM delegates responsibilities to a colleague who does it well as she focuses on her strengths as they work towards a common goal.
Conclusion
Every successful leader needs to demonstrate the ability to adapt to the change and working in group to create a higher degree of EI. Therefore, EI is a powerful tool to enhance effective communication and promote a positive working environment
References
Crowne, K. A., Young, T. M., Goldman, B., Patterson, B., Krouse, A. M., & Proenca, J. (2017). Leading nurses: emotional intelligence and leadership development effectiveness. Leadership in Health Services, 30(3), 217-232.
Edbor, A., & Singh, P. (2016). The role of emotional intelligence on personality. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(1), 71.
Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional intelligence. Bantam.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Spano-Szekely, L., Griffin, M. T. Q., Clavelle, J., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2016). Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership in nurse managers. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(2), 101-108.
Tyczkowski, B., Vandenhouten, C., Reilly, J., Bansal, G., Kubsch, S. M., & Jakkola, R. (2015). Emotional intelligence (EI) and nursing leadership styles among nurse managers. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 39(2), 172-180.
