Plastic Surgical Nursing www.psnjournalonline.com 55 Lead.docx

Plastic Surgical Nursing www.psnjournalonline.com 55
Leadership and Emotional Intelligence:
Does It Matter?
Marcia Spear , DNP, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN, CANS
DOI: 10.1097/PSN.0000000000000088
Marcia Spear, DNP, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN, received her
Doctor of
Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
She is fac-
ulty at both the School of Medicine and School of Nursing at
Vanderbilt.
She has more than 25 years of experience in plastic surgery and
wound
care and is presently working as a nurse practitioner and certifi
ed wound
specialist for the Department of Plastic Surgery at Vanderbilt
University
Medical Center. She is also an Assistant Professor at the
Jeannette C.
Rudy School of Nursing at Cumberland University, where she
teaches

undergraduate nursing students.
The author reports no confl icts of interest.
Address correspondence to Marcia Spear, DNP, ACNP-BC,
CWS, CPSN,
Department of Plastic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical
Center,
S-2221, Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232 (e-mail:
marcia.
[email protected] ).
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
John F. Kennedy
Leadership is the ability to lead other people in the
accomplishment of a common task. How does a leader
accomplish this? What are the necessary
qualities and/or traits a successful leader must possess
to lead? No doubt, the task at hand with the leaders of
ASPSN is to further the mission and vision of the organi-
zation. I never really thought of myself as a leader until
I became actively involved in ASPSN where many of my
past mentors recognized my abilities and nurtured them.
When you have to do personal inventory of the quali-
ties that you possess as a leader, it can sure by an eye
opening experience. I sometimes think I know what my
effective and “good” qualities are but, then again, when
I look critically at my inventory, I fi nd myself lacking. In
this instance I must positively nurture the qualities I do
possess as I fulfi ll my obligations as President of ASPSN
and on my journey, develop and nurture those I did

not even know I had. So, to do my personal inventory
I decided to examine emotional intelligence (EI). I fi rst
heard of EI when I was participating in a formal ad-
vanced practice nurse mentor/mentee program and fi nd
EI to be simple and applicable to myself as a leader. It
also appeared to encompass many of the qualities that I
developed growing up: honesty, integrity, empathy, and
motivation.
Emotional intelligence was originally proposed in
1990 as an effective barometer for effectively dealing
with emotions within the self and others (Salovey &
Mayer, 1990). Salovey and Mayer (1990) described EI
as the ability to perceive, appraise, and express emo-
tion, access and process emotional information, gen-
erate feelings, understand emotional knowledge, and
regulate emotions for emotional and intellectual growth.
The concept of EI has been widely used in the corporate
world since Goleman published his book titled Emo-
tional Intelligence in 1995. Goleman (1995) described EI
as a capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those
of others, for motivating ourselves, and managing emo-
tions well within our selves and in our relationships. In
other words, EI is the ability to recognize your emotions,
understand what they are telling you, and realize how
your emotions affect the people around you. The defi ni-
tion was revised in 1997 to read, “Emotional intelligence
involves the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and
express emotions; the ability to access and/or generate
feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to under-
stand emotion and emotional knowledge, and the ability
to regulate emotion to promote emotional and intellec-
tual growth” (Salovey & Mayer, 1997, p. 35). Emotional
intelligence and the associated characteristics have been
associated with successful leaders in many arenas but
have not been well embraced in health care leadership

(Bradbuey, Greaves, & Lencioni, 2009; Cooper & Sawaf,
1998; Goleman, 1995; Palmer, Walls, Burgess, & Stough,
2011; Renaud, Rutledge, & Shepherd, 2012). I want to
explore and do a critical appraisal of my personal char-
acteristics as a leader using the components of EI. The
intent is to increase my awareness of my positive charac-
teristics as well as identify those I need to develop. Emo-
tional intelligence has fi ve components: self-awareness,
self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill
( Goleman, 2004; Goleman, 2011 ).
The fi rst recognized component of EI is self-
awareness. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and
understand your moods, emotions, and drives as well
as their effect on others. Competencies identifi ed within
this ability are self-confi dence, realistic self-assessment,
Letter From the President of ASPSN
Copyright © 2015 American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses.
Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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56 www.psnjournalonline.com Volume 35 Number 2 April–
June 2015
and self-deprecating sense of humor ( Goleman, 2004 ).
It is always good to have humor and how better than to
be able to laugh at yourself and with others. One must
understand one’s own emotions, strengths, weaknesses,

needs, and drives. Self-awareness involves being hon-
est with our selves as well as others. We would all like
to believe that we are good at everything but, unfortu-
nately, this is just not the case in spite of what we might
think. Someone who is highly self-aware knows where
they are going and why. One of my lifelong sayings has
been, “I know my fl aws better than anyone.” Sometimes
it is hard to accept those fl aws but being able to recog-
nize and accept them as a leader through self-aware-
ness will enable me to work with the other leaders in
identifying the strengths necessary for accomplishing
the goals of ASPSN. Self-awareness is a mechanism for
self-inventory as a leader that I will utilize it often.
Self-regulation is the ability to control or redirect disrup-
tive impulses and moods. It also includes the propensity
to suspend judgment and to think before acting ( Gole-
man, 2004 ). Hallmarks of self-regulation include trustwor-
thiness and integrity, comfort with ambiguity, and open-
ness to change ( Goleman, 2004 ). Now to me, this seems
to be in confl ict with EI, a bunch of women not acting and
reacting with emotions. That can be a deal breaker. Self-
regulation is inner conversation and fi nding ways to con-
trol and even channel emotions in useful and productive
ways. I have always talked to myself. When my daughter
was growing up and we were going to daycare and work
each morning, I would talk out my whole day to myself
as I was driving. My daughter got used to this and would
ask me almost daily, “Mom, you talking to yourself again?”
Yes, I would say, planning my day. Self-regulation fosters
trust and fairness and can become contagious. This trust
and fairness is essential for the growth of ASPSN. Life of-
fers no certainty and self-regulation allows one to go with
the fl ow, welcome change as a means for self-growth,
thoughtfulness, and refl ection. I like change. Change is
good. Change is good for ASPSN and leadership must

work toward change to better the organization.
Motivation is a passion to work for reasons that go
beyond status. Motivation is also the propensity to pur-
sue goals with energy and persistence ( Goleman, 2004 ).
I have often been called an overachiever but consider
that a compliment. There is nothing wrong with achiev-
ing for the sake of achieving. I love a job well done.
There is no better feeling of accomplishment. Emotional
intelligence identifi es seeking out creative challenges, the
love of learning, and taking pride in a job well done as
identifi ers of motivation. I proudly admit that I possess
these characteristics and am committed to the growth
and success of ASPSN. My job as a leader is to make
motivation contagious, not only to current leaders but to
potential future leaders as well.
Empathy is another characteristic of EI and a good
leader. Empathy is the ability to understand the emo-
tional makeup of other people and treating people ac-
cording to their emotional reactions ( Goleman, 2004 ).
Empathy does not mean in the instance of leadership
adopting the emotions of other people and trying to
please everybody. We all know that it is not possible to
please everybody. I no longer even attempt but being
a leader is not about pleasing people. It is not to say
that consideration of the feelings of others should be
ignored but should be included in intelligent decisions.
An effective leader must be able to sense the emotions
and understand the viewpoints of all stakeholders. The
stakeholders referred to here are the Board of Directors
of ASPSN. Using empathy promotes collaboration as a
team and I see this collaboration as essential in carrying
out my duties and responsibilities as a leader. We can’t
forget coaching and mentoring that grooms and moti-
vates our future leaders.

Now, last but not least, is social skill. Social skill
involves managing relationships and building net-
works. Social skill also involves the ability to fi nd
common ground and build rapport ( Goleman,
2004 ). In other words, we socialize continuous-
ly to build rapport and have the resources already
in place when there is a job that needs to be done.
Getting work done through other people is the
hallmark of a good leader. No leader is an island
( Goleman, 2004 ). It takes a collaborative approach to
be successful. I don’t believe I have ever accomplished
anything without the help and support of others.
CONCLUSION
Emotional intelligence can enhance the self-inventory
process of the characteristics necessary for a good and
infl uential leader. Self-awareness, self-regulation, motiva-
tion, empathy, and social skill are necessary components
of effective leadership. A leader needs social skill to get
the work done through and with other people. Motiva-
tion is necessary to communicate passion with the leaders
and members of ASPSN. Managing emotions and relation-
ships with others is imperative to further the mission and
vision of ASPSN. After all, this is my purpose as President
of ASPSN and one I take very seriously.
REFERENCES
Bradbuey , T. , Greaves , J. , & Leniconi , P.
( 2009 ). Emotional intel-
ligence 2.0 . San Francisco, CA : TalentSmart .
Cooper , R. , & Sawaf , A. ( 1998 ). Executive
EQ: Emotional intelligence

in leadership organizations . New York, NY : Berkley .
Goleman , D. ( 1995 ). Emotional intelligence —Why it
can matter
more than IQ . New York, NY : Bantam Books .
Goleman , D. ( 2004 , January). What makes a leader .
Harvard Busi-
ness Review . 1 – 10 .
Goleman , D. ( 2011 ). Emotional intelligence . New
York, NT : Bantam .
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10:11 PM22/05/15 10:11 PM
Plastic Surgical Nursing www.psnjournalonline.com 57
Palmer , B. , Walls , M. , Burgess , Z. , &
Stough , C. ( 2011 ). Emotional
intelligence and effective leadership . Leadership and
Organiza-
tion Development Journal , 22 , 5 – 10 .
Renaud , M. , Rutledge , C. , & Shepherd , L.
( 2012 ). Preparing emo-
tionally intelligent doctor of nursing practice leaders . Journal
of
Nursing Education , 51 ( 8 ), 454 – 460 .

Salovey , P. , & Mayer , J. ( 1990 ). Emotional
intelligence . Imagination,
Cognition & Personality , 9 , 185 – 211 .
Salovey , P. , & Mayer , J. (Eds.). ( 1997 ). What
is emotional intelli-
gence ? In Emotional development and emotional intelligence:
Educational implications . New York, NY : Perseus Books
Group ; 3 – 32 .
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10:11 PM22/05/15 10:11 PM
Emotionai inteiiigence
and ijeadership
Deveiopment
By Golnaz Sadri, PhD
This paper reviews ttie current iiterature on the concept of
emotionai
inteiiigence and makes recommendations for incorporating
emotionai
inteiiigence into ieadership deveiopment programs. The paper is
divided into four sections: the first section identifies the two
most cited
modeis of emotionai inteiiigence. Section two reviews research
on the
reiationship between leadership and emotionai inteiiigence. The
third
section provides a synopsis of the arguments for and against

emotionai
inteiiigence. The fourth and finai section iiiuminates how the
components of emotional inteiiigence integrate with
contemporary
ieadership deveiopment practices and suggests some methods
for
deveioping emotionai inteiiigence competencies among
managers and
ieaders.
I
n an article on developing leadership capability. Conger states
that the issue
is not "whether leaders are born or made. They are born and
made."' Many
organizations are consciously focused on developing their
leadership po-
tential and programs aimed at leadership development continue
to gain
popularity among researchers and practitioners. Bersin suggests
that while man-
agement represents a relatively small percentage of the
workforce, about 21
percent of tbe training budget in corporate America is spent on
leadership de-
velopment and supervisory/management training.^
The concept of emotional intelligence has generated increasing
interest
during the past decade among those involved in leadersbip
development and
training. Proponents of emotional intelligence argue that it may
be more im-
portant than intellectual intelligence (IQ) in determining
leadersbip success.

Critics of emotional intelligence argue tbat mucb of tbe interest
in and extrava-
gant claims about El have been fueled by research published in
books (e.g.,
Goleman's Emotional Intelligence published in 1995) as
opposed to peer-re-
viewed journals and therefore, bave not witbstood adequate
scrutiny' Despite
Pubiic Personnei Management Voiume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012 535
the considerable debate and criticism surrounding the topic, at
the conclusion
of a book critiquing emotional intelligence. Murphy suggests
that there "are
some reasons for optimism about the future of emotional
intelligence, but there
is still a long way to go before this concept will come close to
living up to the
hype.'"'
This paper suggests that leadership development programs may
be en-
hanced through a better understanding ofthe concept of
emotional intelligence
and the inclusion of practices that aim to develop participants'
emotional intel-
ligence. The purpose of this paper is to review the current
literature on the
concept of emotional intelligence and to make some
recommendations about
how to proceed in terms of incorporating emotional intelligence
into leader-
ship development programs. The paper is divided into four

sections: first, I
define and present the two most cited models of emotional
intelligence. Sec-
ond, I review research on the relationship between leadership
and emotional
intelligence. Third, I provide a synopsis of the arguments for
and against emo-
tional intelligence. Fourth, I look at how the components of
emotional
intelligence integrate with contemporary leadership
development practices and
suggest some methods for developing emotional intelligence
competencies
among managers and leaders.
Defining Emotional Intelligence (El)
Mayer, Salovey and Caruso define emotional intelligence (El)
as "the capacity to
reason about emotions, and of emotions to enhance thinking. It
includes the
abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate
emotions so
as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional
knowledge, and to
refiectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and
intellectual
growth."5 Their model, considered an ability model, has been
more widely ac-
cepted by the academic community and contains four levels of
emotional
abilities. The most basic level is the ability to perceive emotion
and includes
skills such as recognizing facial expressions in others and
interpreting what
those expressions mean. The second level is the ability to use
emotion to facil-

itate thought and includes skills such as weighing confiicting
emotions against
each other to determine how one should react. The third level,
understanding
emotion, involves labeling emotions and understanding the
relationships asso-
ciated with shifts in emotion. The fourth level is the ability to
manage emotion,
to effectively manage feelings within oneself and others, for
example, calming
down after being angry, or being able to alleviate the anxiety of
another person.^
This model is measured through the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso
Emotional Intelli-
gence Test (MSCEIT).̂ Many leadership development programs
require
536 Public Personnel Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012
participants to complete self-report and 360-degree assessments
prior to attend-
ing the program. The MSCEIT, a self-report measure, could be
completed by
program participants prior to their attendance at the program to
assess baseline
levels of El and identify developmental opportunities. In this
way, during the
leadership development program, participants can obtain
feedback more di-
rectly tailored to improving their particular El weaknesses.
Goleman defines emotional intelligence as "abilities such as
being able to
motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to

control impulse and
delay gratification; to regulate one's moods and keep distress
from swamping
the ability to think; to empathize and to hope."^ Goleman's
model is consid-
ered a mixed model and has been more widely embraced by the
non-academic
community. This model of El is comprised of five skill areas,
three of which re-
late to personal competence and two of which relate to social
competence. The
personal competencies include: 1) Self-Awareness ("knowing
one's internal
states, preferences, resources, and intuitions"); 2) Self-
Regulation ("managing
one's internal states, impulses, and resources"); 3) Motivation
("emotional ten-
dencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals").' The social
competencies
include: (1) Empathy 'Awareness of others' feelings, needs, and
concerns" (2)
Social Skills 'Adeptness at inducing desirable responses in
others". i° There are
two measurement tools based on Goleman's model: the
Emotional Competency
Inventory (ECI) and the Emotional and Social Competency
Inventory (ESCI)."
As with the MSCEIT, leadership development programs will
benefit from the in-
clusion of either the ECI or the ESCI as one of the self-report
measures
completed by program participants prior to attendance. The
specific measure
of El that is likely to complement the other self-report and 360-
degree instru-
ments used will differ from one program to another. I suggest

that program
developers review the three El instruments mentioned here
(MSCEIT, ECI and
ESCI) as well as others that may appear to be a good fit, paying
particular atten-
tion to the psychometric properties of each instrument to ensure
that the
measure adopted has both reliability and validity and will truly
strengthen their
program.
Leadership and Emotional Inteiiigence
A number of different authors argue that El is a key component
of effective lead-
ership. ̂ ^ George suggests that leaders high in El are able to
recognize, appraise,
predict and manage emotions in a way that enables them to
work with and mo-
tivate team members.^^ Prati, Douglas, Eerris, Ammeter and
Buckley propose
that El is "essential to effective team interaction and
productivity" and that the
"emotional intelligence of the team leader is important to the
effective
Public Personnel Management Volume 41 No. 3 Faii 2012 537
functioning of the team. The leader serves as a motivator toward
collective ac-
tion, and facilitates supportive relationships among team
members. The
emotionally intelligent team leader also provides a
transformational influence
over the team."'"*

Both primary and secondary research looking at the El of
leaders is emerg-
ing. Cooper identifies a number of high profile business leaders
who
demonstrate what he refers to as the "four cornerstones" of El:
emotional liter-
acy, emotional fitness, emotional depth and emotional alchemy ̂
^ Harrison &
Clough conducted secondary research on 15 "state of the art"
leaders and found
that they possessed a number of characteristics, one of which
was high EI.̂ '̂ Bar-
ling, Slater and Kelloway examined self-report ratings of
managers' El and
subordinate ratings of their transformational leadership. They
found that El was
associated with three aspects of transformational leadership
(idealized influ-
ence, inspirational motivation and individualized
consideration).'^ Higgs and
Aitken studied the El of 40 managers participating in a
leadership development
center. They found El to be related to a number of aspects of
leadership and
they suggest that El may prove a good predictor of leadership
potential.'^ Man-
dell and Pherwani examined the predictive relationship between
El and
transformational leadership style in 32 managers working for a
medium to large
organization in the U.S. They found a significant relationship
between transfor-
mational leadership style and El.''Jordan and "froth conducted a
study with 330
university students participating in 108 teams. They found that

teams consisting
of members higher in El performed better than teams with
members lower in
El. They also found that El affected the type of conflict
strategies adopted. Those
higher in El were more likely to use collaboration at both the
individual and
team levels of analysis.̂ " In a study of 41 senior executives.
Rósete and Ciarrochi
investigated the relationship between El, personality, cognitive
intelligence and
leadership effectiveness. Their results showed that El was
associated with higher
levels of leadership effectiveness and that El explained variance
explained by
neither personality nor cognitive ability^' Dries and Pepermans
matched 51 high
potential managers with 51 regular managers. They found that
the El subscales
of assertiveness, independence, optimism, flexibility and social
responsibility
separated the high potential managers from managers
performing at an average
level.̂ ^ Rego, Sousa, Pina e Cunha, Correia, and Saur-Amaral
investigated the ex-
tent of co-variation between a leader's El and the creativity of
his/her team. They
found that employees were more creative when their team
leaders possessed
self-control against criticism and were more empathetic.^' The
evidence pro-
vided above indicates a link between El and leadership
effectiveness. Therefore,
assessment centers and other selection procedures targeted at
selecting effec-
tive leaders will benefit from the inclusion of El as one of the

selection criteria.
Again, self-report measures of El may be used bere but of
greater value would
be observation and measurement of participant El tbrougb the
various inter-
personal and group activities included in an assessment center.
Research
evidence to date implies that higher levels of El will lead to
greater levels of ef-
fectiveness in a leadership role.
There is also some evidence that El responds to training. For
example,
American Express financial advisors developed an emotional
competence train-
ing program in the early nineties. The study compared the
performance of
financial advisors working under managers who received
emotional compe-
tence training against managers wbo did not receive the
training. Advisors who
worked for a trained manager were able to grow their businesses
at a rate of
18.1 percent over 15 months compared to 16.2 percent for those
advisors who
worked under a manager who did not receive the training.̂ ^ In a
study of Bell
Labs engineers, Kelley and Caplan identified nine non-cognitive
strategies that
differentiated star performers from average performers: taking
initiative, net-

working, self-management, teamwork effectiveness, leadership,
followersbip,
perspective, sbow-and-tell and organizational savvy. A program
was developed
at Bell Labs focused on teacbing these skills to engineering
employees. Kelley
and Caplan note tbat at the time their article was written, 600
engineers had
participated in this program, which led to an increase in worker
productivity
(about 25% after one year) and an improved organizational
climate.̂ 5 Groves,
McEnrue and Sben found tbat a group of 135 employed business
students who
underwent an 11-week El training program showed significant
gains in El while
a control group showed no pre-test, post-test differences. While
the research
cited here appears promising, it is important to note tbat
researcb on El is still
evolving and has generated substantial debate. Tbe following
section summa-
rizes some of tbe major criticisms and counter-arguments
directed at EI.̂ ^
Evaluating Emotional Intelligence (El)
Tbere are criticisms over the definition of El. Locke argues tbat
El is defined
too broadly, that the definition of the concept is continuously
changing and that
tbe combination of reasoning witb emotion in tbe definition of
El is contradic-
tory He also feels that altbough intelligence can be applied to
many aspects of
life, including emotions. El itself is not truly a form of
intelligence.̂ '̂ Hedlund

and Sternberg find tbat conceptualizations of El "exceed the
boundaries of a
reasonable definition of intelligence."^^ Davies, Stankov and
Roberts call El an
"elusive concept. "29
There is also some concern about how much El adds to our
understand-
ing of behavior over and above existing constructs.^" In a meta-
analysis of 69
Pubiic Personnei Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012 539
independent studies. Van Rooy and Viswesvaran reported that
El showed a cor-
relation of .22 with general mental ability. They also found that
El was related to
all of the Big Five dimensions of Personality. The highest
correlate was found to
be extraversion (.34), then emotional stability (.33),
conscientiousness (.31) and
finally agreeableness and openness to experience (.23
respectively).''
Criticisms have also been targeted at tbe psychometric
properties of cur-
rent El measures. For example, Davies, Stankov and Roberts
investigated the
relationship among El measures, traditional human cognitive
abilities and per-
sonality in a set of three studies. They found tbat self-report
measures of El
either had poor reliability or (if reliabilities were acceptable)
tended to load on

established personality factors. They also report that objective
(versus self-re-
port) measures showed poor reliability'^ Conte finds that while
El measures
generally demonstrate adequate reliability, there is a lack of
validity evidence."
Otber researcbers echo tbis concern over the reliability and
validity of El meas-
ures currently in existence.'"* Furthermore, Landy criticizes the
cross-sectional
study designs that have typically been used when investigating
El, tbe lack of sta-
bility of definitions and instruments, the unavailability of
researcb findings
(primarily from studies by Goleman) to tbe interested reader
and the lack of
concrete suggestions on how one might use EI.'5
However, there are also authors wbo argue in support of El. For
example,
Mayer, Salovey and Caruso find that El meets three criteria tbat
establish it as a
form of intelligence: first. El tests can provide correct answers;
second. El cor-
relates modestly with other intelligences; third. El develops
with age.'^ In a study
comparing intellectual, emotional and managerial intelligence,
Dulewicz and
Higgs report that the measure of El used (based on 16 El
competencies) showed
both reliability and validity. They also found that a combination
of emotional
and intellectual intelligence was a better predictor of success
than either of them
alone.'^ Daus and Ashkanasy find that the ability model of El
shows sufficient

convergent and discriminant validity to support its claims as a
form of intelli-
gence.'^ Similarly, Ashkanasy and Daus argue in support of El
and suggest tbat
El is an individual difference variable that develops over time
and responds to
training. They find tbat El is a type of intelligence which is
related to but distinct
from other types of intelligence." Law, Wong and Song
collected data from three
samples: university students, bigh school students and
employees of a cigarette
factory in the People's Republic of China. They showed that El
was both related
to and distinct from the Big Five personality dimensions.
Further, peer ratings
of El accounted for over 10% of the variance in work
performance as rated by
supervisors.''°
In summary, criticisms of El focus on tbe broadness and
instability of tbe
definitions used and question the predictive validity of tbe
concept over and
540 Public Personnel Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fail 2012
above personality and other types of intelligence that have an
established place
in the literature. There are also reliability and validity issues
surrounding the
measurement of El. In the conclusion to a book critiquing El,
Murphy draws
the following four conclusions about El research: first, there are

issues sur-
rounding the definition and measurement of El; second, how El
is related to
other concepts (e.g., personality, social skills and general
intelligence) is not yet
well established; third, there is not adequate research to support
some of the
claims about the relationship between El and success in
different life arenas;
fourth, despite these concerns, there is some optimism about the
future of EI.''̂
Emotional Intelligence Training and
Leadership Development
In order to assist those who wish to determine how to
incorporate El into their
current leadership development programs, this section examines
how the di-
mensions of El fit into existing leadership development
practices and what
strategies might work best in developing El competencies.
While both models
of El identified above are important, I focus on Goleman's
model in this section
of the paper as this model and the literature surrounding it have
been more
practitioner-focused. As mentioned previously, Goleman's
model has five com-
petencies: self-awareness (knowledge of internal states,
preferences, resources,
intuitions); self-regulation (managing internal states, impulses,
resources); mo-
tivation (emotional tendencies that facilitate goal achievement);
empathy (being
aware of other people's feelings, needs, concerns) and social
skills (ability to

provoke desirable responses in others).''^ In order to provide a
context for the
concept of El in the domain of leadership training and
development, this sec-
tion compares Goleman's model of El with two important prior
studies in
this area.
The first study of leadership development to be introduced in
this section
is that of Conger who suggested that there are essentially four
approaches to
leadership development: personal development, conceptual
understanding,
feedback and skill building."*' Conger suggests that the
personal growth ap-
proaches to leadership development assume that the training
participant has
lost touch with his/her inner values, talents and passions.
Activities aimed at
personal growth help participants reconnect with these inner
qualities. Con-
ceptual approaches assume that leadership is complex and
poorly understood.
The goal of this category of training activities is to raise
awareness of some key
leadership ideas. Feedback approaches to leadership training
assume that par-
ticipants have already developed a leadership style, feedback
assists in
identifying the strengths and pitfalls of the individual's
particular style. Finally,
Public Personnel Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012 541

skill building approaches to leadership development employ
step-by-step in-
structions and demonstrations to help participants learn
essential leadership
skills and techniques.
It appears that a number of the competencies identified by
Goleman are
already the focus of current leadership development practices.
Looking at the
definitions provided and reviewing the activities identified by
Conger, Conger's
categories integrate with Goleman's competencies in the
following ways: per-
sonal growth integrates with Goleman's dimension of self-
awareness (both focus
on developing greater awareness of one's internal states);
feedback taps into
self-regulation (feedback on leader behaviors leads to a greater
recognition of
abilities, preferences and resources and identifies next steps in
managing re-
sources); skill building approaches help with the development
of social skills.
Thus, three of the four categories of leadership training and
development cur-
rently employed by practitioners overlap in some manner with
three of the five
competencies identified by Goleman in his model of EL
In a more recent study, Hartman, Conklin and Smith conducted
a review
of talks given to students of a leadership class by 12 business
leaders and iden-
tified six themes which constitute "practice-based definitions of

effective
leadership and leader development."'̂ '' Their six leadership
themes are: full com-
mitment (the leaders identified passion and 100% commitment
as important to
success); people orientation (appealing to and getting the most
from their sur-
rounding people); education (seeing everything as an
opportunity to contribute
to life-long learning); difficult challenges (taking on difficult
assignments); com-
munication (the importance of honest, face-to-face contact with
employees);
and ethics (staying with one's morals and acting with integrity).
Again, Gole-
man's competencies of El integrate with Hartman et al's themes
in a number of
ways: people orientation integrates with Goleman's category of
social skills
(both involve the ability to get the most from others);
communication integrates
with Goleman's category of empathy (there is abundant
literature linking em-
pathy to effective communication skills); ethical behavior
integrates with
Goleman's categories of self-awareness and self-regulation
(self-awareness in-
volves knowing those key values that are important to a leader
while
self-regulation is defined as the ability to manage one's
impulses and resources
so that the leader stays true to his/her values). Thus, three of
Hartman et al's
themes of effective leadership and leader development integrate
with four of
the five competencies identified by Goleman.''̂

"While the debate continues about the validity of El as a type of
intelligence
and the reliability and validity of El measures, this paper shows
that four of the
competencies of which it is composed integrate with prior
research on leader-
ship development. More specifically, the El competencies of
self-awareness,
542 Pubiic Personnei Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fail 2012
self-regulation and social skills overlap with the personal
growth, feedback and
skill building approaches to leadership development identified
by Conger.'̂ ^ The
El competencies of social skills, empathy, self-awareness and
self-regulation
overlap with the themes of people orientation, communication
and ethical be-
havior identified by Hartman et al."*̂ Consequently, I suggest
that practitioners
interested and involved in developing leaders not attempt to
improve all five El
competencies in the same training program, but rather consider
developing
one or more of the competencies identified here as integrating
with past re-
search in the area of leadership development (self-awareness,
self-regulation,
empathy and social skills) as stand-alone competencies and
provide training to
participants who lack the requisite skills on an as-needed basis.
For example,

the top training priority for one leader might be developing self-
awareness, for
another it may be improving self-regulation, for a third,
developing empathy,
while for a fourth, the initial focus for training might be
enhancing social skills.
The level of priority will be determined through the
measurement of each
leader's El prior to attendance at the leadership development
program.
Toward this end, Allen and Hartman reviewed 25 sources of
learning for
leaders and provide helpful information about each. Of the
activities identified
by Allen and Hartman, those most pertinent to developing self-
awareness in-
clude individual reflection, group reflection, executive
coaching, instruments,
simulations and personal development plans.'*^ Individual
reflection focuses on
a person's goals, past experiences and personal mission and is
captured through
activities like journaling. Group reflection typically occurs after
a teambuilding
activity. Participants discuss the pattern of events during the
exercise and iden-
tify strategies for improvement. Executive coaching is an
individualized method
of learning where a coach works with a client in a one-to-one
relationship to as-
sist in accomplishing behavioral improvements back at the
workplace.'̂ ^
Instruments are a popular vehicle for raising self-awareness. A
combination of
self-report and 360-degree instruments is often used as part of

leadership devel-
opment programs. It was suggested earlier in this paper that
measures of El be
incorporated as one of the instruments used in such programs.
There are a va-
riety of simulations available for use in leadership development
programs. These
range from simple paper and pencil exercises (for example,
where participants
are asked to imagine that they are in a crisis type situation and,
through discus-
sion, they have to agree on a preferred coursed of action) to
more elaborate
outdoor activities. Such exercises are then paired with group
reflection. Per-
sonal development plans involve the individual in developing
and taking
responsibility for his/her own training and development plan.
Activities most likely to contribute to the enhancement of self-
regulation
include executive coaching, developmental assignments,
simulations and
personal development. Please refer to tbe previous paragrapb
for definitions of
executive coaching, simulations and personal development
plans. Developmen-
tal assignments are structured so that they are both challenging
as well as
providing an opportunity for tbe individual to learn.^" Service
learning is likely

to prove a very good vehicle for developing empathy Service
learning involves
engagement in activities tbat target individual and community
needs.̂ ^
Social skills may be enhanced through the training
methodologies of team-
building, developmental relationsbips and networking with
senior executives.
Teambuilding involves members working cooperatively together
to analyze tbe
task aspect of their work as well as the interpersonal processes
occurring within
the group. Developmental relationships may be formal or
informal and help
provide the target individual witb information, support and
cballenge. Network-
ing witb senior executives gains tbe target individual exposure
as well as the
opportunity to learn about the organization from an informed
and informal
perspective.52
Finally, while motivation did not integrate with the prior studies
reviewed
here, I will nevertheless mention that of the training activities
identified, those
tbat seem most suited to tbe development of motivation as
defined by Gole-
man include classroom based trainining, self-paced learning, as
well as personal
development plans (defined above) to better understand and
assess a leader's
own motivation. Classroom-based training is formal education
with a relatively
short (usually lasting between three to five days) curriculum

geared towards
the particular needs of the executive audience. Self-paced
learning typically in-
volves participants reading a book, completing a workbook,
viewing a videotape
or listening to an audiotape.^^ Tbe reader is directed to Allen
and Hartman for
further information about each of these training activities.̂ "*
Summary and Conclusions
This paper focused on emotional intelligence, an evolving area
of theory, re-
search and practice in the field of leadership development. My
aim was to
provide an overview of the literature that pertains to El and
leadership. The
paper defined and identified the two most cited models of El,
reviewed research
on the relationsbip between leadership and El, provided the
major arguments
for and against El, showed how the components of El integrate
with current
leadership development practices and identified key activities
for developing El
competencies among managers and leaders. As stated above,
while the concept
has generated considerable debate. El does sbow some
important links to lead-
ership and four of the five components of Goleman's model of
El integrate with
contemporary practice in the field of leadership development.
Due to the
544 Pubiic Personnei Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012

criticisms targeted at the definition of El and the concerns with
the reliability
and validity of El measures, I suggest tbat organizations focus
on eacb of the El
competencies as discrete skills and assist leaders in developing
eacb skill inde-
pendently using one or more of tbe training activities identified
above.
Notes
' Conger, J.A. (2004). Developing leadership capability: What's
inside the black box?
Academy of Management Executive, 18, 136-139.
2 Bersin, J. (2008). 2008 U.S. corporate training budgets
emphasizing management and
leadership training. Available at:
http://services.tekrati.com/research/9987/ (accessed 30
September 2008).
' Goleman, D (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York:
Bantam Books.
•* Murphy, K.R. (2006). A critique of emotional intelligence:
What are the problems and
how can they be fixed? New Jersey: Lawrence Eribaum
Associates.
5 Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P, & Caruso, D.R. (2004), Emotional
intelligence: theory, findings
znàvnpc2it:ons. Psychological Inquiry, 15(5), 197-215.
* Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P, & Caruso, D.R. (2000). Models of
emotional intelligence. In

Stenberg, R. (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence, Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University
Press, 396-420; Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P, & Caruso, D.R.
(2004), op cit.
' Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P, & Caruso, D.R. (2002). Mayer-
Salovey-Caruso Emotional
Intelligence Test (MSCEU) User's Manual.Toronto, ON: MHS.
* Goleman, D. (1995), op cit.
' Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence.
New York: Bantam Books.
'» Ibid.
" Emmerling, R. (2008). Emotional Competence Inventory 2.0
Emotional & Social
Competency Inventory Available at:
www.eiconsortium.org/measures/eci_360.html
(accessed 11 May 2008).
'̂ Coetzee, C , & Schaap, P (2004). The relationship between
leadership styles and
emotional intelligence. Paper presented at the 6th Annual
Conference for the Society
of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Sandton, South
Africa;Daus, C.S., & Harris,
A. (2003). Emotional intelligence and transformational
leadership in groups. Paper
presentation of symposium Multilevel perspectives on emotions
in organizations at
the 18th Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial and
Organizational Psychologists,
Orlando, FL; Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002).
Primal leadership:

Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston: Harvard
Business School Press.
'5 George, J.M. (2000). Emotions and leadership: The role of
emotional intelligence.
Human Relations, 53(8), 1027-1044.
'"* Prati, L.M., Douglas, C , Eerris, G.R., Ammeter, A.P, &
Buckley, M.R.(2003). Emotional
intelligence, leadership effectiveness, and team outcomes. The
Intemational Joumal
of Organizational Analysis, 11(1), 21-40.
'5 Cooper, R.K. (1997). Applying emotional intelligence in the
workplace. Training &
Development, (Decem,ber), 31-38.
'* Harrison, J.K., & Clough, M.W (2006). Characteristics of
"state ofthe art" leaders:
productive narcissism versus emotional intelligence and Level 5
capabilities. The Social
Science Journal, 43, 287-292.
" Barling, J., Slater,J., & Kelloway, E.K. (2000).
Transformational leadership and
emotional intelligence: An exploratory study. Leadership &
Organization
Development Journal, 21(^), 157-161.
'* Higgs, M., & Aitken, P (2003). An exploration ofthe
relationship between emotional
intelligence and leadership potential. Journal of Managerial

Psychology, 18(8), 814-
823.
" Mandell, B., & Pherwani, S. (2003). Relationship between
emotional intelligence and
transformational leadership style: A gender
compadson./OMr/z«/ of Business and
Psychology, 17(5), 387-404.
2° Jordan, PJ., & Troth, A.C. (2004). Managing emotions during
team problem solving:
emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. Human
Performance, 17(2), 195-218.
2' Rósete, D., & Ciarrochi, J. (2005). Emotional intelligence
and its relationship to
workplace performance outcomes of leadership effectiveness.
Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, 26(5), 388-399.
22 Dries, N., & Pepermans, R. (2007). Using emotional
intelligence to identify high
potential: A metacompetency perspective. Leadership &
Organization Development
Journal, 28(8), 749-762.
23 Rego, A., Sousa, F, Pina e Cunha, M., Correia, A., & Saur-
Amaral, I. (2007). Leader self
reported emotional intelligence and perceived employee
creativity: an exploratory
study Creativity and Innovation Management, 16(5), 250-264.
2'' Smith, P (1994). Emotional competence training program -
American Express.
Available at www.eiconsortium.org, (accessed 2 March 2008).

25 Kelley, R., & Caplan, J (1993). How bell labs creates star
performers. Harvard Business
Review, 71(4), 128-139.
2« Groves, K.S., McEnrue, M.P & Shen, W (2008). Developing
and measuring the
emotional intelligence of leaders. The Journal of Management
Development, 27(2),
225-238.
2' Locke, E.A. (2005). Why emotional intelligence is an invalid
concept. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 425-431.
28 Hedlund, J. & Sternberg, R.J. (2000). Too many
intelligences? Integrating social,
emotional, and practical intelligence. In Bar-On, R. & Parker,
J.D.A. (Eds.), The
handbook of emotional intelligence: theory, development,
assessment, and
application at home, school, and in the workplace, San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
136-167.
29 Davies, M., Stankov, L. & Roberts, R.D. (1998). Emotional
intelligence: in search of an
elusive construct./OMrw«/ of Personality and Social
Psychology, 75(4), 989-1015.
546 Public Personnei Management Volume 41 No. 3 Fall 2012
3" Landy, FJ. (2005). Some historical and scientific issues
related to research on
emotional intelligence. Journal of Organizational Behavior,

26(4), 411-424.
3' Van Rooy, D.L. & Viswesvaran, C (2004). Emotional
intelligence: A meta-analytic
investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. Journal
of Vocational
Behavior, 65, 71-95.
32 Davies, M., Stankov, L. & Roberts, R.D. (1998), op cit.
33 Conte, J.M. (2005). A review and critique of emotional
intelligence measures. Journal
of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 433-440.
3'' Becker, T. (2003). Is emotional intelligence a viable
concept? The Academy of
Management Review, 28(2), 192-195; Murphy, K.R. (2006), op
cit.
35Landy, FJ. (2005),opcit.
3* Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P, & Caruso, D.R. (2004), op cit.
3' Dulewicz, V, & Higgs, M. (2000). Emotional intelligence - a
review and evaluation
study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(4), 341-353.
38 Daus, CS., & Ashkanasy, N.M. (2005). The case for the
ability-based model of
emotional intelligence in organizational behavior./owrw«/ of
Organizational
Behavior, 26(4), 453-466.
39 Ashkanasy, N.M., & Daus, CS. (2005). Rumors of the death
of emotional intelligence in
organizational behavior are vastly exaggerated./owrw«/ of

Organizational Behavior,
26(4), 441-452.
^° Law, K.S., Wong, C , & Song, LJ. (2004). The construct and
criterion validity of
emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management
studies./OMrw«/ of
Applied Psychology, 89(5), 483-496.
'" Murphy, K.R. (2006), op cit.
''2 Goleman, D. (1998), op cit.
''3 Conger, J. (1992). Leaming to lead: The art of transforming
managers into leaders.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
'*'* Hartman, N., Conklin, T., & Smith, J. (2007). What leaders
say versus what academics
write: The relevance of leadership theory. SAM Advanced
Management Journal,
(Autumn), 32-39.
''5 Goleman, D. (1998), op cit.
"«Conger,). (1992),opcit.
^'' Hartman, N., Conklin, T, & Smith, J. (2007), op cit.
^^ Allen, SJ., & Hartman, N.S. (2008). Leadership
development: an exploration of sources
of learning. SAM Advanced Management Journal (Winter), 10-
19.
"" Ibid.

50 Ibid.
5' Ibid.
Pubiic Personnel Management Volume 41 No. 3 Faii 2012 547
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid.
Author
Gohiaz Sadri, PhD
Department of Management
Mihaylo College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
800 North State College Boulevard
Fullerton, CA 92834
(657) 278-2162
gsadriC® fullerton.edu
Dr. Gohiaz Sadri received her doctorate in organizational
psychology from the
Victoria University of Manchester, U.K. She is professor of
organizational hehavior
at California State University, Fullerton. Sadri has published
articles in various na-
tional and international journals (for example, Journal of
Vocational Behavior,
Applied Psychology: An International Review, and Journal of
Managerial Psy-

chology). She has also participated in various national and
international
conferences (for example. Society for Industrial and
Organizational Psychology,
Western Academy of Management and National Academy of
Management).
Copyright of Public Personnel Management is the property of
International Public Management Association for
Human Resources and its content may not be copied or emailed
to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without
the copyright holder's express written permission. However,
users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
LWW/NAQ NAQ-D-14-00069 February 16, 2015 23:58
Nurs Admin Q
Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 172–180
Copyright c© 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) and
Nursing Leadership Styles
Among Nurse Managers

Brenda Tyczkowski, DNP, RN;
Christine Vandenhouten, PhD, RN, APHN-BC;
Janet Reilly, DNP, APRN-BC; Gaurav Bansal, PhD;
Sylvia M. Kubsch, PhD, RN; Raelynn Jakkola, BSN
Less than 12.5% of nurses aspire to leadership roles, noting lack
of support and stress as major
factors in their decision not to pursue this area of practice.
Psychological resiliency, described
as the ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity, is key to
successful nurse managers.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a related concept to resiliency
and is another noteworthy predictor
of leadership and management success. This study was
undertaken to determine the level of
and relationship between EI and leadership style of nurse
managers employed in Wisconsin
and Illinois facilities. A descriptive, exploratory study design
was utilized, with a convenience
sample of nurse managers working in 6 large Midwestern health
systems. Nurse managers were
invited to participate in the study by their employer, completing
the online consent form and the
demographic, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)
Form 5X and the Emotional Quotient
Inventory (EQ-i 2.0) surveys. Statistically significant positive
relationships were noted between
EI and transformational leadership and the outcomes of
leadership (extra effort, effectiveness,
and satisfaction). No statistically significant relationships were
noted between EI and transactional
or laissez-faire leadership styles. Key words: emotional
intelligence, leadership style, nurse
managers, resiliency, transactional leadership, transformational
leadership

THE SCOPE of responsibility and thedepth of knowledge,
skills, and attitudes
needed to be an effective nurse manager (NM)
continue to expand. This expanding role leads
to stress among NMs. Emotional intelligence
(EI) is a useful tool to enhance psychologi-
cal resiliency to this stress. High levels of EI
can enhance transformational leadership style
Author Affiliations: University of Wisconsin Green
Bay (Drs Tyczkowski, Vandenhouten, Reilly, Bansal,
and Kubsch); and St. Vincent Hospital, Hospital
Sisters Health System, Green Bay, Wisconsin (Ms
Jakkola).
Funding obtained through University of Wisconsin
Green Bay dean and graduate studies grant.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Correspondence: Brenda Tyczkowski, DNP, RN, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Dr, Green
Bay, WI 54311 ([email protected]).
DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000094
required to create and maintain a positive
working environment.1 By understanding the
relationship between EI and NMs’ leadership
style, efforts may be taken to enhance EI be-
haviors and subsequently, resiliency.
The literature was reviewed to see what
has been written on EI and leadership styles.
Nurses are involved in countless interactions
each day requiring the display of leader-

ship behavior, including EI.2 Emotional intelli-
gence was correlated with positive processes
in health care environments and positive in-
stitutional outcomes.3 Emotional intelligence
scores of NMs were positively correlated with
patient outcomes, MD and patient satisfac-
tion, reduced staff turnover, and increased
staff resilience.4,5
Nurses who consistently dealt with emo-
tional interpersonal relationships reported
higher than average levels of EI using the
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized
reproduction of this article is prohibited.
172
mailto:[email protected]
Emotional Intelligence and Nursing Leadership Styles 173
Bar-on EQ-i survey tool to test EI. This rein-
forces the importance of having a high level of
EI to help manage interpersonal relationships
as part of nursing leadership. Authors of the
study recommended incorporating EI training
in nursing education. Improved training in EI
will lead to better interpersonal communica-
tion and better patient outcomes.6 Emotional
intelligence is a skill that can be learned by
means of counseling, training, and keeping a
reflective emotional journal.7

Emotional intelligence requires self-
awareness and can be further enhanced
through practice and feedback. The cor-
relation between EI and successful nurse
leaders is well documented.5 According
to these authors, EI refers to the ability to
discriminate and monitor emotions and use
the evidence to guide action and thought.
The relationship between EI and effective
leadership has been validated by others.1,8-10
The most effective leaders were those with
high EI.11 A study conducted in Boston with
more than 20 000 executives found that EI
was twice as important as technical skills and
cognitive abilities in determining leadership
ability.11 High-level EI leaders bring out the
best in members of the organization, drive
emotions in a positive manner, connect with
others at an emotional level, and make work
more meaningful.11 It is important for leaders
to recognize their own emotions and to be
able to express those emotions to others.12 In
doing so, the leader uses his or her positive
emotions to motivate others and enable the
vision of the organization to be enacted
through job performance.
In a meta-analysis, leaders with high levels
of EI were shown to demonstrate transforma-
tional leadership styles. Subordinates consis-
tently rated transformational leaders as more
effective than laissez-faire and transactional
leadership styles.13

There is considerable agreement that high
levels of EI are a necessary component of
transformational leadership.14-16 Transforma-
tional leaders develop constructive and posi-
tive relationships with followers and respond
to their emotional needs.17 Significant re-
lationships were found between subscales
of EI and components of transformational
leadership.14,15 Emotional intelligence is as-
sociated with 3 attributes of transformational
leadership (using the Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire [MLQ] survey): idealized influ-
ence, individualized consideration, and inspi-
rational motivation.1 These authors also found
that high levels of EI (using the Bar-on EQ-i)
can enhance transformational leadership style
required to create and maintain a positive
working environment.
One study found a strong correlation
between transformational factors and leader
effectiveness, satisfaction, and extra effort.18
Subordinates were more satisfied with
transformational leaders and perceived them
as more effective than laissez-faire leaders.
Another study examined the relationship
between leadership style and extra effort,
perceived leadership effectiveness, and satis-
faction with the leader.19 It found a stronger
relationship between transformational and
outcomes factors than between these factors
and transactional and laissez-faire styles.
Another study found that charismatic leaders
were similar to transformational leaders in

that they did not influence followers on the
basis of authority.20 Rather, they were highly
self-confident and had a set of behaviors that
followers imitated. Transactional leaders used
a negotiation process, in which followers
exchanged efforts for rewards.20 Several
studies noted strong relationships between
EI and transformational leadership.21-23
Resiliency, EI, and leadership style have
been identified as traits in successful
NMs.2,14,18,24 Resiliency includes constructs
similar to EI: energy, passion, the ability to
bounce back from hardships, drive, “tanks
seems full”, grounded, adaptable, and a
healthy work/life balance.24(p138) To cope,
leaders need to be resilient and agile, able to
accept complex change, be emotionally intel-
ligent, and able to help others move forward
and achieve success.25 Organizations need to
foster EI and resiliency into their culture and
leaders. Resilient leaders are positive, flexible,
focused, and are able to deal with reality and
174 NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/APRIL–
JUNE 2015
improvise. Furthermore, they are self-aware,
able to manage themselves, are aware of oth-

ers, and can manage relationships. Resilient
leaders demonstrate EI.25
METHODS
A descriptive exploratory study was con-
ducted to explore the level of and relation-
ship between EI and leadership styles of NMs
employed in Wisconsin and Illinois. A con-
venience sample of NMs working in 6 large
Midwestern health systems was used for this
study.
Emotional intelligence is operationally de-
fined in this study as having “abilities such as
being able to motivate oneself and persist in
the face of frustrations; to control impulse and
delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods
and keep distress from swamping the ability
to think; to empathize and to hope.”11(p34) Re-
siliency is defined through similar constructs,
including perseverance (persistence), equa-
nimity (self-control), and positive psychologi-
cal capital (hope).26 Emotional management is
recognized as a protective factor in resiliency
along with the ability to bounce back and
move on in life after adversity is present.27
DATA COLLECTION
Demographic survey questions were
derived from the literature review and with
input from participating health care institu-
tions. The MLQ Form 5X was used to measure
the leadership style of NMs.18 This survey
instrument includes 45 items designed to mea-

sure the frequency of leadership behaviors
using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Leadership
styles include transformational, transactional,
and passive/avoidant.18 Transformational
leadership consists of 5 subscales (idealized
attributes, idealized behaviors, inspirational
motivation, intellectual stimulation, and
individualized consideration). Transactional
leadership style includes 2 subscales, namely,
contingent reward and management by ex-
ception (active). Passive/avoidant leadership
style is made up of 2 subscales including
management by exception (passive) and
laissez-faire. The MLQ Form 5X also measures
3 outcomes of leadership—extra effort, effec-
tiveness, and satisfaction. The MLQ Form 5X
has demonstrated reliability and validity.18
A gold standard measurement of resiliency
has not yet been identified26; therefore, the
related concept of EI was explored, using the
EQ-i 2.0 survey tool to measure the EI of NMs.
The EQ-i 2.0 tool uses a 5-point Likert-type
scale to measure emotional intelligence and
coping ability as components of personality
and disposition on the basis of responses to
133 survey questions.28 Results provided in-
clude a total EI score and 5 composite scale
scores (self-perception, self-expression, inter-
personal, decision making, and stress manage-
ment) based on the Bar-on Model of Emo-
tional intelligence.28 The EQ-i 2.0 has been
used worldwide and has acceptable reliability
and validity.

While the possible pool of NMs was not de-
termined, a total of 142 NMs completed the
demographic items, 128 completed the MLQ
Form 5X, and 110 NMs completed the EQ-i
2.0 instruments. Matched responses to the de-
mographic, MLQ Form 5X and EQ-i 2.0 items
were available for 77 NMs.
FINDINGS
Data were analyzed using SPSS, Version 21
(IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and Partial Least
Square (PLS) software (SmartPLS 3, Hamburg,
Germany).28 Descriptive statistics were calcu-
lated for demographic variables and mean to-
tal MLQ-5X scale and subscale scores. EQ-i 2.0
scores were reported collated and analyzed
by Multi-Health Systems Inc.29
As presented in Table 1, participants in
this study were primarily female (92%), white
(97%), and 61 years of age or older (35%).
The highest level of education reported by
participants was BSN (56%), with the major-
ity of subjects reporting less than 5 years’ ex-
perience as a manager (34%). When asked
about previous training in EI, 62% reported
having no previous EI training. This points
out the opportunity to provide training on the

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of
the Sample (n = 142, Respondents Who
Completed Entire Demographics Section
of Survey)
Variable (n = Respondents
for Question) n (%)
Sex (n = 146)
Male 13 (9)
Female 133 (91)
Race/ethnicity (n = 146)
White/Caucasian 138 (95)
Asian 3 (2)
Black/African American 2 (1)
Hispanic/Latino 2 (1)
Pacific Islander 1 (1)
Level of education (n = 141)
BSN 78 (55)
MSN 21 (15)
MS-other 20 (14)
ADN 14 (10)
Other 8 (6)
Experience as NM (n = 146)
<5 y 48 (33)
5-10 y 40 (27)
11-15 y 23 (16)
16-20 y 13 (9)
20+ y 22 (15)

Time spent on NM duties (n = 141)
>75% 105 (74)
51%-75% 22 (16)
<50% 14 (10)
Employment setting (n = 146)
Inpatient 64 (45)
Outpatient 30 (20)
Other 52 (35)
Title (n = 146)
Nurse manager 63 (43)
Director 12 (8)
Other 71 (49)
Previous training in EI (n = 146)
Yes 57 (39)
No 89 (61)
Previous training in leadership styles
(n = 146)
Yes 114 (78)
No 32 (22)
Appropriate training to deal with conflict
(n = 146)
Yes 116 (79)
No 30 (21)
(continues)
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of
the Sample (n = 142, Respondents Who
Completed Entire Demographics Section

of Survey) (Continued)
Variable (n = Respondents
for Question) n (%)
Confidence in resolving conflict on the unit
(1- to 10-point scale, 10 = high confidence)
(n = 146)
Mean 7.9
Standard deviation 1.5
Level of interdisciplinary teamwork on the
unit (1- to 10-point scale, 10 = high level of
collaboration (n = 146)
Mean 7.8
SD 1.7
Abbreviation: NM, nurse manager.
concepts of EI and leadership styles to a
young, up-and-coming generation of NM.
Participants who completed the MLQ Form
5X described their leadership on each of 45
items using a Likert-type scale, with 0 = not
at all to 4 = frequently, if not always. Scale
and subscales of the MLQ Form 5X includ-
ing range of scores, measures of central ten-
dency, and reliability results were calculated
using SPSS and are reported in Table 2. Re-
sults indicate the majority of NMs’ leadership
style aligned with that of transformational, fol-
lowed by transactional and passive avoidant.
Participants indicated higher satisfaction with

leadership behavior (3.35), followed by effec-
tiveness (3.26), and finally their ability to mo-
tivate (2.97).
Results from participants who completed
the EQ-I 2.0 survey provide total EI scores
and five composite scale scores (see Table 3).
The mean total EQ score for participants was
107.76. As noted in Figure 1, 8.2% (n = 9) of
the participants scored below average for the
total EQ, 42.7% had an average EQ score (n
= 47), while 49.1% (n = 54) showed a higher
than average EQ score.
The 5-component scale scores included on
the EQ-i 2.0 tool are stress management, de-
cision making, interpersonal, self-expression,
JUNE 2015
Table 2. Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form
5X) Results (n = 128)
Scale and Subscale Item #’s Range Mean SD Cronbach α
Total MLQ 5X 1-45 0.848
Transformative 2.25-4.0 3.28 0.385 0.853

Idealized Attributes 10,18,21,25 1.75-4.0 3.04 0.532 0.448
Idealized Behaviors 6,14,23,34 1.25-4.0 3.25 0.545 0.569
Inspirational Motivation 9,13,26,36 2.0-4.0 3.38 0.499 0.742
Intellectual Stimulation 2,8,30,32 1.5-4.0 3.29 0.510 0.663
Individual Consideration 15,19,29,31 2.25-4.0 3.44 0.452 0.645
Transactional 1.25-4.0 2.36 0.493 0.560
Contingent Reward 1,11,16,35 2.0-4.0 3.22 0.509 0.416
Management by Exception-Active 4,22,24,27 0.0-4.0 1.54 0.744
0.658
Passive Avoidant 0.0-4.0 .65 0.497 0.735
Management by Exception-Passive 3,12,17,20 0.0-4.0 .76 0.604
0.702
Laissez-Faire 5,7,28,33 0.0-4.0 .53 0.536 0.507
Outcomes of Leadership 1.86-4.0 3.19 0.468 0.821
Extra Effort 39,42,44 1.0-4.0 2.97 0.627
Effectiveness 37,40,43,45 2.0-4.0 3.26 0.488 0.848
Satisfaction 38,41 1.0-4.0 3.35 0.543 0.853
and self-perception. A sixth area was ex-
plored, on the basis of data analysis, entitled
“happiness.” High EQ-i 2.0 scores (above 100)
indicate emotionally intelligent people, while
lower scores indicate a need to improve EI in
specific areas (Table 3).
Figure 2 describes the relationship be-
tween EI and NM’s leadership style. Results
demonstrate that EI explains 18% of variance
in transactional leadership style, 20% of the
variance in passive/avoidant leadership style,
41% of the variance in outcomes of leader-
ship, and 44% of the variance (R2) in trans-
formational leadership style. In addition, self-

Table 3. EQ-i 2.0 Total and Composite Scale
(Standard) Scores
Scale and
Subscale Range Mean SD
Total EQ-i 2.0 74-132 107.76 11.29
Stress Management 64-130 107.18 11.59
Decision Making 76-131 107.4 11.18
Interpersonal 81-125 108.02 10.19
Self-Expression 72-132 105.98 12.18
Self-Perception 67-126 104.83 11.80
Happiness 40-124 107.64 15.09
expression is found to be positively related
to transformational leadership style and out-
comes of leadership (EES; it is the “Outcomes
of Leadership” scale, which comprises “ex-
tra effort,” “effectiveness,” and “satisfaction”).
Stress management skills are negatively asso-
ciated with passive avoidant leadership styles
(P < .05) and positively associated with out-
comes of leadership. Finally, while the rela-
tionship between self-perception and transac-
tional leadership style was not significant (P <
.10), it was positively associated. In this study,
there was no significant association between
EI areas of decision making, interpersonal, or
happiness and leadership styles.
DISCUSSION
The majority of NMs in this study had high
EI scores and the predominant leadership
style identified by respondents in this study

was transformational, followed closely by
average EI scores and outcomes of leadership
(extra effort, effectiveness, and satisfac-
tion). Sixty-two percent of the respondents
acknowledged previous EI training and educa-
tion, while over three-fourths of respondents
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Below Average Average Above Average
N
um

be
r
(o
f p
ar
�c
ip
an
ts
)
Figure 1. Mean total (standard) EQ-i 2.0 score of NMs. Note:
Below average scores = <90; average scores
= 90 to 109; above average = >109.
reported having previous leadership training,
which may have affected the results of this
study. The literature noted many nursing
studies indicating that EI and transformational
leadership were teachable skills.14 Offering
course content, continuing education or
professional development opportunities to
develop EI, and transformational leadership
could have significant implications for nursing
educational institutions, health care systems,
and the quality of management skills in their
nursing students and current and future NMs.
In this study, a significant positive rela-
tionship between EI factors and transfor-
mational leadership style was noted. These

results are consistent with those of other stud-
ies that found an association between EI and
transformational leadership suggested in the
Figure 2. Relationship between emotional intelligence and
leadership styles.
JUNE 2015
literature.10,14,15 It can be proposed that lead-
ership style and EI in NMs impact health care
systems, in their parts and as a whole, since EI
and leadership style are known to influence
not only individual NM success but also the
overall nursing unit or environment.10,15,30
While there is some evidence that self-
perception is associated with transactional
leadership styles, the relationship is weak. Fu-
ture research is needed to explore the rela-
tionship. The lowest mean leadership style of
NM respondents in this survey was passive-
avoidant. This leadership style provided re-
spondents the least ability to manage stress,
therefore reducing their resiliency. Previous
literature has supported the hypothesized
relationship between low EI and burnout.5

The literature notes the need for EI and the
ability to rebound from stress in effective
leadership.31 To create resilient and effective
NMs, health care systems must assist NMs to
build EI skills and transformational leadership
qualities/skills including stress management,
decision-making and happiness.
Almost one-third of respondents in this sur-
vey were 61 years of age or older. This speaks
to the aging nursing workforce and its aging
NMs while adding urgency to prepare future
NMs who will be knowledgeable in EI.32 More
than half of the NM participants were pre-
pared at the BSN level, confirming the sugges-
tion that EI education should be included in
the bachelor’s-level nursing curriculum2 and
encouraging the Institute of Medicine report
Initiative on the Future of Nursing recom-
mendation 7 to “prepare and enable nurses to
lead change and advance health.”33
Some factors limited the results of this
study. The demographic and MLQ 5X ques-
tions were combined into 1 instrument. The
EQ-i 2.0 survey was hosted on a separate,
proprietary Web site, which added complex-
ity for participants. Participants in this study
needed to enter the name of their institution
on both the combined demographic and MLQ
5X instruments and on the EQ-i 2.0 instru-
ment to allow manual, de-identified match-
ing of data. Some participants did not iden-
tify their institution on both surveys, reducing
the number of surveys available for compar-

ison. The result was a loss of 33 unmatched
response sets.
An additional factor related to the small
sample size available for data analysis could
be the inherent level of respondent survey fa-
tigue or lack of time at work to complete the
3 surveys because of the number of instru-
ment questions. While both the EQ-i 2.0 and
the MLQ 5X had psychometric data indicat-
ing reliability and validity, the data were self-
reported and from a sample with the majority
being white, female NMs. Additional studies
with 360◦ approaches to assess NM leader-
ship styles, resiliency, and EI in larger, more
diverse samples of NMs are needed.
IMPLICATIONS
So what do these results mean to (nurse)
managers and administrators? The results
of this study are important to health care
systems as they experience an increased need
to educate, recruit, and retain top-performing
nursing leadership and managers.10,15,30 As
a related factor to resiliency, EI is not static
and can be taught and enhanced.14 Emotional
intelligence and predominant leadership style
assessment could be considered by health
systems in pre-employment screening as a
way to recruit the strongest applicants to
nursing management and administration.
These assessments could also be included
in performance reviews for existing NM em-
ployees or in succession planning to groom
future NMs. The ideal candidate for leader-

ship development programs are nurses who
are in the early stages of their career, who
hold a BSN or higher.34 In response to health
care reform and improvement, the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement, in collaboration
with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
created a how-to-guide for health systems
to create NMs who will lead innovation and
improvement.35 This guide includes a 4-
pronged approach to improve NMs’ ability to
support transformational change that includes
talent management, formalized nursing lead-
ership development programs, development
of leaders’ EI, and effective succession
planning. The concepts and results found in
this study most certainly support such efforts
for the development of strong and resilient
nurse leaders in tomorrow’s health care
systems.
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Exploring leadership capability and emotional intelligence as
moderators of workplace bullying
MARIE HUTCHINSON P h D 1 and JOHN HURLEY P h D 2
1Senior Research Fellow, Southern Cross University, School of
Health and Human Sciences, and 2Senior Lecturer,
Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human
Sciences, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Introduction
Internationally, there has been considerable concern

raised regarding aggression and violence experienced by
nurses in their workplace (Mikkelsen & Einarsen 2002,
Katrinli et al. 2010, Robertson & Perry 2010). Al-
though aggression and violence from patients and their
visitors are cause for concern for nurses, aggression
from colleagues and managers are reported to be of
most concern (Jackson et al. 2002). In line with other
Correspondence
John Hurley
Southern Cross University
School of Health and Human
Sciences
Coffs Harbour
NSW 2480 Australia
E-mail: [email protected]
H U T C H I N S O N M . & H U R L E Y J . (2013) Journal of
Nursing Management 21, 553–562
Exploring leadership capability and emotional intelligence as
moderators of
workplace bullying

Aim This study aimed to explore the potential for emotionally
intelligent leadership
as a way to mitigate bullying behaviour within nursing
workplace environments.
Background As the body of evidence about bullying continues
to grow there is an
increasing need for researchers to direct their attention to
developing theoretical
frameworks that explain how bullying and victimization occur,
and the types of
strategies that may address the problem.
Evaluation The narrative synthesis of the literature presented in
this paper is for-
warded as supporting the need for strengthening leadership
capability, especially
those capabilities associated with emotional intelligence, as a
means of diminishing
experienced bullying within nursing.
Key issues Stemming from our expanding understandings about
bullying is an
appreciation of the range of factors within organizations that
influence the occur-
rence of bullying, and an awareness of the need to understand
the expression,
experience and management of emotions in the workplace.

Conclusions While both leadership and emotional intelligence
capabilities offer
real potential to mitigate bullying behaviour, disparity exits
between clinical and
managerial nurses toward preferred leadership styles and
emotional intelligence is
open to challenges towards its content validity.
Implications for nursing management Nursing management is
challenged to build
upon procedural responses to bullying to include a ground up
approach to leader-
ship enhancement capability, better responses to emotions in the
workplace
and supporting the interpersonal and intrapersonal capabilities
of the nursing
workforce.
Keywords: emotional intelligence, nursing leadership, nursing
workforce, workplace
bullying
Accepted for publication: 2 December 2011
Journal of Nursing Management, 2013, 21, 553–562
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2012.01372.x
ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 553

industry sectors, in the nursing context the term work-
place bullying has increasingly been used to define and
describe behaviours that have been variously described
in the nursing lexicon as horizontal or lateral violence,
incivility and counterproductive or disruptive behaviour
(Mikkelsen & Einarsen 2002, Royal College of Nursing
2002, Hutchinson et al. 2010, Katrinli et al. 2010,
Robertson & Perry 2010). Workplace bullying is rec-
ognized to include behaviours such as verbal abuse or
threat of harm, continual criticism, demeaning remarks,
intimidation and undermining, as well as more subtle
behaviours such as refusing to cooperate, being
unavailable to give assistance, hampering another�s per-
formance and making their work difficult (Celik &
Celik 2007, Guidrox et al. 2010, Hutchinson et al.
2010).
Bullying can be characterized as a form of emotional

abuse (Lovell & Lee 2009), suggesting that consid-
erations toward mitigating negative responses to bul-
lying could be explored from emotional perspectives.
Bullying frequently includes a mixture of overt and
covert behaviours such as hostile verbal and non-
verbal aggression, harassment, exclusion, isolation
and obstruction (Vessey et al. 2011). Together, these
behaviours form a recurring and patterned set of
negative and harmful behaviours (Hutchinson et al.
2010). In the nursing workplace, the pattern of
behaviours implicated in bullying have been catego-
rized as personal attack, erosion of professional com-
petence and reputation, and attack through work roles
and tasks (Hutchinson et al. 2010). Bullying is an
inherently social interaction, and the work group is
known to play a role in condoning or tolerating the
behaviour. By creating a stressful and toxic work
environment, bullying, affects the well-being of those

targeted and the functioning of work teams (Longo &
Sherman 2007).
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a set of capabilities that
focus upon an individual�s capacity to access, monitor
and discriminate between one�s own emotions and those
of others (Grewal & Salovey 2005). It also incorporates
the capability of using this discriminating access to
emotions to aid and inform decision making and in
meeting desired outcomes (Mayer & Salovey 1997).
While there are differing models that include or exclude
personality traits into the construct of EI (Bar-On 2000)
four core abilities of Mayer and Salovey (1997) argu-
ably reflect the agreed central pillars of EI: (1) the
ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others
accurately, (2) the ability to use emotions to facilitate
thinking, (3) The ability to understand emotions, emo-
tional language and the signals conveyed by emotions
and (4) the ability to manage emotions so as to attain
specific goals.

The application of capabilities that are built upon self
awareness, empathy and the coalescing of thought and
emotion to workplace bullying with its emotional
ramifications appears logical. However, little is known
about the place of EI in reducing the occurrence or
resultant harm from hostile workplace behaviours such
as bullying. Little attention has been directed towards
understanding the place of EI in assisting individuals to
adapt or respond to stressful or hostile workplace
environments, or the role of leadership in emotion
management and the promotion of positive work out-
comes that may reduce the likelihood of bullying. To
address this gap we explore the place of EI in assisting
individuals to adapt or respond to bullying and the
potential for emotionally intelligent leadership as a way
to mitigate bullying behaviour within nursing work-
place environments.
The nature, prevalence and impact of bullying

To date, explanations of the contributory factors for
workplace bullying have examined the personality
characteristics of individuals who bully and their targets
(Parkins et al. 2006, Seigne et al. 2007), the nature of
work and workplace relationships (Aquino & Lamertz
2004, Avergold & Mikkelsen 2004) and features of
management as well as the workplace climate (Hutch-
inson et al. 2010). Historically, attention has focused
primarily on individual personality traits in an effort to
establish whether these characteristics influence the
susceptibility of individuals to engage in or become a
target of bullying. Exploring individual characteristics
has identified that those who engage in bullying can be
impulsive, emotionally reactive and have a low toler-
ance for ambiguity (Matthiesen & Einarsen 2007).
Those bullied are said to be more likely to have low self-
esteem and exhibit negative affectivity (Matthiesen &
Einarsen 2007). Others may be targeted on the basis of

race or gender (Lewis & Gunn 2007), or success and
achievement (Speedy 2004). Organizations are increas-
ingly being explored as possibly contributing to bully-
ing. It has been hypothesized that bullying may be
generated in stressful workplace situations, intolerant
organizational climates or where leadership is charac-
terized as tyrannical or avoidant (Matthiesen & Einar-
sen 2007).
The prevalence of workplace bullying within health-
care environments is reported to be widespread, with
estimates suggesting that 80% of staff experience bul-
lying at some point in their working lives (Hutchinson
M. Hutchinson and J. Hurley
ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
554 Journal of Nursing Management, 2013, 21, 553–562
et al. 2006). In the nursing context, colleagues, man-
agers and other health professionals, as well as patients
and their families have all been identified as possible

perpetrators, with bullying from colleagues being of
most concern (Farrell et al. 2006). Within Australia and
the UK the prevalence of reported bullying appears
highest from unit managers and managerial staff (Royal
College of Nursing 2002, Hegney et al. 2006, Lewis
2006, Hutchinson et al. 2010). The consequences of
bullying for the individual can include severe psycho-
logical trauma and physical illness (Hallberg &
Strandmark 2006), financial loss and, in some cases, the
eventual inability to work (Einarsen & Mikkelsen
2003).
Organizational consequences of bullying include
lowered staff retention and increased absenteeism, with
estimates of financial losses of up to 1.5% in overall
productivity (Giga et al. 2008). As nurses who have
experienced bullying may withdraw their levels of par-
ticipation in the workplace there is also a loss of nursing
commitment, productivity and expertise (Spence Las-

chinger et al. 2010). The organizational costs stemming
from bullying, particularly those associated with the
loss of nursing expertise and adverse clinical outcomes
may be far greater than just those costs captured by
measuring nurse turnover (Waldman et al. 2004). In
addition, associations have also been drawn between
nurse bullying, job satisfaction and negative patient
outcomes (Shields & Ward 2001, Institute for Safe
Medication Practices 2004). Reflecting the degree of
concern about bullying behaviours the American Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organiza-
tions has released three Sentinel Event Alerts that draw
attention to the potential for patient safety to be af-
fected by hostility between health-care professionals
(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations 2008, 2009, 2010).
Emotions and bullying
There is growing awareness of the place of emotions as

an important factor in organizations and understanding
our own and others emotions is a feature of daily
working life (Mastenbroek 2000, Braithwaite et al.
2005). A key element of organizational climate is the
shared emotions and affective experiences that influence
perceptions, attitudes and behaviours (Salancik &
Pfeffer 2003). Repeated exposure to negative emotions,
hostility and conflict can lead individuals to form neg-
ative attitudes. Among nurses it has been demonstrated
that the emotional intelligence and ethical behaviour of
peers has a significant impact on the ethical behaviour
within the work team (Deshpande & Joseph 2009).
Working in an abusive environment can trigger feelings
of shame, fear and anger, as well as mistrust and per-
ceptions of injustice (Lim et al. 2008). These negative
reactions to workplace stressors and conflict are asso-
ciated with aggression and bullying that can escalate
like a contagion across workgroups (Monge & Con-

tractor 2002). The resulting negative emotions are also
an influencing factor in job satisfaction and work
commitment (Mastenbroek 2000).
Those exposed to bullying, whether directly as a
target or indirectly as a witness, spend both time and
mental energy attempting to understand why they have
been targeted and contemplating their future in the
workplace (Hutchinson et al. 2010). As a form of
emotional self-protection, when overwhelmed by their
hurtful workplace experiences, individuals are likely to
protect their remaining emotional resources by with-
drawing or avoiding situations that are potentially
threatening or emotionally demanding (Janssen et al.
2010). Evidence suggests that intimidation can lead to
nurses avoiding necessary interactions with other team
members resulting in adverse clinical outcomes (Insti-
tute for Safe Medication Practices 2004). Eventually,
individuals may reach the point where they exhibit

withdrawal from work and increased absenteeism in an
attempt to cope. The adverse emotional reactions that
stem from bullying are known to place individuals at
risk of mental and physical illnesses such as anxiety,
depression and coronary heart disease (Kivimäkia et al.
2000).
Emotionally intelligent responses to bullying
Research suggests that positive attitudes to conflict can
foster team effectiveness and positive organizational
citizenship behaviours (Zellars et al. 2002). In work
teams, higher EI has been linked to improved team
collaboration, higher job satisfaction and lower turn-
over (Quoidback & Hansenne 2009). Ayoko et al.
(2008) have demonstrated that team EI climate is an
important moderator in the link between conflict and
team members� reactions to conflict. The emotional
traits of resilience and optimism have also been identi-
fied as personal characteristics that serve to buffer the

impact of work and job demands and reduce emotional
exhaustion (Tusaie & Dyer 2004, Jackson et al. 2007).
With links drawn in the workplace violence and bully-
ing literature to the importance of emotional awareness
and resilience as factors that help individuals cope with
these forms of workplace adversity (Jackson et al.
2007).
Emotional intelligence as moderators of workplace bullying
ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Journal of Nursing Management, 2013, 21, 553–562 555
The Consortium for Research on emotional intelli-
gence in Organizations (1998)highlights EI capabilities
drawn from Goleman�s (1995) model that include social
and political capabilities. Socially capable individuals
are recognized to have a well-developed theory of mind
skills making them more attuned to the emotions and
intentions of others, as well as enabling them to make
accurate interpretations of situations, influence the

emotions and behaviours of others and predict what
others think or believe (Sutton et al. 1999, Kaukiainen
et al. 2008). More recently, research has begun to ex-
plore the place of political skill and self-monitoring in
mitigating the tendency of individuals to engage in
abusive behaviours in the workplace (Kisamore et al.
2010). Those who are both socially capable and em-
pathic are seemingly unlikely to engage in aggression,
while socially capable actors with low empathy for
others have the potential to engage in covert and
manipulative forms of behaviour that are counterpro-
ductive, harmful, self-interested and aggressive
(Bjorkqvist et al. 2000). However, the lack of moral
and ethical depth within EI models suggests that an-
other dimension, such as leadership, needs to be
incorporated into any response to reduce workplace
bullying (Fineman 2006, Akerjordet & Severinsson
2010).

It is unclear whether those who bully have little
empathy or moral emotions, or whether they are indi-
viduals who have adopted a mindset in the workplace
that allows them to use power to their own advantage
regardless of the consequences to others. In line with
previous studies of adult aggression (Baumeister 1999,
Bjorkqvist et al. 2000, Parkins et al. 2006, Dettinger &
Hart 2007), and adolescent bullying (Birman et al.
2001, Kaukiainen et al. 2008) it is important to better
understand the association between EI and workplace
bullying. Given the connections in the nursing literature
between organizational climate and bullying (Hutchin-
son et al. 2010), the influence of leadership on organi-
zational climate (Roche & Duffield 2010) and the
positive impact of EI on nurse resilience (Jackson et al.
2007) and leadership (Feather 2009), grounds appear to
exist to propose leadership as the missing dimension to
successfully deploy EI as a means to mitigate bullying.

Leadership responses to bullying
Nursing has a short history of being interested in the
concept of leadership as being something separate from
management (O�Grady & Malloch 2010). Conse-
quently, nursing is only now facing many of the
dilemmas experienced by other professions in attempt-
ing to clearly define what leadership is, and what it is
not (Marquis & Huston 2005). Transactional leader-
ship, typified by short-term planning, limiting risk (and
hence options) and maintaining systems by enabling
others, is perhaps the most recognizable of nursing
leadership styles (Burns 1984). Transformational lead-
ership, with a greater emphasis on the vision and
inspiration of the leader and consequent transcendental
development of the follower (Avolio & Bass 1988), has
also been prominent within nursing (Bowles 2008).
More recently, resonant leadership styles are merging
within business and health sectors which are a leader-
ship style focusing upon the leader�s capacity to gener-

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