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High Emotional Intelligence vs. High Intelligence for Healthcare Leaders

Introduction

According to research, emotional intelligence is the aptitude to comprehend and manage

emotions (Reshetnikov et al., 2020). On the other hand, high intelligence refers to the distinctly

exceptional artistic or intellectual abilities or creative power. Practical experience and knowledge

will remain fundamental factors in establishing better talent healthcare. However, emotional

intelligence is an instrumental social skill successful healthcare leaders who have to interact

productively with teams, colleagues, patients, the community, and administrators should have to

provide quality patient care effectively (Cavaness, Picchioni, & Fleshman 2020). While high

emotional intelligence and high intelligence are fundamental factors in establishing a better

healthcare, high emotional intelligence is more important than high intelligence for healthcare

leaders to provide a high-quality healthcare.

Background

Different studies show that notwithstanding first-class professional training, a high

intelligence, and different creative personal aptitudes, a high emotional intelligence is certainly a

vital condition for competent leadership. The most essential among the qualities an adept leader

must essentially have is emotional intelligence. According to Reshetnikov et al. (2020), emotional

intelligence contributes to approximately eighty percent to a person’s success, while intelligence

only contributes to twenty percent. The degree of emotional intelligence will be contingent on an

individual can act toward oneself and others predetermining his or her professional success.

Therefore, a high emotional intelligence equals a high professional leadership success.

According to Cavaness, Picchioni, & Fleshman (2020), Daniel Goleman, a renowned

researcher, the difference between an exceptional leaders and a good one lies not in their technical

need more
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skills nor education, but in the degree of improvement of emotional intelligence. Additionally,

characterized by a combination of five skills, which enable healthcare leaders to attain the most

effective leadership, not only from them, but also from their subordinates. Additionally, Goleman’s

research reveals that when the top leader of an organization has the required degree of emotional

intelligence, there is a record of higher yearly performance indicators of all the units within the

organization. Consequently, to develop and improve models of effective management activities, it

is vital to focus on studying the degree of emotional intelligence of future healthcare leaders as

early as possible.

Initially, high intelligence was used as the gold standard to predict successful leadership.

However, Goleman’s emotional intelligence theoretical construct supported the thought that there

is more at risk with emotional intelligence than mere intelligence. Besides, Goleman discovered

that despite determination, intelligence, vision, and toughness are required for organization’s

success, hut more is needed (Goleman, 2020). Effective leaders are known to have a high level of

emotional intelligence, including motivation, social skill, self-regulation, self-awareness, and

empathy. On the other hand, leaders with low emotional intelligence are habitually resistant to

change, critical, demanding, passive, and confrontational. They can influence poor internal

alignment and cause a reduction in staff commitment and productivity.

Studies show that the personality of a leader, the overall workplace conditions, and the

quality traits of employees affects their effective leadership. More importantly, these studies record

that health leadership comprise comprehending and communicating with a large variety of people

in several distinct situations and not just concentrating on their work results and rational processes.

Following this perception, the point that emotional intelligence has played a fundamental role to

effect in leadership becomes one of the key traits of leaders (Prezerakos, 2018). In addition,

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Prezerakos (2018) study imply that emotional intelligence is an essential tool for nurse leaders,

which directly influence the success of effective healthcare management. The nature of the

healthcare profession itself needs healthcare professionals to be emotionally intelligent to act in

response to their diverse duties.

Emotional intelligence is a high-level skill contributing to the effective patient-centered

care. More precisely, emotional intelligence is a vital virtue when it comes to healthcare

management functions in the hands of healthcare leaders who must be prepared with necessary

skills to effectively meet the increasing contemporary healthcare system demands. In addition,

management skills, including establishing trust relationships, bargaining resources, formulating

evidence-based decisions, and inspiring partnership development, need a robust foundation of

recognizing, utilizing, comprehending, and handling feelings. According to an analysis conducted

by Prezerakos (2018), emotional intelligence is related to the implementation of transformational

leadership.

Transformational leaders have a high capability to comprehend, control, and handle

emotions, which contributes conclusively to the development of resultant skills in their followers.

Healthcare leaders exuding transformational leadership with high emotional intelligence are highly

proactive, empowers their teams, improve patient satisfaction with the care provided, employees’

well-being in the workplace, and positively influences to pay further effort on the part of

subordinates, job satisfaction and efficiency (Kim & Kim, 2017). Improved emotional skills of

healthcare leaders and subordinates are contributory to attaining a healthy work environment,

reinforcing organizational commitment, improving job satisfaction, and improving healthcare

providers’ well-being in the workplace.

Supporting Arguments
most of the background needs to be
re-done–it needs to be neutral and not in
support of your thesis. It should just be
general info about emotional
intelligence–how this term developed,
how it is measured, what does it mean.
Also you could talk about leadership traits
in healthcare.

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Critical Thinking, Decision-Making, Quality of Care, and Work Environment

Emotional intelligence is a vital quality for leaders as it helps them to effectively meet the

increasing demands assigned to the healthcare system and expectations on healthcare providers.

Healthcare leaders are needed to address several clinical demands at the same time while

addressing other managerial responsibilities and offering assistance to their teams. Emotional

intelligence is an essential skill for healthcare leaders since it improves their effectiveness in

managing themselves and their teams (Prezerakos, 2018). It is highly valuable for a healthcare

team if the leaders have high emotional intelligence since it prompts critical thinking and decision-

making regarding providing high-quality patient care while bearing in mind the patient’s

perspective.

High emotional intelligence is associated with reduced chronic stress, burnout, reduced

staff turnover, positive work-life balance, improved job performance, and increased job

satisfaction, eventually supporting the delivery of excellent patient care. Furthermore, healthcare

leaders with high emotional intelligence are more liable to have improved communication skill,

which is vital in encouraging team collaboration, reduce misunderstanding, decrease medical

errors, and improve patient outcomes.

In stressful work environments, high intelligence cannot enable one to handle stress, which

can be handled effectively by high emotional intelligence. The healthcare system is a stressful

environment because it is evolving and multifaceted and managing the stress of managing change

here is a skill that healthcare leaders must accept. High emotional intelligence proves to be more

predictive of high performance, stress management, and reduced stress in the stressful healthcare

environment (Goleman, 2020). Healthcare leaders with high intelligence will utilize their

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intelligence to solve the challenges they are facing within the organization where they might lose

their minds trying to solve problems that are not ending.

Healthcare leaders with high emotional intelligence have a vital skill high intelligent people

might be lacking, i.e., self-management. Self-management is the capability of highly emotional

intelligent people to remain calm when faced with stressful environments and their emotions are

running high, which enables them to adapt to the environment and remain productive.

Additionally, self-management enables healthcare leaders with high emotional intelligence to

control their emotions, capabilities, and inner resources, which aids in cultivating adaptability

(Cavaness, Picchioni, & Fleshman, 2020). Healthcare leaders with good self-management are

instruments of change because they do not fear risking or losing control. Consequently, these

leaders have strong problem-solving skills and incorporates innovative solutions. High emotional

intelligence enables healthcare leaders to establish healthy boundaries, which will not burn

uncalled-for energy.

Self-awareness is a crucial characteristic of a great leader. It enables leaders to know their

values, needs, personality, emotions, and habits, and how they influence their actions and other

people’s actions (HFMA, 2017). These leaders are able to manage their stress, make informed

decisions, and even lead others to do the same. Self-awareness is another element of emotional

intelligence, which enables leaders to be aware of their emotions. High emotional intelligence

enables healthcare leaders to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, name their emotions,

and still possess a strong sense of self-worth. Besides, they can offer valuable mentorship and

coaching for others, and diplomatically manage conflicts.

Self-awareness enables healthcare leaders to positively influence the finances of the

organization they are working with. Better performing healthcare organizations tend to have more

et al.

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self-aware healthcare leaders who make informed decisions and are conscious of how their

leadership affects the company’s future outcomes (Goleman, 2020). Self-awareness also allows

healthcare leaders to be practical in their expectations. Motivating a team to work toward growth

and meeting goals is a characteristic of a self-aware leader and high emotional intelligence enables

these leaders to know how to balance what they require their team to achieve with their creativity.

Moreover, high emotional intelligent leaders are able to make a lasting emotional

connection with their employees. These leaders have social skills, a component of emotional

intelligence. These are the skills highly emotional intelligent leaders require to effectively

influence and handle other people’s emotions. Healthcare leaders can establish trust with

healthcare professionals by actively listening and staying engaged. In addition, high emotional

intelligence enables healthcare leaders to be proactive regarding stressors, which could be affecting

the staff’s mental health (Goleman, 2020). They ensure their healthcare providers feel seen,

supported, and listened with an intention. Socially skilled healthcare leaders are acclimatize at

handling, a demonstration of self-regulation, self-awareness, and empathy.

Another vital thing that comes with emotional intelligence is motivation. Healthcare

leaders with high emotional intelligence are constantly doing their best to improve in their

positions and fervent acceptance of challenges. Motivational leaders motivates their teams with

passion and enthusiasm. Besides, they make their employees feel appreciated by learning about

their priorities, needs, and strength and investing time (Shore, Schaeffer, & Tsao, 2018).

High emotional intelligence enables healthcare leaders to recognize the worth of hard work

and encourage their teams’ potential via meaningful goals and challenges. High emotionally

intelligent healthcare leaders are passionate about attaining their goals and are not motivated by

rewards like prestige and money, but by achieving what they plan to do (HFMA, 2017).

et al.

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Motivation enables these leaders to work diligently amidst challenges, ask questions regarding how

things should be done, and exploring novel methods for improving themselves and others.

High emotional intelligence enables healthcare leaders to self-regulate their emotions.

Without emotional intelligence, emotions can drive a person who cannot do anything. However,

individuals who have high emotional intelligence can self-regulate their emotions enabling them to

prevent their emotions from controlling their actions and words (Goleman, 2020). Anyone who is

highly intelligent but lacks emotional intelligence can act on their feelings whenever they have a

bad mood and impulses and such people can create disruptions, havoc, and a long-lasting negative

feeling everywhere around them. Such people can allow their thoughts to overrule their emotions.

Individuals who can self-regulate are capable of waiting until their emotions pass letting them to

act in response from a place of reason, instead of just reacting to feelings.

Empathy is another component of emotional intelligence that makes high emotional

intelligence to be more important than high intelligence. Individuals with high emotional

intelligence are empathetic and are conscious about other people’s feelings as they consider these

feelings in their actions and words (Cavaness, Picchioni, & Fleshman, 2020). Empathy enables

healthcare leaders to make decisions, predict the effects of their actions and decisions on main

audiences, and plan accordingly. A leader who is not empathetic cannot establish a team or nurture

a novel generation of leaders.

High intelligence without empathy does not motivate followers or bring about loyalty. On

the other hand, empathy causes leaders to build a more engaged, loyal, and productive team by

making them feel valued, esteemed, and supported. When a healthcare leader demonstrates

empathy, healthcare providers will be willing to put in more effort to provide safe and high-quality

healthcare, thus increasing their productivity (Weiszbrod, 2020). Empathy also enables leaders to

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foster collaboration, which is vital in the healthcare system. Healthcare providers will collaborate

in a work environment with an empathetic leader because they can safely express their ideas and

thoughts, thus improving healthcare outcomes.

Healthcare leaders with high emotional intelligence encourages and fosters empathy in

their subordinates, which ensures they achieve a patient-centered care. They can also train their

workforce how to read emotions as they offer other people’s needs including patients and

colleagues. Transformation is more likely if healthcare leaders share experience with their

workforce and comprehend that everyone is working together towards achieving the organization’s

goals (Prezerakos, 2018).

Organization’s Culture

High emotional intelligence improves organization’s culture. Organizations discourse how

prodigious their culture is, nonetheless without emotional intelligence, what is thought of, as an

organization culture might be different from what employees feel. Good leadership is always about

establishing a relationship with employees, and a successful leadership flourishes in a group

culture with high level of trust and openness (Weiszbrod, 2020). Healthcare leaders with high

emotional intelligence fosters open communication and stronger relationships that makes the

organization move closer to the culture it likely wants to attain.

Highly emotional intelligent healthcare leaders can establish a well-organized healthcare

setting that can lead to high productivity. In addition, high emotional intelligent healthcare leaders

directly influences the work environment culture by how they influence the behaviors of other

healthcare providers (Beydler, 2017). For example, emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders

usually accept their mistakes, which is vital in creating cohesiveness among healthcare providers

and building trust. This makes unit healthcare staff to work more comfortably and feel comfortable

organizational

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communicating with leaders who influences their behaviors by admitting mistakes they made,

which can result in excellent communication for every healthcare provider during a period when

the healthcare leadership has gone through a major change.

The ever-increasing changes in the healthcare industry are inevitable forcing healthcare

organizations to learn how to survive and maintain their productivity. Healthcare leaders have

robust responsibilities to lead changes successfully in their organizations. Nonetheless, the process

of change involves emotions since no one would like to give up the comfort connected to status

quo or give up what they value most (Issah, 2018). Notwithstanding, leaders have no choice but to

succeed in the midst of these problems and among them are the emotions of individuals the change

will affect. Therefore, high emotional intelligence in leadership is vital in handling the change

process.

Change usually involves certain kind of emotions because many people like comfort.

Nevertheless, change interrupts the comfort establishing a situation full of anxiety and insecurity

among those receiving change. Since high emotionally intelligent leaders establishes an

environment typified by communication freedom making it a conducive environment to introduce

change to the organization (Issah, 2018). Emotional intelligence leadership is critical in adopting

changes in the healthcare environment and ensuring that the change does not affect the employees

nor the productivity of the organization. In a case of change, high emotional intelligence is more

important than high intelligence, which are considered as less significant. Besides, for a healthcare

leader to succeed in reflecting on experiences, establishing relationships, understanding

environmental cues, and connecting with employees.

Organization’s Effectiveness

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High emotion intelligence enables healthcare leaders to improve the organization’s

effectiveness by responding to healthcare workforce who are afraid of change by being empathetic.

Besides, only emotionally intelligent leaders can comprehend, recognize, and handle their

subordinates’ emotions and their own emotions. According to Issah (2018), individuals who have

acquired emotionally intelligent-related skills utilize their emotions, moods, and that of others to

inspire them to acclimatize the preferred behaviors, which are essential skills and abilities

healthcare leaders need to facilitate change successfully.

Therefore, emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders can facilitate change effectively and

handle the emotions involved in the change process. High emotional intelligence enables

healthcare leaders to recognize the talents required to establish a winning team, and the capability

to conquer the resistance to change. High emotional intelligence is the most fundamental

component leading to increase motivation, moral, teamwork, conducive work environment, and

cooperation (Issah, 2018). Subsequently, emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders can identify the

motives of healthcare professionals, act properly by offering the necessary tools, and support that

will motivate them to attain excellence.

The aptitude to concentrate on the task and people is one of the primary traits in the

healthcare providers’ profession, who are primarily focused on humans. Healthcare leaders utilizes

strategies, such as preserving humanistic orientation, changing from the humanistic focus to

focusing on workers labor performance, and attempting to conserve both kinds of behavior when

managing healthcare organizations (Reshetnikov et al., 2020).

In a healthcare organization where task-oriented behavior influences the workers’ labor

performance more, the people-oriented behavior is more mirrored in the gratification of

subordinates with their work. In this case, the best option is to utilize an adaptable management

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style. Therefore, the aptitude of a leader to concentrate on the task is directly associated with a

component of emotional intelligence, such as acknowledgement of the emotions of others and

emotional awareness (HFMA, 2017).

Exceptional and consistent performance are only manifested in persistence, endurance,

social perseverance, and courage. Emotional management is significant in achieving exceptional

and consistent activity because in the presence of high intelligence, absence of high emotional

intelligence, and situations of emotional stress, it is not possible to achieve exceptional and

consistent performance (Reshetnikov et al., 2020).

Finally, a healthcare leader with high emotional intelligence is more likely to manage a

healthcare organization effectively by utilizing effective motivational mechanisms focused on

establishing the congruence of the team’s personal tasks and the healthcare organization itself. The

healthcare leader also has the capacity to tackle the healthcare industry’s global challenges,

including the people’s most urgent needs influenced by their demographic and social position, and

value orientation.

Opposing Arguments

Planning and Strategizing

Being a successful leader within the healthcare system means one is able to listen to

subordinates and ensure team input. In this case, high intelligence becomes more important.

Intelligent leaders do not only strive to understand how to ensure work is accomplished but also

comprehend how other team members are willing to plan and strategize appropriately (Weiszbrod,

2020). High intelligence allows healthcare leaders to evaluate the opinions others give and

theoretically puts them into the plan to establish if they fit in. healthcare leaders are expected to

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provide progressively more efficient adapted quality care, while at the same time managing issues

affecting the healthcare industry.

In providing high-quality healthcare services, high intellectual intelligence is paramount.

Analytical skills and cognitive abilities measures the level of a person’s intelligence, which

determines their competency in the position they are working. High intelligence gives a healthcare

leader the capability to unravel complex, practical challenges, to learn and understand required

knowledge and skills (Shore, Schaeffer, & Tsao, 2018). Besides, appropriate healthcare leaders

have to comprehend the complexities of the healthcare system to guide them and delegate tasks

appropriately.

High intelligence in healthcare leaders improves their subordinates’ capacity to attain

expertise, communicate ideas and thoughts, and solve challenges the organization is facing.

Planning is one the characteristics of an effective leader. In healthcare, planning is important in

achieving the organization’s goals and vision. High intelligent leaders plan ahead of time since

their intelligence allows them to know how particular strategies are going to turn out and adjust

their plans appropriately (Goleman, 2020). Utilizing the skills and knowledge acquired in planning,

high intelligent leaders are able to provide the healthcare organization with a well-written plan that

will ensure the organization is working toward achieving its goals.

Establish Alliances

High intelligent leaders know how to establish alliances. Not all members of a team are

compatible to work together and they have conflicting philosophies. Intelligent leaders have the

ability to cause different employees to work on the same goal without problems. Being effective

communicators, high intelligent healthcare leaders can help their subordinates having different

philosophies to utilize them to help in achieving the organization’s goals making everyone feel like

et al.

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their ideas are considered and that they are part of the expected growth (Shore, Schaeffer, & Tsao,

2018). The primary goal of high intelligent leaders is to help team members establish lasting

relationships.

Creativity and Innovation

Finally, although high emotional intelligence is considered important, it has its downsides

that can affect healthcare leaders’ productivity, healthcare quality, and patient satisfaction. High

emotional intelligence is associated with low degrees of creativity and innovation, traits that are

mostly evident in highly intelligent individuals with low emotional intelligence (Chamorro-

Premuzic & Yearsley, 2017). Additionally, highly emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders have

challenges giving and obtaining undesirable feedback. High emotional intelligence is also an

aversion to risk as highly emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders are more likely to take no risks

and evade bold choices.

Conclusion

While high emotional intelligence and high intelligence are fundamental factors in

establishing a better healthcare, high emotional intelligence is more important than high

intelligence for healthcare leaders to provide a high-quality healthcare. This is because highly

emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders provide effective leadership within the healthcare

organizations they are working. High emotional intelligence enables healthcare leaders to create a

conducive work environment where subordinates can be heard and involved in decision-making

processes that ensures the healthcare organization provides healthcare services that are error-free

and of high quality, thus improving patient satisfaction and safety.

Although high emotional intelligence is important in healthcare leaders, it is also believed

that without high intelligence, a healthcare leader cannot effectively manage a healthcare

Opposing arguments need work

a better argument might
be “industry knowledge” or
business acumen

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organization since intellectual ability is required for planning and managing any organization.

However, the importance of high emotional intelligence supersedes the importance of high

intelligence, therefore, it is important to consider highly emotionally intelligent healthcare leaders

who will effectively lead healthcare providers to provide high-quality healthcare services to

patients. Healthcare administrative should expand their general emotional intelligence

competencies to identify and expect this attribute in leaders and healthcare professionals within

their organizations.
Conclusion is brief

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