Leading nurses: emotional intelligence and leadership development effectiveness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of an emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership development education program involving 20 nurse leaders at nursing homes. Also, it investigates the relationship between EI and transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach Three research questions are posed. Correlation analysis and t-tests were conducted to answer the questions posed. Findings The findings of this paper indicate that the EI educational development was effective, while the personal leadership development was not. The data also showed a positive significant relationship between EI and transformational leadership. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited by the small sample size; thus, a causal relationship between EI and leadership could not be investigated. Additionally, the sample was not randomly selected because of the commitment needed from the participants. Furthermore, the paper was focused on nurse leaders in nursing homes, so it may not be generalizable to other populations. Practical implications With the increasing need for nursing home facilities and the limited training generally provided to nurses who move into managerial roles in these facilities, it is critical for organizations to understand the effectiveness of educational programs that exist. Moreover, the findings of this paper may provide information that would be useful to others who wish to develop EI and/or leadership education for nurses. Originality/value While much research exists on EI and transformational leadership, little of this research focuses on nurses in nursing home facilities. Thus, this paper fills a gap in the literature.