'It's the relationship you develop with them': emotional intelligence in nurse leadership. A qualitative study

to investigate emotional intelligence (EI) and its relationship to nursing leadership.

strong, effective leadership is core to organisational competency and significantly influences care quality. EI is the ability to understand one's own feelings and to assess and respond to the feelings of others. It is linked to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills, all of which are vital in leadership roles. However, insufficient research explores EI in nursing leadership from the perspective of nurse leaders.

a qualitative study employed interpretive phenomenological analysis methods, using a purposive sample of band 7 sisters/charge nurses/team managers (n=5) from one Welsh health board. Semistructured interviews were recorded and analysed in four stages.

four clusters of themes were identified, each with two to three subthemes. These were: sensing others-the empathetic leader; experiencing the affected sense of self; strategies employed to build the team; and reading the flux of the organisation.

although the nurse leaders were unfamiliar with the concept of EI, their narratives reflected some core values of EI. However, significant barriers around time, pressure and staffing levels impeded their potential to use EI to become more effective leaders. Nurse leaders should harness the power of emotions to influence others to achieve excellent care.