Exploring Nurse Managers' Emotional Intelligence: A Qualitative Study Using the Emotional Intelligence and Leadership...

Background: Emotional intelligence is increasingly recognized as a key component of effective clinical leadership; however, its role in nurse managers' everyday clinical practice remains insufficiently understood. Aim: This study aimed to explore nurse managers' emotional intelligence and to examine how it shapes clinical leadership and care processes, based on the Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Competence Model. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Data were collected between January and April 2023 through semistructured interviews with 20 first-level nurse managers working in a training and research hospital in Turkey. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis based on the Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Competence Model. The study was reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results: Four main themes and 15 subthemes emerged: (a) self-awareness, (b) self-management, (c) social awareness, and (d) relationship management. Self-awareness supported reflective practice, while self-management enabled regulation of emotional responses in high-risk situations. Social awareness facilitated early recognition of team-related risks and supported patient-centered care through empathy. Relationship management strengthened communication, teamwork, and continuity of care within psychologically safe environments. Overall, emotional intelligence emerged as a process-based mechanism linking individual competencies to team functioning and safe care delivery. Conclusions: Emotional intelligence operates as an integrated system rather than a set of isolated competencies, shaping team dynamics, clinical decision-making, and safe care delivery. This study extends the model by illustrating how emotional intelligence is enacted in real clinical leadership contexts, positioning it as a core mechanism of clinical leadership.