The levels of Emotional Intelligence and its influence on Leadership Styles among Nurse Managers’ in Ghana
Abstract
Background: Since the emergence of emotional intelligence, many definitions have evolved emphasizing emotional intelligence as emotional management. Emotional intelligence has been known to influence leadership styles and the effectiveness of nurse managers. Understanding the dynamism of emotions and their application among nurses in the healthcare fraternity of Ghana is crucial in an emotionally volatile working environment, making the nursing atmosphere unpleasant and resistant to change. As such being emotionally intelligent as a nurse determines one's capacity to address challenging circumstances taking into consideration leadership styles. We aimed to determine nurse managers' level of emotional intelligence and its influence on leadership styles in Ghana.
Methods: This quantitative survey employed a descriptive cross-sectional design, and applying a purposive sampling technique, 388 nurse managers were enlisted across health facilities in Ghana and administered a structured questionnaire to solicit data from respondents. Data were entered into Microsoft excel and exported into IBM SPSS version 26. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted and findings were displayed using tables and graphs. The correlation between nurse managers’ emotional intelligence and leadership styles was examined using Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) at a 95% confidence interval and the two-tailed. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Nurse Manager’s level of emotional intelligence was high (76.5%) which significantly and positively correlated with their leadership styles (Autocratic style (388), r=0.384, p<0.05), (Laissez-faire style (388), r=0.400, p<0.05) and (Democratic style (388), r=0.218, p<0.05).
Conclusion and recommendations: Nurse Managers in Ghana demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence at the workplace which influenced their ability to recognise their emotions and that of others, making them effective at addressing personal and work-related challenges. The high level of emotional intelligence influenced their leadership styles in managing subordinates, making them effective at effecting change. Developing policies to incorporate emotional intelligence into nursing educational programs would boost the emotional intelligence level of nurses. Additionally, a qualitative enquiry is recommended to explore the mechanisms high-level emotional intelligence nurse managers adopt to recognise and thrive in a challenging situation to deliver quality services.