Introduction

In the profession of nursing, there is an increased demand of an individual who would be a great leader. Leadership is a skill that an individual must possess to guide and make the subordinates accomplish a goal for the betterment of the organization. It is the characteristics of a great leader to mould other individuals in the team for increasing the efficiency in delivering the care. In nursing, nurses play a key role in leading the organization. Nurses are a part of situations where their critical thinking is required to solve the issue efficiently (Grossman & Valigia, 2017). It is researched that nursing professionals who have high emotional quotient tend to have more positive relationship building abilities with patients and colleagues. Many studies have been conducted where it is found that nurses with higher emotional intelligence are better leaders with less work exhaustion. The interaction of the nurses with the people outside of their profession can be termed as a social interaction which plays a key role in building healthy social intelligence quotient. In the following essay, a comparison between the emotional and the social intelligence and the benefits will be discussed. In addition to that, a work situation will be presented using the John’s model for structured reflection to critically evaluate the areas where improvement is required.

Compare and contrast EI and SI. Discuss how understanding EI and SI may benefit you and those you work with. How can it help or hinder your current and potential leadership ability?

It has been observed that organizations have been recruiting psychologists for the evaluation of their employees in the emotional and the social intelligence aspect. According to Goleman, (2004), cognitive skills like broader vision and intellect of an individual drive outstanding performance for the employee towards the organization. It was also reported that higher the rank of the employee in the organization, higher is the efficiency for the management of their emotional and social intelligence. In the healthcare sector, the nurses are to possess different skill sets in meeting the requirements and providing the holistic care to the patient as well as their families. Intelligence is the ability of the individual in problem solving and linguistic procurement. Each and every human being possesses different variants of intelligence which will generate different kinds of productivity for the organization they are working for (Piaget & Inhelder, 2015). Emotional intelligence is a variant of intelligence that mainly circles around the ability of the individual to identify and manage their and others emotions to a satisfactory level. Social intelligence can be regarded as an individual’s ability to interpret and learn from the failures that are taking place in a social setting.

Individuals who have been found to possess higher emotional intelligence are emotionally aware with proper management and application of their emotions in critically resolving problems and controlling their emotions as well as others (Rezvani et al., 2016). For the proper evaluation of the emotional intelligence of an individual in an organization, self-awareness and self-regulation is assessed. Self-awareness is the person’s ability to understand their own strengths and weaknesses. The individual is honest with themselves about their needs, beliefs and emotions (Rasheed, 2015). It is easier for a self-aware person to recognize the effect their emotions will have on them, other people and job performance. Understanding of their values and goals is extended in a self-aware individual. Low self-awareness of an individual can give rise to inner turmoil and confusion regarding their goals in life. Self-regulation is the controllability factor of an individual towards their emotions while responding to critical situations. Being able to adapt to different situations and working with various kinds of people increases the flexibility of the individual. Achieving self-drawn goals increases the efficiency of the performance to excel in their profession.

Individuals who possess higher social intelligence tend to have some critical behaviour which distinguishes them from people with lower social intelligence. Social expressive skills are one of the behaviour which is prevalent in individuals who fluently converse with people belonging from different backgrounds with suitable and thoughtful usage of words. Active listening is an important skill which is present in socially intelligent individuals to listen to the needs of the patient or the customer with great detail. This helps in building trust with the surrounding people by playing different social roles to adapt to the situation. In a social setting, there are many people who possess different kinds of personalities. These need to be managed efficiently by individuals who have a high social intelligence quotient. As proposed by Goleman, for the evaluation of social intelligence in an individual, social awareness and relationship management are to be tested. These are the two quadrants which are a part of the evaluation of emotional intelligence in an individual. The social awareness deals with the person’s ability to exhibit empathy and acknowledge the differing emotional needs of the individual (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2008). The relationship management encircles around the point that a relationship needs to be built with the patient by the nurse to win their trust and help them in effective communication of their needs and distresses. A proper relationship among the nurses and the management professionals will ensure less conflicts and higher profitable outcomes for the organization. In the Christian viewpoint, human beings are not self-sufficient who influence others on the basis of the choices they make. According to the Chapter 3 of John in The Bible, doing well to individuals will grant peace and arrive towards the light which will be evident in the sight of God (“JOHN CHAPTER 3 KJV”, 2019). Not doing good will bring darkness in their lives for which they will not be granted after life. In the Christian worldview, professional nurses who practice Christianity are dedicated to deliver the patients with the holistic care for the betterment in their health. It is also stated that the nursing professionals should always shower love to other individuals. It is with the help of Jesus who have showed us the path to true enlightenment that we have understood the importance power and motivation for delivering the best care to the patients.

The emotional and social intelligence are interconnected which the nurses in the healthcare sector should imbibe to provide the patient with quality care. The emotional awareness of the nurses should be high to experience less issues in the workplace. Problem solving and critical thinking abilities are two of the most important aspects which need to be present in the nursing professionals to control their and other’s feelings and emotions. Lack of self-awareness among the nurses can impact the quality of care they will be delivering to the patient. High emotional and social intelligence can increase the efficiency of the nurse.

Reflection on the EI results

The Maetrix Emotional Intelligence Test was undertaken by the student who had scored 6 in self-awareness, 8 in self-management, 9 in social awareness and 9 in relationship management. The self-awareness is the acknowledgement of the person towards their strengths and weaknesses. The student scored a 6 in this section which implemented that there was minimum perception of the beliefs and values that were known by the student. The student may have not known characteristically their strengths and weaknesses. Self-regulation is the management of the emotions in a critical situation. The student scored an 8 which implicated that the student had an appropriate control over their emotions during the situation. The usage of correct skills and strategies were used by the student which helped in providing the best quality care to the patient. Knowing the differing emotional requirements of an individual are achieved when an individual is socially aware. In the test, the student had scored a 9 which implicated that the student had a high understanding of their perception and had an immense ability to cater to the needs of the patient with fitting decisions that will improve the condition of the patient, themselves and the organization. Relationship management mainly delves around the efficient trust build-up among the nurse and the patient with effective communication. While undertaking the test, the student had scored a 9 which made it clear that the student has a high ability to tolerate the differences and rejections in the organization with prompt emotions. The student had shown impeccable performance in building an effective trust with the patient.

John’s Model for Structured Reflection

On the basis of the test results of the Emotional Intelligence Test, a following scenario will be discussed to make it easier to understand where the problems existed and what was learned from the experience (Giese, 2016). 

Description

A 48-year-old patient was admitted to my hospital who was suffering from schizophrenia. He was diagnosed with this condition three years ago. But the situation worsened when his sister passed away from a car accident. This incidence has created an emotional turmoil inside him which decreased his emotional stability and increased his occurrence of hallucinations of his sister. During one of the illusions, he went to the terrace of his house and tried to suicide. Their house was two-storey for which the impact on the patient was greatly reduced. The patient suffered concussion with fractures in the left arm and the thigh. He was brought while being unconscious and a preliminary assessment was carried out. This situation made me remember of my mother who suicided at the age of 45. She was clinically depressed which overwhelmed me with emotion of a similar kind of situation. The wife of the patient was unaware as to where to approach for treatment. I came to help while being anxious and cautious to not cause extra harm to the patient. It was my duty to provide assistance in the form of emotional support to the wife of the patient which I failed to deliver because of my inability to contain my personal emotions. I was unable to make any decision because of my personal experiences encircling around a similar situation.

Reflection

I was trying to contain my personal emotions while delivering optimum care to the patient as well as the wife. I was unable to do so because of facing the same situation with my mother. She was a clinically depressed patient who attempted suicide and later succumbed to her injuries. The whole trauma that I had to undergo with my mother came back and caused anxiety inside me while dealing with the patient. Hence, I was unable to deliver the best care. When the wife asked me whom to approach in a situation like this, I was completely dazed and did not pay attention to what the wife was saying. This made me point in a direction where nothing was available and the wife looked at me in confusion. This delayed the patient in arriving at the right place to the right person.

Influencing Factor

The internal factor which influenced my decision making was my past experiences of facing a similar situation like this with my mother and also trying to comprehend the situation effectively to solve the problem. The external factor which influenced my decision making is time pressure. The sources of knowledge that did influence my decision-making process was psychodynamic theories while I demonstrated to trying to contain my overwhelming emotions.

Could I have dealt with it better?

I could have been clearer in containing my emotions and responding to the queries of the wife efficiently. This would have led to faster treatment and better patient feedback towards the efficiency of its employees. I could have called another nurse in my place to provide with the necessary assistance to avoid any further escalation of the condition. This way, I would have felt relieved to provide the patient with the care despite being emotionally vulnerable to a situation like this.

Learning

This experience has helped me in learning the weaknesses of notwithstanding the emotional turmoil and memories that had resurfaced while looking at the patient brought in the exact same way as my mother. It gave me deep insight into the critical thinking abilities that I need to work on to help the families of the patient in this critical situation. Nursing professionals is provided training with an educator to learn about the specific skills. The nurse should increase self-awareness and relationship management by resolving conflicts in the workplace and being always open to effective learning by their peers and seniors. Developing the strengths with proper identification of the weaknesses of the individuals will help in an efficient leadership quality in the individual.

Conclusion

Finally, it can be concluded that leadership is an essential skills which need to be present in the working professionals in all sectors bur especially in healthcare. The nurses are the key players in improving the quality of care with a holistic approach towards the patient. Leadership in healthcare is generally observed in nurses with them providing accurate information to the patient and their family members at all times. The John’s Model for Structured reflection has helped in proper evaluation of the mistake in the nursing practice. Emotional and social intelligence are the critical evaluators in a working environment which need to be present in all working professionals to reach theirs and organizational goals. An effective leader in the healthcare sector will ensure proper functioning of the hospital with proper care to be provided to the patient.

References

Giese, K. K. (2016). Self-reflection: Relationship building in patients with excess weight. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(1), e7-e10.

Goleman, D. & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social Intelligence and the biology of leadership. Harvard Business Review. 86(9), 74-81.  Retrieved 2 September 2019, from https://hbr.org/2008/09/social-intelligence-and-the-biology-of-leadership

Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 82-91. Reprint R0401H. Retrieved 2 September 2019, from https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader

Grossman, S., & Valiga, T. M. (2016). The new leadership challenge: Creating the future of nursing. FA Davis.

JOHN CHAPTER 3 KJV. (2019). Retrieved 2 September 2019, from https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John-Chapter-3/

Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (2015). Memory and intelligence (psychology revivals). Psychology Press.

Rasheed, S. P. (2015). Self-Awareness as a Therapeutic Tool for Nurse/Client Relationship. International journal of caring sciences, 8(1).

Rezvani, A., Chang, A., Wiewiora, A., Ashkanasy, N. M., Jordan, P. J., & Zolin, R. (2016). Manager emotional intelligence and project success: The mediating role of job satisfaction and trust. International Journal of Project Management, 34(7), 1112-1122.