emotionally intelligent behaviors were identified 44% of the time compared to 19% for the three factors categorized as being related to cognitive intelligence. One reason EQ seems to be so critical to success is the effect on stress. As in many fields, healthcare is a complex and stressful environment where interpersonal interactions are of paramount importance. A study of 68 professional midwives and obstetricians in a large urban hospital found that emotional intelligence is strongly predictive of performance (66%), stress is slightly predictive (6% to 24%), and emotional intelligence is predictive of stress management (6.5%). 45 Interestingly, the most senior group in the study – those with the most supervisory and leadership responsibilities – are the ones for whom emotional intelligence made the most difference. In other words, EQ becomes increasingly important as people move up into higher levels of leadership.
Emotional Intelligence and Performance in Healthcare
This graph shows an extremely strong relationship between emotional intelligence and performance. The linear regression shows that 66.2% of the total variance in performance is predicted by emotional intelligence. 45
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