An exploratory study of emotional intelligence, group emotional competence, and effectiveness of health care and human service teams

Emotion is an authentic component of everyday work life. The sagacious use of emotions or emotional intelligence in the workplace is being recognized as an influential factor in organizational effectiveness, leadership, and work outcomes. Likewise, the social and emotional competencies of work teams are purported to improve the effectiveness in an organization. Although social psychology and management literature supports these suppositions, they are weakly supported in the empirical literature.;This exploratory study focused on examining the impact of individual emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and group emotional competence (Druskat & Wolff, 2001a) on the effectiveness of an infrequently studied team---the health care and human service team. Twenty health care and human service teams and their team supervisors from 11 facilities in Alaska and Washington state participated. Eighty-five health care and human service professionals completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), the Group Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and a team effectiveness scale. The team supervisor also rated the respective team's performance.;Results at both the individual level and team level of analyses indicated that emotional intelligence did not correlate with either group emotional competence or team effectiveness. At both levels of analyses, however, group emotional competence was related to and predicted member-rated team effectiveness. At the team-level analyses, predictive norms of team effectiveness included a caring orientation, creating an affirmative environment, and building relationships. Supervisor-rated team effectiveness did not correlate with member-rated team effectiveness, emotional intelligence, or group emotional competence.;This study makes an important contribution to the theory and practice of teams in health care and human service organizations. The results of the study suggest that a positive, caring, and supportive work environment can predict a team's effectiveness within an organization. These findings imply health care and human service organizations and leaders may best try to create teams and workplaces that foster, value, and reward positive and respectful working relationships.