| Access to and payment for health care services in the United States is an important issue. While efforts have been made to reform the system, leaders within health care organizations are faced with complex problems requiring complex responses. Much work has been done within the industry to identify the competencies required for these leaders to be effective. While consensus has not been reached at the professional level with regard to the most effective competencies, emotional intelligence may provide a theoretical basis from which to better understand some aspects of health care leadership competencies. The problem to be addressed in this study is the difficulty in identifying the factors of health care leadership competencies. Using a quantitative, correlational method, this study examined the relationship between a mixed model of emotional intelligence, using the ESCI(c), and health care leadership competencies, using the HAL-360, among a cross-sectional sample of leaders in a variety of health care settings across the United States. Managers within specific health care organizations, professional associations, and graduates of health administration programs were invited to participate in the study. There were 43 participants, 29 (67%) of whom were female, and 40 (94%) who had a college a degree. Multiple regression analysis indicated the predictor variable, emotional intelligence, was significantly positively related to health care competences (r=.63, p<.001) and explained 39% of the variance in health care competencies (R 2=.39, F(1, 43)=26.36, p<.001). The relationship persisted when controlling for the co-variables of gender, years of management experience, and level of education. Further study is recommended to verify the findings using other models of emotional intelligence and health care leadership competencies. It is recommended that emotional intelligence be included in health care leadership competency models and that consideration be given to explicitly including emotional intelligence in the training, education, selection and evaluation of health care leaders in the United States to increase their competence. |
