Date of Award

Fall 2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Committee Chair

Christine Sutton

Abstract

While leadership theory and its applications have been studied by academic researchers since the 1800s, the study of emotional intelligence (EI) did not become a focus until 1990. Since EI’s conceptualization, this form of intelligence has remained a key focus area in the study of what motivates employees to best keep them engaged in their work. However, some critical aspects of the relationship between EI and employee engagement have not yet been explored. This research provides insight into the importance of EI in healthcare leadership. The narrowed focus of this study provides a better understanding of what role, if any, leader EI plays in the engagement of clinical and non-clinical employees in the U.S. healthcare organization setting. The healthcare industry has not been immune to the time known as “the Great Resignation.” With continued staffing issues across the U.S. healthcare landscape, it is more vital now that we understand how to maintain high engagement levels for both clinical and non-clinical healthcare employees. Data for this survey-based research comes from a leader EI assessment and an employee engagement survey. Statistical testing was performed to determine the impact that a leader’s EI has on clinical employees compared to their non-clinical counterparts. Based on the results from statistical analysis, practical and theoretical implications are explained. Findings include a positive relationship between non-clinical employees’ level of engagement and leader EI levels.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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