Healthcare workers' perceptions of their managers' leadership behaviour and emotional intelligence: a quantitative study in an Estonian hospital

Transformational and transactional leadership behaviours of healthcare managers have a positive impact on employee job satisfaction and commitment, ultimately improving patient care quality. The most efficient way to develop leadership behaviour in managers is to teach emotional intelligence skills simultaneously. Training programmes are more effective when preceded by a competency assessment.The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between employees' perceptions of the transformational and transactional leadership behaviours and emotional intelligence of managers as well as to identify the link between those perceptions and the socio-demographic data of the respondents. A quantitative and cross-sectional study design was used. The sample included 231 healthcare workers. The study used the following instruments: Transformational Leadership Behaviour Inventory, Leader Reward and Punishment Questionnaire, and Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership dimensions were found to have statistically significant positive relationships. Contingent and non-contingent reward behaviours were positively related to emotional intelligence, whereas contingent and non-contingent punishment behaviours were negatively related to emotional intelligence. The study discovered a link between managers' leadership behaviour and the gender, nationality, qualifications, and tenure of the respondents.To conclude, emotional intelligence skills help healthcare managers develop transformational and transactional leadership behaviours. Managers may need to make an effort to understand employee diversity in order to devise leadership strategies aimed at maximising employee potential. In Estonia, the short version of Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory is recommended as an alternative for healthcare leadership research.