International Journal of Health Research and Innovation

Emotional intelligence, self-esteem and transformational leadership in nurses: a systematic review

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  • Abstract 

    The transformational leadership is a specific form of leadership that incorporates all the essential components of a leader such as dynamic, self-confidence, inspiration, emotional intelligence, that are all prerequisites of an effective leadership. The aim of this paper was to review the relationship between transformational leadership, the self-esteem and emotional intelligence of nurses. We reviewed the relevant Greek and international literature in several databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL/EBSCO, COCHRANE, SCOPUS, WEB OF KNOWLEDGE, EMBASE, EXCERPTA MEDICA, IATROTEK, Business and PSYCHINFO) by using the following keywords: «emotional intelligence», «transformational leadership», «self-esteem» ?a? «nursing». The initial search revealed 39 research articles. Among them 30 were excluded after reading the abstracts, while 2 other articles were selected for further evaluation of the full text. Seven articles remained that fulfilled all the criteria for selection. In all those research articles there was a correlation between nurses’ transformational leadership scores and emotional intelligence. Although there is a difference in the mean emotional intelligence between men and women, the gender does not affect the characteristics of transformational leadership. Except from the exploration of the role of emotional intelligence on transformational leadership, the majority of the authors also investigated the link between transformational leadership and the intention of nurses to turnover and nurses’ satisfaction with their profession. Emotional intelligence is a predictor of transformational leadership of nurses. The implementation of the fundamentals of transformational leadership facilitates the personal development of nursing managers; improves their job satisfaction.

    Keywords: Transformational leadership, nursing, emotional intelligence, self-esteem.