Strong and loving leadership is badly needed in senior care due to daily challenges including staffing shortages, difficulties in recruitment, training and employee turnover, staff burnout, and dissatisfaction among residents and families alike. Research shows that the type of leadership and personality of the leader have direct effects on the entire workplace. Quality of care, workplace culture, managing daily business and flow of information are all influenced by the leader. With so many challenges, which type of leadership may be best?
Emotional & Spiritual Intelligence
To truly lead with love, one should understand two important forms of intelligence: emotional and spiritual intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand one’s own emotions and manage them well while recognizing and influencing the emotions of other people. Some writers on this topic believe there are 5 elements of emotional intelligence:
- Empathy
- Effective communication and social skills
- Good self-awareness
- Effective self-regulation
- Self-Motivation
Being empathetic means “I can sense your pain and want to understand what you’re going through”. This builds trust and the foundation for good relationships with others. Leaders also need to be crystal clear and genuine communicators, be approachable and be easy to talk to. Being self-aware is necessary to understand one’s strengths and weaknesses and to know when to step back from conversations or situations. Self-regulation involves the ability to channel negative emotions in a positive and productive way. And last, Leaders should be self-motivated and have an internal drive and passion to serve others.
Spiritual Intelligence, on the other hand, helps one to place his or her behavior and life in the context of broader and richer meanings. It is thought to be the foundation of greater IQ and emotional intelligence. Some scholars believe spiritual intelligence is the highest form of human intelligence. It involves the ability to see the big picture and the players within it. It provides morals, love, creativity, logic and meaning.
The Impact of Emotional & Spiritual Intelligence
Research in this area provides evidence of numerous positive effects including the following:
- Strong positive influence on performance
- More inclusive environment
- Relationships built on trust, authenticity and genuineness
- Expressing ideas without fear of judgment
- Culture of commitment
- More self-actualized staff
There are many other positive outcomes associated with this type of leadership, and at every level of an organization. Leadership improves, employees want to perform at their best, residents are more satisfied with care and the quality of their lives, and family members are more confident with the care their loved ones are receiving.
Final Thoughts on Leading with Love
Leadership can always improve. Although there are many forms of it, a good number of scholars are looking at emotional and spiritual intelligence, specifically, as newer and better ways to lead, especially in health and senior care. Since many of the older forms of leadership like democratic, bureaucratic and Laissez-Faire have had their turn, it might be time for a fresh and deeper approach to leading people – with love.