Feature Article:

Debunking Emotional Intelligence Myths: Why EQ is Not Optional in Today's Healthcare Climate

By Shelley Simon, RN, DC, MPH, EdD
Founder, Beyond Practice Management

By now most people have heard of emotional intelligence — EQ for short. Over the years, I've asked a number of healthcare practitioners what they think EQ is and how it might apply to them. Here are a few of the answers I've heard:

“It's a buzzword used by doctors who have too much time on their hands.”
“I read that book when it first came out. It's about how to be more touchy-feely.”
“EQ? No thanks. I run my practice based on evidence, rationality, and persuasion.”
“I must have great EQ. All my patients love me!”

Some interesting perspectives . . . so, if EQ isn't just a buzzword or learning to be touchy-feely, what is it exactly? Where is the evidence that a practitioner's EQ level has anything to do with practice success? What is the business case for developing emotional intelligence?

EQ has been around in academic circles for decades. It was popularized by author Daniel Goleman with the release of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, in 1995.

While definitions of EQ abound, most include the same core elements — the capacity to recognize and understand our own feelings and those of others, the ability to motivate ourselves, and the competence to manage emotions within ourselves and in our relationships. With these capacities in place, we work effectively with others, both personally and professionally, in a wide range of contexts and roles.

Both research and experience demonstrates that EQ is linked to personal achievement, happiness, professional success, and even physical well-being. Research out of Harvard indicates what while IQ is the leading criteria for entrance into post-graduate programs, EQ stands out as the more important factor when it comes to determining performance and success.

The two over-riding categories of EQ, according to Goleman, are:

1. Personal competence — self-awareness and self-management; how you understand and manage yourself.
2. Social competence — social awareness and relationship management; how you behave with and influence others.

When well developed, these personal and interpersonal (social) competencies can make practicing in today's healthcare climate less stressful and more manageable — leading to better business outcomes, more satisfied patients, and enhanced career satisfaction. Mastering the core capacities of EQ can help you:

• adjust more easily to change; become more flexible
• sharpen decision-making skills
• solve problems using both logic and feelings
• respond calmly and strategically to challenging people and situations
• manage your emotions and use them effectively
• maintain a positive, optimistic outlook; have resilience and persist despite setbacks
• build team performance and trust
• understand your impact on others; have more satisfying relationships
• enhance self-confidence; improve motivation
• have a more profitable and successful practice.

Building and maintaining a healthy, sustainable practice requires the ability to work under pressure, adapt and make decisions quickly, communicate effectively, and handle multiple challenges at once. Emotional intelligence skills are essential for the practitioner and team who want to succeed — to be proactive, not reactive — in the face of constant change, stress, and pressure. Those who ignore this aspect of professional development, perhaps considering such skills “soft” or unnecessary, risk the likelihood of high staff turnover, poor patient retention, sub-par working relationships with colleagues, and low levels of career satisfaction.

The good news is that EQ — unlike IQ — can be raised. You won't increase your EQ only by reading about it, however. You have to practice. Developing EQ starts with assessing your habitual responses or reactions when faced with difficult or stressful conditions. If challenging situations result in outcomes that are not what you intended or hoped for, consider that a sign to develop new skills in specific dimensions of emotional intelligence.

In the October issue of Practice Your Way, I will discuss proven strategies to increase EQ. In the meantime, you can do two things. First, observe yourself in your daily practice. Watch for stressors that tend to occur repeatedly: an overloaded or underutilized schedule, frequent interruptions or too much time on your hands, demanding or non-compliant patients, missed appointments, staffing problems, personal distractions, or financial concerns. Observe how you react in these situations.

Second, read through the brief scenarios and the client case study below. Both are offered to place emotional intelligence in the context of daily practice with its ongoing challenges and to demonstrate the range of behaviors that can arise under stressful conditions. Think about how you would likely react in the situations presented. Consider how you would respond if you wanted to achieve the best possible outcome in each situation. Self-observation during daily practice, plus reflection on the scenarios and case study below, should give you plenty to think about before the October issue of Practice Your Way arrives in your in-box.

If you'd like to learn more about EQ, read Daniel Goleman's first book, Emotional Intelligence or his later work, Working with Emotional Intelligence. In part three of this series I'll review his 2002 book, Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence.

Assess Your EQ In Daily Practice:

To better understand you own EQ — strengths and weaknesses, personal tendencies, and reactions under stress — consider how you might respond in the following scenarios:

1. You've recommend a course of treatment for a patient and, not only is he balking at the plan you've outlined, but he is also — ever so subtly — suggesting that you are trying to take advantage of the fact that he has good insurance coverage. Do you . . .
• Explain to the patient again why you are recommending the treatment plan, how it would help his condition, and offer patient education materials.
• Ask the patient one or two short, direct questions in an attempt to get to the root of his genuine concern about the plan you are recommending.
• Shrug it off and go on to the next patient.
• Become agitated and pressure the patient to do what you're suggesting.
2. You receive a letter in the mail from your state licensing board. Apparently a patient you saw several months ago feels that you made a suggestive remark to her and she's filed a complaint. Do you . . .
• Ask your staff to pull the patient's chart so you can refresh your memory about the case.
• Take time to reflect on how you interact with patients in an effort to see if you exhibit behaviors that could be misinterpreted.
• Feel a little queasy and quickly place a call to your malpractice insurance carrier.
• Tear up the letter and throw it into the trash.
3. For the third time this week, you've heard your receptionist on a personal phone call within earshot of patients. Do you . . .
• Wait until the end of the day and speak with her privately.
• Tell your receptionist that you've noticed a pattern of personal phone calls and together determine why this is happening.
• Give her “the look” in hopes that she'll get the hint.
• Walk over to her desk and press the telephone disconnect button.
4. Your office manager gives you the monthly statistical report. Revenue, new patient visits, and patient retention are all down. Do you . . .
• Ask your manager to pull prior month reports so that you can look for trends and do further analysis.
• Schedule a staff meeting to go over the report and ask for input and ideas about how to get the numbers going back in the right direction.
• Ignore the report and hope that next month looks better.
• Toss the report back on the manger's desk with a sticky note asking her what she plans to do about the declining statistics.
5. Your policy is that staff are not to bring their personal lives into the office. Your own marriage is on shaky ground and your teenage son is struggling. Do you . . .
• Follow your own policy and keep your personal life personal.
• Clue your office manager in on the broad picture since you may need to adjust your schedule on short notice from time to time so that you can tend to family issues.
• Spend a lot of time in your office with the door closed.
• Become short-tempered with staff, miss days at work, and neglect your health.

In each of the above scenarios, there is a range of emotional intelligence demonstrated in thought, feeling, and behavior. Keep these anecdotes in mind as you observe your own experience and behavior over the next few weeks. Pay special attention to how you respond in situations that trigger frustration or make you feel stressed.

Following is a case study which demonstrates how a client recognized her behavior pattern in dealing with staff, the negative impact it was having on how she functioned in her practice, and how she turned the situation around.

Client's Corner:

Case Study

Chiropractor Tracey Mendel had fallen into a pattern not uncommon in small offices. She enjoyed her staff and tended to treat them as friends rather than as employees. This was fine when things were going smoothly, but when a challenge arose Tracey had a hard time putting on her ?boss hat' to deal with issues. When staff didn't understand or follow through on her requests, Tracey would become frustrated, handle the situation herself, but then find herself being resentful toward her staff.

When we did the EQ In-Action profile with Tracey it became apparent that she needed to self-correct the pattern she'd fallen into of resisting follow-up conversations with staff when they were not doing what she needed. Tracey had to learn the distinction between being a boss and being a friend. Once she was able to see the pattern and modify her behavior, her confidence as a leader increased and she was able to work with her staff in a professional and friendly way. This benefited Tracey, her staff, and her patients.

“Dr. Simon's EQ was an extremely valuable tool for me. I found it helpful to understand myself better and how I related with my staff and patients. I saw my weaknesses as well as my strengths. The self-care booklet that came with it was a great resource for improving the areas I needed to and acted as a pocket support system. I found that after immediately implementing what I learned my relationship with my staff became stronger and more productive. This wasn't just a personality profile . . . it was an in-depth view of the inside of my brain and what triggers I notice set me off and what tools I can use to put out unnecessary fires. I am able to channel my energy better into serving my patients, keeping the bigger perspective in mind and not wasting time on the little annoyances.”
— Tracey Mendel, D.C.

To read more case studies visit www.beyondpracticemangement.com and click on the “case studies” link.

Special Offer:

Free Coaching Session with EQ In-Action Profile

Schedule an EQ In-Action Profile by September 30, 2006 and receive one hour of coaching in addition to the 90-minute debrief session included with the profile.

Based on the well-established theory and respected model of Emotional Intelligence, EQ In-Action profiles provide a snapshot view of an individual's internal experience and habitual strategies when they are in difficult or stressful situations.

The value of this tool is that it places individuals in real situations, watching and responding to video segments of difficult conversations in challenging work situations. A report is then generated that identifies strengths and weaknesses in different dimensions of emotional intelligence and the person's capacity to respond in stressful situations. Suggestions for daily practices are then offered to build increased fitness in chosen dimensions. The result is improved interpersonal communication skills and more effective professional relationships. This profile is an invaluable tool for coaching individuals and teams interested in lasting change.

To schedule an EQ In-Action Profile for yourself or for a staff member, please e-mail or call today: info@beyondpracticemangement.com, (503) 504-5585.

Upcoming Issues:

Watch for the remaining three articles in this series on EQ:

October — You Can Raise Your EQ

November — Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

December — Team EQ: Getting Your Staff Involved