Application Essay on "Leadership in Occupational Therapy Practice"

Application Essay 10 pages (3032 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Occupational Therapy

Emotional Intelligence, Personal Power and Self-Directed Learning

Primary Concepts of Emotional Intelligence and Personal Power:

The current field of discussion on emotional intelligence is an evolving one. Quite to this point, Akerjordet & Severinsson (2007) place its initiation at around 1990, when a host of personality traits, behavioral patterns and emotional response mechanisms previously considered unrelated were examined in relation to one another. This revelation would promote a discussion on the catch-all that we now call emotional intelligence. However, our empirical understanding of this concept still remains uncertain, subject to debate and vulnerable to criticism. Particularly, it is not entirely certain how this relates to the concept of personal power.

From my position as an occupational therapist in a nursing home, there is a distinct interest in helping to redress the scarcity of available research on the subject by demonstrating the manner in which the emotional intelligence/personal power dynamic can be said to apply to my field of work. Particularly, the nursing home is a working context were employees and patients alike are vulnerable to great psychological strain and where, further, it can be said that such a psychological strain can have identifiably deleterious effects on the quality of treatment and morale alike. This denotes the serious responsibility incumbent upon the occupational therapist in such a context to act upon the connection between emotional intelligence and personal power in order to influence positive performance outcomes. Therefore, the discussion here proceeds to assess personal power as a function of emotional intelligence with the intention of validating the centrality of high emotional intelligence for competent work in the nursing home context.

However, this proposition is challenged by the relative newness of the subject matter. As Akerjordet & Severinsson explain, consensus on the value of emotional intelligence as a valid social or psychological construct has not been forthcoming. The article reports that "there is no agreement as to whether emotional intelligence is an individual ability, non-cognitive skill, capability or competence. One important finding is that, regardless of the theoretical framework used, researchers agree that emotional intelligence embraces emotional awareness in relation to self and others, professional efficiency and emotional management." (Akerjordet & Severinsson, p. 1405)

It strikes the healthcare worker as particularly important that a single construct can be used to correlate these various facets of human social competency. Certainly, as these are considered in light of the compassion, ethical turpitude and selflessness which must enter into the profession of healthcare provision, there is a critical value to further elaborating on the way these traits tie into professional qualification. Only those possessing certain emotional traits will be able to handle the emotional rigors of being exposed regularly to the physical, psychological, intellectual and functional deterioration of human beings. Within the scope of the long-term care setting, these emotional traits comprise the 'personal power' to positively effect the experience of others. To this end, Akerjordet & Severinsson report that "there have been some interesting theoretical frameworks that relate emotional intelligence to stress and mental health within different contexts. Emotional learning and maturation processes, i.e. personal growth and development in the area of emotional intelligence, are central to professional competence." (p. 1405)

Beyond just professional competence, the notion of personal power connects the leadership implications of high levels of emotional intelligence. Here, the basic concept of emotional intelligence is connected to research on the subject of transformational leadership in a study by Barbuto & Burbach (2006). Here, the researchers conducted a survey of 388 respondents, comprised of 80 public officials and 3 to six staffers for each official. The intention of the survey was to draw a connection between rating of leadership qualities when facing transformation and leadership Emotional Intelligence. According to Barbuto & Burbach, "the present results showed that the emotional intelligence of the leaders shared significant variance with self-perceptions and rater-perceptions of transformational leadership" (p. 51)

This suggests that both in the perception of the leader and in that of his or her followers, there was a connection between the positive capacity for transformational leadership and identification with a high emotional intelligence. Here, personal power as manifested in leadership may be implicated by the shared perception of the leader and his or her followers. The study by Barbuto & Burbach would also go on to conclude that emotional intelligence could be used as a predictive indicator for leadership outcomes.

This is a compelling concept as it relates to occupational therapy in the nursing home context. Here, we can see a connection between the emotional acuity of leadership and its capacity so sustain the morale, culture and environmental needs of residents and personnel. The long-term care setting offers an example of how the endless spectrum of ailments can be dealt with under this theoretical framework, suggesting that it is this emotional consistency which helps the healthcare professional to contend with the different ailments facing different patients. Comporting to the importance of genuine bedside attentiveness, it can be denoted that the nursing home patient can experience a significantly higher quality of life when engaged socially, emotionally and personally by the healthcare worker. This illuminates the centricity of a well-developed emotional intelligence on the part of the occupational therapist in helping to lengthen the lives of patients. This provides a strictly rational basis for more attentive bedside manner that is underscored by findings suggesting that such a feature in healthcare can help to constitute a crucial part of the patient's emotional support system. Indeed, there is an empirically demonstrated relevance to the presence of a strong support system in building upon and maintaining hope. In terms of the relationships which the patient is able engage with those around him -- whether these are with healthcare providers, family, friends or some variant upon this combination -- there is an unquestionable benefit that bespeaks a determined interest in connecting with the world around the patient. A symptom of hope, this desire to resist isolation even in the face of likely insurmountable medical conditions is likely to have a positive impact where possible on the physiological experience of the patient and, most certainly, even where a cure is not a reasonable expectation, this connection to the world around the patient demonstrates an interest in comfort even upon the approach of death. As we explore in the subsequent section, the mounting evidence that certain competencies within the scope of emotional intelligence may relate to job performance applies directly to this distinctly emotionally taxing context. The ability to manifest the personal power to meet the daily emotional challenges of this work is likely to distinguish the lifelong healthcare provider from one likely to suffer job-related burnout.

Emotional Intelligence:

Some research points directly to this idea of emotional intelligence as having a determinant impact on job competence when properly deconstructed. Research such as that by Abraham (2004) points to a 'weak' connection between measures of emotional intelligence and measures of job performance. The article explains that this may be because only certain dimensions of emotional intelligence will actually intercede with the characteristics seen as relevant to positive job performance. Abraham calls these dimensions emotional competencies and explains that "emotional competencies (including self-control, resilience, social skills, conscientiousness, reliability, integrity, and motivation) interact with organizational climate and job demands or job autonomy to influence performance, as represented in the form of 5 empirically testable propositions." (p. 117)

Here, Abraham argues that certain emotional qualities are preferable to others, regardless of the overall emotional intelligence possessed by individuals. Certainly, this applies to work within the context of a nursing home, where certain personality traits are required within the set of emotional skills possessed by the individual, both in terms of working with patients and in terms of working with others in the facility. As an occupational therapist, my role requires frequent interaction with healthcare professionals at all levels of care, including doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists and speech therapists. In many ways, the emotional intuition that one brings to this place of occupation is necessary not just for interacting positively with patients but also for supporting the diverse and extensive emotional needs of this spectrum of health workers. This experience is consistent with Abraham's claim that "social skills, conscientiousness, reliability, and integrity assist to promote trust, which in turn may build cohesiveness among the members of work groups. Motivation may fuel job involvement in environments that promise psychological safety and psychological meaningfulness. A combination of superior social skills and conscientiousness may enhance the self-sacrifice of benevolent employees to heightened levels of dependability and consideration." (p. 117)

This idea that specific competencies may be used to make certain assumptions about likely performance success is underscored by additional research such as that conducted by Cherniss (1999). This study compiles data from a wide array of sources on human resource management as this relates to the measurement of emotional intelligence. The findings gathered overwhelmingly support the case that emotional intelligence is one of the key predictors of performance success, job competency and long-term leadership trajectory.… READ MORE

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