Examining the relationship between emotional intelligence, leadership attributes and workplace experience of Australian chief radiographers

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a person's ability to control their emotions and be empathetic and it influences how a person interacts with others. EI has been linked to strong job performance parameters such as leadership, and is an important attribute for health leaders, including chief radiographers. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between EI scores and leadership attributes of Australian chief radiographers. Methods: A pilot study with a cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample of potential participants (n = 70) were contacted and given unique codes to access the United Kingdom's National Health Service Leadership Self-Assessment Tool (LSAT) and the Trait-EI Questionnaire Short-Form (TEIQue-SF). Demographic information was collected on age, years of experience, and hospital size. In total, 22 chief radiographers from NSW and Victoria from a variety of medical imaging departments completed the TEIQue-SF, and 18 completed both questionnaires. Spearman's rank-order correlation and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used for analysis. Results: Chief radiographers from larger hospitals (>500 beds, n = 6) had lower scores for the TEIQue-SF sociability factor than smaller hospitals (P =.057; n = 22). Chief radiographers with <10 years' experience (n = 6) had higher scores for the LSAT “Developing Capability” dimensions than those with more experience (P =.043; n = 18). Conclusions: This study demonstrated relationships between years of experience, hospital size, EI, and leadership behaviours of Australian chief radiographers. Overall, increasing years of experience as a chief radiographer was associated with a reduction across some EI and LSAT factors. The findings could be used as a starting point to provide increased support to senior leaders of the profession to aid leadership and job performance.