Assessing Emotional and Social Intelligence for Building Effective Hospital Teams

Abstract

We describe 4 cases involving assessment of team-emotional and -social intelligence (ESI), followed by focused training to build greater effectiveness in hospital-based multidisciplinary teams. The format for all trainings involved assessment, exploration to identify team priorities for ESI competencies, and planning of action steps to develop the chosen competencies. The teams varied in settings, size, and professional or disciplinary composition. They were focused, respectively, on infection control, adolescent health, women’s health, and senior leadership for the coordination of ambulatory and specialty services. We describe the assessment, the training program, and the patterns of similarities and differences in perceived strengths and challenges observed within and among the teams. We also report observed response patterns related to gender and tenure of individual participants.