The impact of emotional intelligence on managers’ performance: Evidence from hospitals located in Tehran

CONTEXT: Most of the studies show that emotional intelligence (EI) is an important factor for effective leadership and team performance in organizations. AIMS: This research paper aims to provide an exploratory analysis of EI in the hospitals managers located in Tehran, and examine its relation to their performance. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The present research was an analytical and cross-sectional study. Setting of the study was hospitals located in Tehran, Iran. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study from a matched sample of 120 managers and 360 subordinates in hospitals located in Tehran. Cyberia shrink EI measure was used for assessing the EI of the participants. Moreover, a management performance Questionnaire is specifically developed for the present study. The total of 480 questionnaires analyzed throughout Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Mann–Whitney, and Kruskal–Wallis tests in SPSS. RESULTS: The findings suggested a poor EI among hospital managers. As for EI subscales, social skills and self-motivation were in the highest and lowest levels respectively. Moreover, the results indicated that EI increases with experience. The results also showed there is no significant relationship between the components of EI and the performance of hospital managers. CONCLUSIONS: Present research indicated that higher levels of EI did not necessarily lead to better performance in hospital managers.