**1. Introduction**

Medical organizations are under pressure from consumer and regulatory demands to reduce costs and boost quality and value. Patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, and various other advances will have substantial influence on the future of the US health care system. These modern paradigms involve high-level cooperation among physicians and various stakeholders. Unfortunately, physicians have often been judged by their inability to effectively collaborate. What's more comparatively little consideration has been given to collaboration as it pertains to traditional physician education and career advancement [1]. The reasons behind sub-optimal collaboration are multifactorial; however they may be more broadly divided into personal and structural reasons. On a personal level, it may be that physicians traditionally reveled in self-sufficiency.

Also, persons attracted to and selected for medical careers may have been customarily independent, self-directed, and assured [2]. Because physicians basked in autonomy, they may have inadvertently propagated a culture that prioritizes individuality. Subsequently, today healthcare systems are repeatedly designed like silos, which further undercut teamwork [1, 3–5]. Consequently, any effective health network must concentrate on a move from a philosophy that the physician is the sole provider to one that fosters and promotes strong relationships and effective communication [2]. Strong physician leadership is vital to the implementation and success of this shift.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion in the self and others [6]. It has been considered an essential leadership proficiency [7]. In medicine, its applicability may range from the boardroom to the patient's bedside [7, 8]. There are various representations of different evaluative methods for EI. One of the more mainstream depictions includes self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationship management (**Figure 1**) [9]. The cells are further populated by component competencies that define EI (**Figure 1 legend**) [10].

EI, rather than being something one is born with, is a set of skills that can be improved upon to boost performance [11, 12]. This is in stark contrast to hard to define views of professionalism or leadership as an EI template is clear, teachable, and allows for an honest assessment of where one is and where one needs to be in regards to development. Ample evidence supports the importance of EI as a key leadership competency in business [13–15]. Conversely, far less attention has been paid to EI as it pertains to health care.

The remainder of this chapter will focus on EI and its implications on Graduate Medical Education (GME) specifically Family Medicine Residency. The chapter will examine the association between EI and leadership traits among family physicians as well as the effects of different EI implementation strategies such as coaching, Balint Seminars, advisor and focus groups, and their impact on physician trainees as well as further commentary on future best practices.

#### **Figure 1.**

*Four components of emotional intelligence. \* Further divided into competencies self-awareness: Emotional self-awareness, accurate self-awareness, self-confidence; social awareness: Empathy, organizational awareness, service orientation; self-management: Self-control, trust-worthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, achievement orientation, initiative; social skills: Influence, leadership, developing others, communication, change catalyst, conflict management, building bonds, team work and collaboration.*

*Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Development: Implications for Family Medicine… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99463*
