Leadership and social intelligence: An investigative study of chief fire and emergency management officers in Nevada

Leading fire and emergency management departments in today’s world have been challenging for Chief Officers. Understanding social intelligence is imperative in both theoretical inquiry and practical field application for these executives. The components navigated to improve leadership skills and create meaningful relationships are emotional awareness, empathy, social cognition, and emotional management. There has never been a more needed skill by fire and emergency management officers, such as social intelligence. Team cohesion and success rely on the ability to communicate, understand, and relate to the people each lead. A multidimensional discipline framework with underpinnings from psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and cultural studies influences social intelligence. This study uses the qualitative form of constructivist grounded theory to examine the research question, “How is social intelligence used in the Chief Officer’s leadership, and what relationships result from such use?” To resolve this inquiry, Chief Officers from the State of Nevada were selected in both fire and emergency management fields. They were interviewed, and data was collected for analysis. Through a better understanding of social intelligence, academic and practical training can increase effectiveness by meeting the needs of our profession.