Emotional Intelligence and Leadership in Nursing Management: The Role of Hierarchical Context in Shaping Leadership Behaviour

AIM: To examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership style among nurse managers, and how the relationship is shaped by professional experience, hierarchical position, and healthcare facility size. The study explores whether EI functions as a conditional mechanism linking experience to leadership across hierarchical levels. DESIGN: A cross-sectional quantitative study. METHODS: A total of 1243 nurse managers from public healthcare facilities participated in a survey conducted between November 2022 and January 2023. Emotional intelligence was measured using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), and leadership style using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Differences across hierarchical levels were examined using repeated measures ANOVA. A conditional process analysis (PROCESS Model 59) tested the mediating role of EI and the moderating effect of hierarchical position, controlling for gender and facility size. RESULTS: Transformational and transactional leadership were more pronounced among higher-level managers, whereas passive leadership was more prevalent among front-line managers. Emotional intelligence was positively associated with transformational and transactional leadership and negatively associated with passive leadership. EI demonstrated a conditional and partial mediating role in the relationship between professional experience and leadership, with effects varying across hierarchical levels. Hierarchical position moderated both the relationship between experience and EI and the association between EI and transformational leadership. Managers in larger healthcare facilities reported higher EI and lower passive leadership. CONCLUSION: Leadership in nursing management is shaped by the interaction between emotional competencies and organisational structure. Emotional intelligence operates as a context-dependent capacity, whose development and expression are conditioned by hierarchical position and organisational environment. IMPACT: This study highlights that emotionally intelligent leadership is not solely an individual attribute but is structurally enabled or constrained. Supporting nurse managers requires organisational interventions, including supervisory time, mentorship, and conditions that sustain emotional regulation and reflective capacity. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.