Emotional competence in nurse managers: a scoping review of domains, conceptualisation, assessment and development

Purpose This study aims to map emotional competence in nurse managers and examine how it is conceptualised, assessed and developed, including how it is differentiated from related constructs. Design/methodology/approach A scoping review followed Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. Fourteen information sources were searched up to 13 August 2026. Findings Emotional competence was frequently invoked but rarely operationalised as such. Only 12 sources met the criteria for emotional competence, compared with 71 on emotional intelligence, with two represented in both groups (81 distinct sources). Across the emotional-competence literature, ten domains were identified, but 11 of 20 domain attributions concerned managers regulating, containing or expressing their own emotions, with substantially less attention to emotional skill directed towards others. No source assessed emotional competence against an explicit behavioural standard for the nurse-manager role. Emotional intelligence entered the competence literature through three recurring routes: competency-labelled frameworks, instruments bearing competence terminology and claims that emotional intelligence itself constitutes a leadership competence. Research limitations/implications Most quantitative evidence concerns emotional-intelligence abilities, traits or self-perceptions rather than demonstrated emotional performance in role. Research should define the behavioural attributes of emotional competence and develop context-sensitive assessment approaches. Practical implications Emotional-intelligence scores should not be treated as evidence of demonstrated emotional competence. Organisations should define and directly assess expected role behaviours. Originality/value The review separates emotional competence from emotional intelligence at the level of operationalisation and identifies how frameworks, instruments and claims about emotional intelligence can blur that distinction.