Building Burnout Resilience at NHS through EQ Coaching Program

Facing extraordinary pressure with an understaffed and exhausted workforce, leaders at the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) demonstrate significant personal and professional growth from an emotional intelligence coaching program. The pilot, already expanded to other NHS Trusts, provides a blueprint for other organizations to equip leaders with the skills they need to support employees in 2024 and beyond.

A climate of burnout

All around the world, people are struggling. We’ve entered a global emotional recession, according to the world’s largest study of emotional intelligence. Global averages for emotional intelligence (think: skills like empathy, optimism and navigating emotions) and wellbeing have declined more than 5% since 2019 – a significant and concerning drop. Burnout is on the rise in most industries, and healthcare is no exception.

Download the full State of the Heart report to learn more about the global emotional recession we’ve entered →

Burnout among healthcare professionals is nothing new, of course. It’s a widespread and well documented issue. But the challenge is particularly acute in the NHS, where resources are often stretched thin. A survey of more than 2,500 NHS workers last year uncovered high levels of stress (79%) and burnout (55%) among staff. A large majority (78.5%) have considered quitting in the past three years.

Facing these immense challenges, Aqua, a membership organisation within the NHS, decided to invest in emotional intelligence coaching for its leaders to better equip them to support their people – and avoid burning out themselves. The results, especially in a context of widespread emotional challenges globally, are extraordinary.

Searching for burnout solutions in healthcare

Aqua partnered with Charlotte Moore, Founder of 7level7energy and a Certified Emotional Intelligence Coach, to design and run a program for senior leaders in the NHS.

“Burnout in healthcare is a massive challenge,” Charlotte says. “And it’s about supporting people to increase their understanding that burnout isn’t always about overwork. It’s also about emotional challenges. It’s about emotional needs being unmet. And that’s why EQ coaching, which addresses both the emotional and professional challenges, has been found to be so effective at combating it. I couldn’t wait to get started.”

The program consisted of 1:1 coaching sessions and use of the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence assessment (SEI®), a normed and scientifically validated toolthat offers insights into respondent’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) competencies, as well as related life success outcomes such as effectiveness at work, personal and professional relationships, wellbeing, and quality of life. The NHS leaders took the SEI and were debriefed on the results in a completely confidential environment. Each leader then participated in a series of coaching sessions with Charlotte over a period of six months where they had space to reflect on their results and real world implications. Coaching sessions provided an opportunity to build individual competencies and really personalise EQ growth using the practical activities in Being the Best Version of You. They then retook the SEI to compare the pre- and post- results.

Both the qualitative and quantitative data indicate that the program made a significant impact on leaders’ personal growth and professional development. Average Emotional Intelligence increased over a third (35.5%) for the cohort as a whole.

The graph below shows the leaders’ growth on the 8 core emotional intelligence skills, along with a table showing the likely changes brought on by those increases:

SEI scores are normed to approximate a normal distribution or a bell curve across five performance zones – Challenge, Emerging, Functional, Skilled, and Expert. This range of performance zones indicate one’s ability to leverage a particular EQ skill or their EQ holistically. In other words, a score falling within the “Challenge” zone indicates a particular area of EQ may be an obstacle, whereas a score falling in the “Expert” or “Skilled” zones indicates mastery of an EQ skill or that the competency is a strength that is being utilized effectively. Before the program, two-thirds (67%) of the group were scoring above the “Functional” level or above for emotional intelligence skills. After the program, all participants were operating at a functional level or higher.

Pilot program with COOs show massive growth in key measures of emotional health

In the pilot phase of the program, Charlotte worked with Chief Operating Officers in eight NHS Trusts. As with the entire group, the COO cohort showed remarkable growth in the eight core EQ competencies measured by the SEI. And, as we’ll see in the graph below, these increases fueled positive outcomes at work and beyond.

The following figure shows the collective improvement of the NHS COOs in the four outcomes measured by the SEI: Effectiveness, Relationships, Wellbeing and Quality of Life – along with testimonials from program participants on their growth in that area. Remember: these changes are in the context of global declines in these outcomes.

Program expands to other NHS Trusts and reproduces promising results

With the program’s efficacy supported by the data and the participant’s positive feedback, Aqua decided to expand the program to over a dozen senior leaders in nine different Trusts throughout the UK. This new EQ Leadership Program consisted of both group EQ group workshops and 1:1 EQ Coaching using the SEI, with Quality Improvement Leaders (QI).

The program produced even better results than the pilot group. For this cohort, average emotional intelligence increased 44.3%. There are eight specific emotional intelligence skills measured by the SEI, and the averages increased on all eight. This graph shows the improvement of these skills from the pre- and post- assessments.

The largest gains were Enhance Emotional Literacy 73.7%, Pursue Noble Goals 59.2% and Exercise Optimism 47.1% .

The EQ Coaching program increased the leader’s ability to accurately notice their emotions and reactions, to navigate emotions, to make decisions based on their values and feel connected to a sense of long-term purpose. “These are essential emotional skills needed to navigate stress and combat burnout,” Charlotte says. “These improvements speak to the commitment of the group to improve the culture.”

Three EQ skills in particular are highly correlated with Burnout, which we call the Drive strand. When these skills are growing, leaders are growing their capacity to move forward with energy and avoid burnout. The three skills are Exercise Optimism, Engage Intrinsic Motivation and Pursue Noble Goals. This graph shows the NHS QI leader cohort’s growth on the Drive competencies. As you can see, this group as a whole has decreased its risk of burnout.

Before the program, 54% of the group were scoring above the “Functional” level or above for Drive. After the program, this increased to 90%.

The growth in these leader’s emotional intelligence skills fueled better effectiveness, stronger relationships, and improved quality of life and wellbeing. The QI cohort showed similar growth in the four Success Factors as the COO cohort:

NHS leaders feel program’s impact, reflect on ‘transformational’ experience

These findings highlight the profound impact that emotional intelligence coaching can have on healthcare leaders’ well-being, relationships, and overall effectiveness. By equipping them with the tools to navigate the emotional challenges of their roles, the program has helped foster a more resilient and emotionally intelligent leadership cadre within the NHS.

The program’s success is even more impressive when viewed in the context of the recent State of the Heart report. The report found that we’ve entered a global emotional recession, with both global average emotional intelligence and well-being scores declining by over 5% since 2019. Against this backdrop, the gains achieved by NHS leaders through EQ coaching are truly remarkable.

From the participants themselves:

“I can honestly say that this is one of the best courses I have done in my 22-year NHS career.”
– Quality Improvement Leader, NHS

 “Genuinely, the best development course I have had the privilege to be part of.”
Quality Improvement Leader, NHS

“I have gained so much from my coaching experience with Charlotte. Developing my emotionalintelligence has helped me connect with others, manage my emotions more effectively and recognise patterns that were not helpful to me and my team. I continue to use the feelings wheel daily and by introducing it to my team we all have a deeper understanding of each other which has made us more effective as a team. On a more personal level, Charlotte has helped me define my values and explore my life’s purpose, which will help me professionally and personally and enable meto live my best life.”
Head of the Coach House, Program Lead for Improving Together, NHS Royal United Hospital Bath.

“I have found the EQ coaching enormously valuable in navigating some of the unprecedented challenges we are facing in the NHS… It really is worth doing.”
– NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Operating Officer

“The coaching provided by Charlotte has enabled me to transform my approach to my work. She has genuine expertise, and the tools and methods she coaches give a powerful framework for both professional and personal development. I have found her support to be invaluable and I will remain enormously grateful to her.”
– NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Operating Officer

NHS program serves as blueprint for employee wellbeing initiatives

The success of this emotional intelligence coaching program serves as a model for addressing burnout and promoting wellbeing in healthcare organizations and beyond. By prioritizing emotional intelligence development, organizations can cultivate a workforce better equipped to manage the emotional demands of their roles, build stronger relationships with colleagues and patients, and maintain a higher quality of life – ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and a more sustainable, resilient healthcare system.

To learn more about improving leadership and business outcomes with emotional intelligence, contact us and we’d be happy to help.

Organization: NHS

Industry: Healthcare

Methods: Group and 1:1 Coaching

Tools used: Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence assessment (SEI) & EQ workshops created by 7level7energy