GI Unit Leadership: Shaping a High-Performing Endoscopy Unit (Virtual) | February 2026-02_Abdi

02_Abdi_Emotional Intelligence

Pdf Summary

This presentation by Dr. Tsion Abdi focuses on the critical role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in building high-performance, high-trust teams within GI endoscopy units. Emotional Intelligence, as defined by Daniel Goleman, is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions while influencing the emotions of others. Its four core components are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.<br /><br />In the context of GI endoscopy—characterized by high procedural volume, rapid patient turnover, sedation risks, complex interdisciplinary workflows, and significant burnout—high EI among healthcare providers correlates with improved teamwork, fewer medical errors, greater patient satisfaction, and reduced burnout rates. Studies show clinicians with higher EI generate greater patient trust, have fewer malpractice complaints, and participate in teams with better communication that reduces procedural complications. Moreover, emotional intelligence training has been demonstrated to decrease burnout and enhance job satisfaction among nurses and physicians.<br /><br />Burnout rates reach 40-50% for GI procedural physicians, and nurse turnover is high, partly attributed to communication failures and workflow inefficiencies. Improving EI fosters smoother procedures and more engaged teams, positively impacting the patient experience.<br /><br />The four pillars of EI highlighted are:<br />1. Self-awareness – recognizing emotions as they occur.<br />2. Self-management – regulating emotional responses under pressure.<br />3. Social awareness – perceiving others’ emotions.<br />4. Relationship management – building trust, resolving conflicts, and effective leadership.<br /><br />A practical tool, the SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) structured conversation framework, facilitates constructive communication that invites perspective-sharing and collaboration. Effective leadership balances empathy with accountability to avoid toxic culture or declining performance.<br /><br />Key takeaways emphasize that EI enhances performance, safety, team culture, and retention through emotional regulation and creating psychological safety. Importantly, EI skills are learnable, and leaders play a pivotal role in setting the emotional tone and modeling these skills daily for their teams.

Keywords

Emotional Intelligence

GI endoscopy

High-performance teams

Burnout reduction

Patient satisfaction

Team communication

Self-awareness

Self-management

Social awareness

Relationship management