INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND INCIDENT RECOVERY IN HIGH-RISK TEAMS

Abstract

High-risk, high-pressure team environments in aviation, emergency medicine, and cybersecurity operate at a fast pace with an emphasis on quick, interdependent response styles. Though many have successful procedural protocols, these teams can often experience failure in the recovery from significant incidents, not only due to poor technical performance, but also dysregulation of psychology. This paper investigates Emotional Intelligence (EI) as an important, although often overlooked, consideration for improving post-incident recovery in these high-stress situations. Grounded in established psychological theories, including Mayer and Salovey's EI model and crisis response theories, this paper conceptualizes how EI abilities (self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and social skills) at the individual, team, and organization levels impact recovery effectiveness, team cohesion, and adaptive communication after a crisis. Using a literature synthesis approach, the paper first integrates knowledge from across the disciplines of organizational psychology, safety science, and human factors engineering before presenting a conceptual framework for the intersection of EI and the phases of crisis recovery. Examples derived from case studies and past empirical studies demonstrate the advantages of emotionally intelligent teams, as they show improved resilience, reduced conflict, and an enhanced ability to learn after adverse events. In summary, there is a need to embed EI assessments and training into team development programs, so that they will achieve successful risk management outcomes and maintain safety across the lifecycle of operations. A shift in thinking of recovery from just a procedural task to a situational task is needed.