Emotional intelligence is increasingly taking a more prominent place in the way organizations operate, and senior living is a field where EI’s role is particularly critical. Rachael Evers, senior director, complete senior living execution, with Lifespark, believes emotional intelligence’s importance to organizations rests on the direct impact it has on relationships, communication, trust and performance.
In senior living, those impacts are elevated.
“The work we do is deeply personal,” Evers said. “We are supporting older adults through significant life transitions, partnering with families who are experiencing a wide variety of emotions, and leading teams who are doing really tough but rewarding jobs.”
Evers spoke with Senior Living Executive about emotional intelligence, its role in senior living and how organizations can prioritize it. The impact of successfully prioritizing emotional intelligence can be far-reaching, she said, noting that emotional intelligence helps to create a culture of belonging, trust, purpose and connection.
“I believe emotional intelligence is one of the most important leadership competencies in senior living because it influences resident satisfaction, employee engagement, retention and the overall culture of your organization,” she said.
Evers said her own interest in emotional intelligence stems from her seeing firsthand how much relationships influence outcomes. During her career, which includes time spent as a nurse, she has learned that success is rarely about processes alone – “it’s about people,” she said.
“The strongest teams, the healthiest cultures and the best resident outcomes all start with strong relationships built on trust, self-awareness, empathy and effective communication,” Evers said. “EI helps leaders understand not only what people are doing but why they’re doing it.”
A Focus on People, First
The senior living industry historically has focused heavily on operational performance, regulatory compliance, clinical outcomes and census growth, Evers said. Those all remain extremely important, she said, but “leaders are increasingly recognizing that the ability to achieve those outcomes depends on people, relationships and culture.”
“I also think the workforce challenges of the past several years have accelerated awareness,” Evers said. “Organizations have learned that retaining great people requires more than compensation and benefits. People want meaningful work, connection, psychological safety and leaders who genuinely understand and support them.”
Emotional intelligence also plays a meaningful role in bolstering performance, service and results.
“Emotional intelligence turns culture into outcomes,” Evers said. “It strengthens relationships, improves experiences and drives the results organizations are trying to achieve. In our ever-evolving industry, we can’t lose sight of our people. Emotional intelligence helps us keep people at the center of what we do, and when we do that well, performance, service and results naturally improve.”
In other words, she said, “if we take care of the people, the rest will follow.”
“In our ever-evolving industry, with workforce challenges, increasing resident acuity, changing expectations and constant operational demands, we can’t lose sight of our people,” Evers said. “Emotional intelligence helps us do that. It helps leaders understand what motivates individuals, what support they need, and how to create an environment where they feel valued and connected to purpose.”
Evers said emotional intelligence doesn’t come naturally to everybody, so it takes being aware and putting in the effort to emphasize it in your teams and yourself.
“The more that you understand your people, the more that you make those connections, your emotional intelligence is going to continue to grow,” Evers said. “And as we move through our phases of life and career and experience, that also improves our emotional intelligence.”
How do you implement emotional intelligence and make it a part of your culture?
Evers said making emotional intelligence a priority in an organization starts with values. She noted that Lifespark’s values include “We Seek the Spark,” a belief that has helped to shape how she thinks about leadership.
“We believe there’s a spark inside everyone, whether that’s a resident, family member or team member” Evers said. “Emotional intelligence is what allows us to find that spark, understand what motivates people and help them thrive.”
In addition, she points to the Lifespark value, “We Lead with Purpose,” as one that ties directly to emotional intelligence and its importance.
“Leaders set the tone for culture, and if we want emotional intelligence to be a priority, it has to be modeled consistently,” Evers said. “People watch what leaders do more than they listen to what leaders say. When leaders demonstrate empathy, self-awareness, active listening, and accountability, those behaviors become part of the organization’s culture.”
For Evers, making emotional intelligence a priority in an organization boils down to: build it into your values, model it through your leaders, and keep people at the center of every decision.
“When you do that, emotional intelligence becomes more than a skill,” she said. “It becomes part of the culture.”
Organizations often set goals but struggle to continue to prioritize them on a day-to-day basis. Evers said emotional intelligence should be embedded into daily behaviors and not treated as a separate initiative. Leaders must model it consistently. After all, she said, “culture is built in these small moments.”
“Keeping emotional intelligence front and center means continually asking ourselves, ‘How are our people doing? What do they need? How can we help them be successful?’” she said.
Evers said Lifespark does monthly connection cadences during which leaders meet with team members and have conversations around questions such as: Do you have what you need for growth and development? What resources do you need to take that next step? She said emotional intelligence also springs from being out and visible and engaged with team members and residents – asking questions about their lives and making observations.
“When you are visible and making those connections, it makes a huge difference,” she said.
A common mistake that Evers believes organizations make when trying to integrate emotional intelligence into their culture is treating it as a soft skill rather than a business skill. When that happens, “it can be viewed as something ‘nice-to-have’ rather than recognizing its impact on all we do – engagement, retention, residents’ satisfaction, teamwork and performance. EI helps create outcomes.”
Ultimately, Evers said, when she thinks about emotional intelligence in senior living, she thinks about people, purpose and relationships.
“We are privileged to serve residents and families during some of the most meaningful and vulnerable moments of their lives, and that requires more than operational excellence,” she said. “It requires leaders who can connect, listen, seek the spark and lead with purpose.
“We are in the people business. The leaders who make the greatest difference are the ones who never lose sight of the human being behind every resident, family member and team member. Emotional intelligence is what transforms our purpose into action and our values into impact.”