Case Study

About Our Client

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the world's most-respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education, and prevention. MD Anderson is located in central Houston on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center. MD Anderson's vision is to be the premier cancer center in the world, based on the excellence of the people employed, research-driven patient care, and scientific innovations. In 2010, U.S. News & World Report's “America's Best Hospitals” survey ranked MD Anderson as the top hospital in the nation for cancer care.

Their Challenge

MD Anderson employs more than 17,000 people, including 1,500 faculty members, all dedicated to the core values of caring, integrity, and discovery. The center recognized that extensive knowledge of health science and cancer treatment methods is not enough to become the premier cancer center. Open to discovering innovative ways to improve the center's already fantastic services, MD Anderson sought to develop employee's emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness. Communication and collaboration among health care providers are crucial to efficiently care for patients; so MD Anderson decided to integrate EQ development to foster healthy working relationships among doctors, nurses, staff members, students, and volunteers.

Our Solution

TalentSmart provided a master certified trainer to facilitate two on-site EQ development programs roughly one month apart for 47 MD Anderson employees. Participants self-assessed their EQ skills before to the initial session using the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal—Me Edition, and each was given a copy of TalentSmart's Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book. To broaden participants' awareness of the role emotional intelligence plays in their workplace, the initial Discovering Emotional Intelligence program provided an overview of emotional intelligence, why it matters, and what their scores meant. Later, in the Developing Emotional Intelligence program, participants were guided in setting desirable goals for their EQ development, and creating an action plan with strategies to build the skills most integral to their success at MD Anderson.