Proposed Dissertation Topic

For my dissertation to consider the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership styles and organizational performance. Specifically, to focus on how the emotional intelligence of leaders directly influence outcomes, productivity, and the work environment. The goal of this research would be to identify how emotional intelligence skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management contribute to leadership effectiveness.

In the study the goal would be to identify new insights that strengthens organizational performance and creates emotional intelligence cultures within the workplace. This research will uncover how emotional intelligence influences team dynamics, leadership behaviors, team dynamics, and organizational success.

Qualitative Research Question

How do leaders’ emotional intelligence skills influence their leadership styles and behavior and how do these factors shape organizational productivity and team dynamics overtime?

Research design justification

For this research,  chose the grounded theory as the ideal qualitative research design. Grounded theory is beneficial when considering new theoretical data. For this case, studying how emotional intelligence influences leadership styles, job satisfaction, productivity, and team dynamics tie directly into the premise of the theory.

Since emotional intelligence is not static and is constantly evolving, this method allows for the creation of a new theory based on empirical data which will in turn give new insights on the role emotional intelligence plays in organizational culture and leadership.

Grounded theory focuses on interactions, processes, and relationships within the data that has been collected. This information shows the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles outside of theory but in practical and real-world contexts. Although there is research about emotional intelligence, the amount of research that speaks to outcomes over time is limited. The grounded theory allows for continuous refinement and data collection which will allow me as the researcher to identify new patterns and themes that live within individual experiences.

The flexibility of this design allows me to capture the nuances that live within individuals, leadership spaces, and how it impacts organizations. Grounded theory considers the participants’ perceptions of how their experiences have impacted them (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Using this research to identify those unique perspectives will allow me to gain a deeper insight on the practical and emotional dimensions of leadership through the lens of emotional intelligence.
Limitations

The collection of data when done accurately takes a considerable amount of time. Each phase of data collection can challenge even the best of researchers. Collecting, coding, and analyzing data is a time intensive process that requires planning, strategy, and being clear on the scope to be able to manage the demands. Another issue is researcher bias. As an advocate for emotional intelligence,  can easily fall victim to my personal biases. This can have a direct impact on the way  question participants and how  analyze the data that is being collected (Keller, 2014). To mitigate this, using the process of reflexivity and triangulation will need to be employed. This will ensure that all themes that are brought to light can be validated through more than one source.

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