Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

development may have predominantly objective and functionalist properties, EI
acknowledges “a different kind of intelligence” (Goleman, 1995, p. 36). At its core, EI
represents a phenomenon that centers on how “individuals develop subjective meanings
of their own experiences” (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008). The subjective experiential
meaning is at the heart of a phenomenological study. In addition, transformative EI
(Nelson & Low, 2004, 2011) is rooted in phenomenology (G. R. Low, personal
communication, June 27, 2012).
Phenomenological research tradition. Moustakas (1994) credited various
theorists for the foundation of phenomenology, but none more so than Husserl “who
developed a philosophic system rooted in subjective openness” (p. 29). Having its origin
in the Greek language, phenomenon means to enlighten and to reveal in its totality. All
knowledge must be grounded in experience (Moustakas, 1994). While firmly entrenched
in a subjective orientation, objectivity is also prominent: “the object that appears in
consciousness mingles with the object in nature so that a meaning is created, and
knowledge is extended” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 31). There is always a relationship
between “the external perception of natural objects and internal perceptions, memories,
and judgments” (p. 53). The subjectivity: objectivity orientation aligns with tenets of
experiential (Kolb, 1984) and situated (Lave & Wenger, 1991) learning theories.
Phenomenology “step by step, attempts to eliminate everything that is a
prejudgment, setting aside presuppositions, and reaching a transcendental state of
freshness and openness, a readiness to see in an unfettered way” (Moustakas, 1994, p.
46). The transcendental nature of phenomenology, as espoused by Moustakas (1994),
formed the basis for the employed methodology. Although transcendental