Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on leadership effectiveness in Vietnamese American leaders. This study was done to provide Vietnamese American leaders' perspectives regarding EI, leadership effectiveness, culture, and education.Methodology. A qualitative case study was used to answer the following research questions: (a) What is the impact of EI on leadership effectiveness in Vietnamese American leaders? and (b) How does the role of culture and education affect leadership effectiveness? The researcher utilized a purposeful sampling method by interviewing 10 high-profile participants who served in the military, school settings, executive branches, judicial branches, and legislative branches of the government. The researcher applied strategies to determine the validity and reliability of the research.Findings. Based on two research questions, 10 themes were discovered in this study: (a) Different positions provide diverse responses; (b) leadership positions play a crucial role in organization; (c) frequent decision-making skills involve engaging with different people and perspectives to be effective leaders; (d) leadership effectiveness is measured by individuals' feedback, organizations' outcomes, and transformational staff and organization; (e) EI refers to awareness of oneself and others in order to have good human relationships; (f) self-awareness and social relationships play key roles in dealing with complex situations; (g) EI brings more advantages to life and leadership practice; (h) positive outcomes from using EI make leadership practice more effective; (i) culture enhances understanding of individuals to become effective leaders; (j) education affects leadership effectiveness.Conclusion. Analysis of the findings concluded that participants confirmed the impact of the relationship between EI and leadership effectiveness. They also confirmed the effects of culture and education factors on leadership effectiveness.Recommendations. Recommendations for future research include: (a) increase the sample size, (b) include a wider variety of participants from different professions and fields, (c) recruit equal numbers of participants from each gender, (d) explore the experience factor in leadership effectiveness.