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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
Corporate!scandals!have!disrupted!the!trust!and!confidence!in!leaders!over!the!last!
two!decades!(Zimmer,!2013).!The!lack!of!organizational!trust!can!negatively!impact!
organizational!effectiveness,!degenerate!moral!and!ethical!behavior,!and!deteriorate!the!
integrity!of!the!organization!(Bansal,!2016;!Jason,!2014;!Zuppa,!Olbina,!&!Issa,!2016).!
Distrust!and!suspicion!are!growing,!and!confidence!in!many!institutions!is!lacking!(Carucci!
&!Hansen,!2015).!Du!Plessis,!Wakelin,!and!Nel!(2015)!argued!that!new!areas!of!developing!
trust!are!being!explored.!Fry!(2003)!conducted!a!study!on!spiritual!intelligence!and!
suggested!that!a!relationship!exists!between!spirituality,!spiritual!intelligence,!and!
leadership!practices.!
Much!of!the!research!on!spiritual!intelligence!has!focused!on!defining!the!
phenomenon!and!describing!how!to!tap!into!spiritual!intelligence,!rather!than!on!
demonstrating!practical!business!applications!in!leadership!development!(Fry,!2013).!
Exploring!the!role!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence!in!the!development!of!organizational!
trust!may!help!organizations!identify!the!moral!and!ethical!leaders!necessary!to!align!the!
needs!of!the!people!with!the!needs!of!the!company.!A!lack!of!empirical!evidence!exists!
regarding!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!ability!to!promote!trust!within!an!
organization.!!
The!purpose!of!this!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!
influence!on!organizational!trust.!In!this!phenomenological!study,!I!investigated!the!lived!
experiences!of!senior!leaders!regarding!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!Findings!created!a!
deeper!understanding!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence,!including!the!role!spiritual!
intelligence!plays!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!trust!within!an!organization!and!the!potential!
business!application!for!leadership!development.!
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Background of the Study
Gardner!developed!a!theory!of!multiple!intelligences!in!1983.!Initially,!Gardner!
(1983)!suggested!seven!intelligences:!spatial,!linguistic,!logical,!kinesthetic,!musical,!
intrapersonal,!and!interpersonal.!In!1999,!Gardner!added!naturalist!as!the!eighth!
intelligence!and!contended!that!spiritual!intelligence!did!not!meet!his!criteria!for!
intelligence.!Gardner!(1999)!suggested!that!existential!intelligence!more!closely!aligned!
with!this!criterion.!
Intelligence,!as!defined!by!Gardner!(1983),!“is!the!ability!to!solve!problems,!or!to!
create!products,!that!are!valued!within!one!or!more!cultural!settings”!(p.!ii).!This!definition!
excludes!any!single!property!of!the!mind!currently!measured!by!an!instrument!called!the!
intelligence!test.!Gardner!(1983)!introduced!eight!criteria!for!intelligence.!He!proposed!that!
people!are!born!into!cultures!that!have!multiple!disciplines!or!talents!that!are!adopted!and!
developed!over!time;!people!then!get!assessed!on!the!level!of!competence!they!have!
attained!in!these!disciplines!(Gardner,!1983).!Years!later,!Gardner!(1999)!refined!his!
definition!of!intelligence:!“a!biopsychological!potential!to!process!information!that!can!be!
activated!in!a!cultural!setting!to!solve!problems!or!create!products!that!are!of!value!in!a!
culture”!(p.!33).!Spiritual!intelligence!is!grounded!in!a!cursory!review!of!intelligence!
theorists!who!have!continued!to!legitimize!spiritual!intelligence!(Vaughan,!2002;!
Wigglesworth,!2012;!Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
Spirituality!has!no!class!system!or!doctrine!whereas!religion!is!characterized!by!a!
class!system!and!follows!a!doctrine!(Hildebrant,!2011).!Hildebrant!(2011)!differentiated!
spirituality!from!religion!by!highlighting!an!individual’s!personal!experience!with!a!
connection!to!a!divine!source.!Spiritual!intelligence!is!different!from!both!spirituality!and!
religion.!Spirituality!is!defined!as!the!innate!human!need!to!be!connected!to!something!
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larger!than!the!self.!Religion!is!a!set!of!beliefs!and!practices!based!on!doctrine!(Hildebrant,!
2011).!According!to!Wigglesworth!(2012),!spiritual!intelligence!is!“the!ability!to!behave!
with!compassion!and!wisdom!while!maintaining!inner!and!outer!peace!regardless!of!the!
circumstances”!(p.!8).!This!definition!was!used!as!the!foundation!for!the!conceptual!
framework!of!this!study.!
This!study!may!provide!a!deeper!understanding!of!the!application!of!spiritual!
intelligence!and!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!organizational!
trust.!Researchers!who!studied!spiritual!leadership!suggested!that!spiritual!intelligence!
along!with!leadership!styles!and!intelligence!(e.g.,!emotional!intelligence,!servant!
leadership)!may!form!a!new!style!of!leadership!conducive!to!building!a!culture!of!trust!
within!an!organization!(Afsar,!Badir,!&!Kiani,!2016;!Esfahani!&!Sedaghat,!2015;!Kashyap!&!
Rangnekar,!2016).!Investigating!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!its!potential!
application!in!leadership!development!may!increase!scholarly!knowledge!in!this!area!and!
may!shift!organizational!paradigms!on!the!topic.!
Chan!and!Mak!(2014)!found!servant!leadership!to!be!in!line!with!the!view!that!
service!to!others!results!in!a!positive!subordinate!attitude!and!trust!in!the!leader.!Chan!and!
Mak!emphasized!that!a!high-quality!relationship!with!subordinates!will!result!in!satisfying!
their!needs!and!fostering!their!trust.!Encouragement!from!leadership!leads!to!job!
satisfaction!(Chan!&!Mak,!2014).!Relationship!building!and!encouragement!are!
characteristics!of!the!servant!leader!who!builds!trust!with!subordinates!(Chan!&!Mak,!
2014).!
Greenleaf!(1970)!used!social!exchange!theory!to!express!how!servant!leadership!
influences!subordinate!relationships!to!build!leader!trust.!Chan!and!Mak!(2014)!suggested!
that!servant!leadership!is!focused!on!self-interest!for!the!betterment!of!subordinates.!
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Subordinates!reciprocate!by!trusting!their!leaders!(Chan!&!Mak,!2014).!Miao,!Newman,!
Schwarz,!and!Xu!(2014),!found!that!perceptions!of!servant!leadership!were!related!to!
commitment!and!trust.!Z.!Chen,!Zhu,!and!Zhou!(2015)!built!on!social!identity!theory!by!
showing!that!servant!leadership!extends!beyond!the!effects!of!transformational!leadership!
through!its!influence!on!self-efficacy!and!group!identification.!
Since!Greenleaf’s!vision!of!a!service-oriented!philosophy,!other!theorists!have!
developed!multiple!servant!leadership!models!(Z.!Chen!et!al.,!2015;!Chiniara!&!Bentein,!
2016).!From!these!models,!multiple!leadership!elements!have!emerged!that!are!essential!to!
the!characteristics!of!a!servant!leader,!including!humility,!emotional!healing,!wisdom,!
altruism,!vision,!and!trust!(Winston!&!Fields,!2015).!Value-based,!spirit-centered!leadership!
models!have!recently!attracted!the!attention!of!leadership!scholars,!including!the!servant!
leadership!model!(C.!Chen,!Chen,!&!Li,!2013).!
C.!Chen!et!al.!(2013)!and!Lynch!and!Friedman!(2013)!confirmed!that!the!concepts!of!
spiritual!leadership!and!servant!leadership!are!related.!Lynch!and!Friedman!posited!that!
spiritual!individuals!are!more!likely!to!become!servant!leaders.!The!literature!indicated!that!
servant!leadership!is!the!only!leadership!paradigm!with!an!expressly!spiritual!tone!(C.!Chen!
et!al,!2013;!Lynch!&!Friedman,!2013).!Lynch!and!Friedman!noted!that!a!spiritual!servant!
leader!understands!that!ethical!values!come!first.!The!addition!of!a!spiritual!component!to!
servant!leadership!completed!the!leadership!paradigm!and!added!value!to!leadership!
theory!(Lynch!&!Friedman,!2013).!
Without!empirical!data!addressing!the!influence!of!spiritual!intelligence!on!
organizational!culture,!trust,!and!performance,!spiritual!intelligence!may!not!gain!
acceptance!in!academic!or!scientific!communities.!Researchers!have!suggested!a!
relationship!between!trust!and!other!leadership!factors!such!as!emotional!intelligence!and!
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servant!leadership!(du!Plessis!et!al.,!2015).!However,!I!did!not!find!empirical!data!
addressing!the!influence!of!spiritual!intelligence!on!the!development!of!organizational!trust!
in!the!literature!at!the!time!of!the!current!study.!This!study!was!intended!to!fill!the!gap!in!
knowledge!regarding!how!spiritual!intelligence!may!be!used!in!leadership!development!to!
create!a!culture!of!trust!within!an!organization!and!to!improve!organizational!performance.!
The!concept!of!spiritual!intelligence!(SQ)!is!new.!The!intent!of!this!study!was!to!
increase!the!level!of!knowledge!about!spiritual!intelligence,!demonstrate!the!potential!
influence!spiritual!intelligence!has!on!organizational!trust,!and!add!to!the!literature!on!the!
potential!relationship!between!spiritual!intelligence!and!the!development!of!organizational!
trust.!Because!spiritual!intelligence!brings!up!the!notion!of!spirituality!and!religion,!controls!
must!be!put!in!place!to!manage!individual!and!personal!bias.!The!key!was!to!remove!
religious!traditions!out!of!the!definition!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!this!study.!Additional!
concepts!of!emotional!intelligence,!servant!leadership,!transformational!leadership,!and!
spiritual!leadership!were!also!needed!to!build!on!the!understanding!of!SQ.!
Problem Statement
The!deficit!in!organizational!trust!has!built!up!over!the!last!two!decades!because!of!
prominent!organizational!failures!like!Enron,!Worldcom,!AIG,!and!General!Motors!
(Bachmann,!Gillespie,!&!Priem,!2015).!The!lack!of!organizational!trust!has!negatively!
impacted!ethical!behavior!and!organizational!effectiveness!(Bansal,!2016;!Zuppa!et!al.,!
2016).!According!to!Esfahani!and!Sedaghat!(2015),!the!general!problem!with!organizations!
is!the!declining!trust!between!staff!and!managers.!The!specific!problem!addressed!in!the!
study!was!what!might!lead!to!improved!trust!in!leaders.!Ajike!(2016)!identified!spiritual!
intelligence!and!trust!as!effective!factors!in!enhancing!organizational!performance.!Wang!
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and!Hsieh!(2013)!found!that!creating!a!culture!of!trust!can!improve!organizational!
performance!and!reinforce!positive!ethical!behaviors.!
Over!the!last!15!years,!researchers!have!examined!how!transformational,!servant,!
and!spiritual!leadership!styles!have!influenced!organizational!effectiveness,!ethical!
behaviors,!and!organizational!commitment!(Chiniara!&!Bentein,!2016;!Gilbert,!Horsman,!&!
Kelloway,!2016).!The!lack!of!research!on!what!might!lead!to!low!trust!in!leaders!indicated!a!
gap!related!to!the!understanding!of!working!relationships!in!business!environments!
(Korsgaard,!Brower,!&!Lester,!2015).!At!the!time!of!the!study,!limited!research!existed!on!
how!spiritual!intelligence!in!leaders!might!influence!organizational!trust.!
Purpose of the Study
The!purpose!of!this!qualitative!phenomenological!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!
spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust.!This!was!accomplished!by!
investigating!the!lived!experiences!of!senior!leaders!regarding!their!spiritual!intelligence!
and!trust.!I!sought!to!identify!the!assumptions,!beliefs,!and!perceptions!of!leaders’!
awareness!and!experience!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust!to!provide!a!textural!
description!of!the!meaning!and!essence!of!both!phenomena!(see!Moustakas,!1994;!Vagle,!
2014).!Purposive!sampling!was!used!to!recruit!16!participants!in!a!global!insurance!
company!(see!Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!Participants!included!senior!leaders!and!employees!
who!reported!to!those!leaders.!Data!collection!involved!semistructured!interviews!with!the!
16!employees!using!open-ended!questions,!which!resulted!in!data!saturation!(see!Saunders!
et!al.,!2017).!
Senior!leaders!are!exposed!to!a!variety!of!leadership!styles!as!they!advance!through!
their!careers.!This!exposure!is!likely!to!influence!their!leadership!style!(Echevarria,!2015;!
Walker,!2015).!Leaders!are!considered!to!have!the!power!to!influence!an!organizational!
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culture,!making!them!the!best!choice!as!the!primary!population!for!this!study.!A!small!
sample!of!general!employees!were!also!interviewed!to!account!for!possible!bias!in!leaders’!
perception!of!trust!in!the!organization.!
Research Question
The!nature!of!the!research!question!determined!the!methodology.!A!
phenomenological!study!will!have!a!strong!central!phenomenological!question!that!will!
address!the!lived!and!experiences!of!the!participants!studied!(Koopman,!2015).!The!central!
research!question!used!to!guide!this!phenomenological!study!was!as!follows:!What!is!the!
role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!within!a!global!
insurance!company?!
Conceptual Framework
The!conceptual!framework!that!supported!this!study!emerged!from!a!combination!
of!intelligence,!leadership,!and!trust!theories.!The!framework!was!informed!by!the!
intelligence!theory!of!Gardner!(1983),!the!leadership!theory!of!Bass!(1985),!the!spiritual!
intelligence!theory!of!Wigglesworth!(2012),!the!trust!theory!of!Deutsch!(1958),!and!
Greenleaf’s!(1970)!servant!leadership!philosophy.!These!theories!collectively!formed!a!
conceptual!framework!to!conduct!an!analysis!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence!and!identify!
the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!organizational!trust.!These!
theories!with!their!theoretical!underpinnings!are!examined!in!detail!in!Chapter!2.!
The!field!of!intelligence!has!been!studied!and!evaluated!since!the!early!1900s!when!
the!first!intelligence!test!was!created!by!Binet!and!Simon,!known!as!the!Intelligence!
Quotient!or!IQ!(Gardner,!1999).!This!test!is!used!to!measure!analytical!and!linguistic!skills!
and!sort!people!by!number!to!determine!their!degree!of!intelligence.!In!1983,!Gardner!
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introduced!the!theory!of!multiple!intelligences!and!listed!seven!types!of!intelligences!that!
included!interpersonal!and!intrapersonal!intelligence.!!
Goldman!(as!cited!by!Li,!Gupta,!Loon,!&!Casimir,!2016)!noted!the!importance!of!
leaders’!emotional!intelligence!in!the!workplace.!The!emotionally!intelligent!leader!can!
sense,!understand,!and!apply!the!power!of!emotion!as!a!source!of!energy,!information,!
knowledge,!connection,!and!influence!(Popoola,!2015).!Emotional!intelligence!(EQ)!is!
defined!as!the!ability!to!monitor!the!feelings!and!emotions!of!others!and!self!and!use!this!
information!as!a!guide!to!thoughts!and!actions!(Koohbanani,!Dastjerbi,!Vahidi,!&!Ghani!Far,!
2013).!!
In!2001,!Zohar!and!Marshall!introduced!the!concept!of!spiritual!intelligence.!SQ!is!
said!to!be!the!foundation!for!both!IQ!and!EQ!to!function!effectively!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!
2001).!Spirituality!gives!a!new!perspective!on!any!situation!by!putting!people!in!touch!with!
something!larger,!deeper!and!richer!than!themselves!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!Spiritual!
intelligence!was!defined!as!“the!intelligence!with!which!we!address!and!solve!problems!of!
meaning!and!value![to]!place!our!actions!and!our!lives!in!a!wider,!richer,!meaning-giving!
context”!(Zohar!&!Marshall!2001,!pp.!3-4).!In!2012,!Wigglesworth!defined!spiritual!
intelligence!as!“the!ability!to!behave!with!compassion!and!wisdom!while!maintaining!inner!
and!outer!peace!regardless!of!the!circumstances”!(p.!8).!Developing!and!using!IQ,!EQ,!and!SQ!
may!enable!individuals!to!deal!with!everyday!situations!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
Fry!(2003)!introduced!the!theory!of!spiritual!leadership!to!the!body!of!literature!on!
value-based/spiritual!leadership!models.!Like!transformational!leadership,!the!spiritual!
leadership!model!incorporates!vision,!hope,!faith,!altruistic!love,!workplace!spirituality,!and!
spiritual!survival!(Afsar!et!al.,!2016).!A!uniting!theme!that!has!emerged!from!workplace!
spirituality!research!is!the!transcendent!experience!of!work!as!providing!people!with!
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meaning!(Milliman,!Gatling,!&!Bradley-Geist,!2016).!Leadership!is!defined!as!collaborative!
meaning!making!in!practice!(Raelin,!2014).!Ego-transcendence!is!defined!as!working!
toward!a!higher!purpose!(Klaus!&!Fernando,!2016).!A!leader!with!a!higher!purpose!is!not!
necessarily!religious;!rather!he!or!she!makes!decisions!based!on!his!or!her!belief!of!what!is!
right.!
A!new!genre!of!leadership!theories!has!dominated!the!study!of!leadership!(e.g.,!
transformational,!ethical,!and!authentic!leadership).!These!theories!refer!to!leadership!
styles!in!which!leaders!create!positive!change!by!influencing!the!beliefs!and!behaviors!in!
themselves!and!others!(Schaubroeck,!Lam,!&!Peng,!2016).!Transformational!leadership!
occurs!when!leaders!focus!on!the!interest!of!their!employees,!promote!employee!
acceptance!of!the!group’s!mission,!and!inspire!employees!to!look!beyond!themselves!and!
work!toward!a!common!goal!(Bass,!1985).!Schaubroeck!et!al.!(2016)!posited!that!
transformational!leadership!and!ethical!leadership!promote!behavior!change!in!followers.!
LaPuma!(2015)!concluded!that!authentic!leadership!also!focuses!on!the!self-awareness!of!
followers!and!the!development!of!leader-follower!relationships.!!
Servant!leadership,!a!model!developed!by!Greenleaf!in!1970,!focuses!on!being!a!
servant!first.!Servant!leadership!is!initiated!by!the!behaviors!of!a!leader!(Winston!&!Fields,!
2015).!Jaramillo,!Bande,!and!Varela!(2015)!posited!that!servant!leadership!helps!create!an!
ethical!work!climate.!Chan!and!Mak!(2014)!found!that!servant!leadership!behavior!
enhances!subordinate!trust!in!the!leader.!Miao!et!al.!(2014)!confirmed!that!servant!
leadership!enhances!organizational!commitment!through!the!development!of!affective!
trust.!Servant!leadership!has!also!been!linked!to!positive!performance,!increased!
productivity,!and!changes!in!behavioral!outcomes!(Miao!et!al.,!2014;!Winston!&!Fields,!
2015).!
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Leadership!and!trust!can!significantly!contribute!to!the!success!or!failure!of!an!
organization!(Zuppa!et!al.,!2016).!Creating!trust!relationships!is!critical!in!building!
collaborative!teams!(Zuppa!et!al.,!2016).!Trust!is!a!dynamic!factor,!increasing!or!decreasing!
over!time!(Pishdad-Bozorgi!&!Beliveau,!2016).!There!are!different!types!of!trust,!including!
personal,!organizational,!or!institutional!(Vanhala!&!Ritala,!2016).!Organizational!trust!is!an!
impersonal!phenomenon!defined!by!Vanhala!and!Ritala!(2016)!as!an!employee’s!
expectation!regarding!the!capability!and!fairness!of!the!organization.!Impersonal!trust!has!
been!studied!very!little!(Vanhala!&!Ritala,!2016).!
Several!theorists!and!researchers!over!the!last!decade!have!identified!specific!
characteristics!and!behaviors!related!to!spirituality.!Hildebrant!(2011)!found!that!leaders!
with!high!spiritual!intelligence!tend!to!create!a!positive!organizational!culture,!increase!
employee!commitment!and!productivity,!and!create!higher!ethical!standards!within!the!
organization.!As!the!interest!in!spirituality!in!the!workplace!has!grown!and!leaders!have!
gained!interest!in!workplace!spirituality,!it!has!become!necessary!to!develop!a!better!
understanding!of!spiritual!leader!development.!!
This!study!addressed!how!leaders’!spiritual!intelligence!may!align!with!the!needs!of!
the!employees!and!the!organization.!Exploring!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!the!
development!of!organizational!trust!may!help!organizations!identify!moral!and!ethical!
leaders!who!can!make!better!decisions!and!solve!problems!more!holistically!and!effectively.!
Zohar!and!Marshall!(2001),!Vaughan!(2002),!Emmons!(2000),!Amram!(2007),!Hildebrant!
(2011),!Hyson!(2013),!and!Wigglesworth!(2012)!were!the!primary!theorists!of!spiritual!
intelligence!cited!in!this!study.!!
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Nature of the Study
The!research!method!chosen!for!this!study!was!qualitative.!The!purpose!of!this!
qualitative!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!
organizational!trust!and!describe!the!lived!experiences!of!leaders!and!employees!who!
report!to!them!regarding!their!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!The!intent!of!using!
qualitative!methodology!is!to!understand!participants’!perception!and!perspective!on!an!
event!or!circumstance!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!Qualitative!interviews!can!elicit!thoughts,!
feelings,!and!memories!that!the!interviewee!was!not!aware!of!before!the!interview!(Patton,!
2014).!Because!the!phenomenon!of!leaders’!use!of!spiritual!intelligence!to!promote!
organizational!trust!was!not!well!understood,!using!a!qualitative!method!to!identify!the!
perceptions!of!study!participants!was!appropriate.!!
Quantitative!methods!focus!on!the!relationship!between!variables.!Leedy!and!
Ormrod!(2010)!stated!that!quantitative!research!is!used!to!test!existing!theories!through!
surveys!and!experiments.!Quantitative!designs!are!focused!on!testing!hypotheses!through!
analysis!of!numerical!data!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!Quantitative!research!is!appropriate!for!
correlational!studies,!but!not!for!exploring!participants’!lived!experience!of!a!phenomenon,!
which!was!my!intent!in!this!study.!
The!research!design!chosen!for!this!study!was!phenomenology.!Moustakas!(1994)!
noted!that!phenomenology!is!rooted!in!questions,!giving!a!direction!and!focus!to!meaning.!
When!studying!a!phenomenon,!researchers!examine!participants’!lived!experiences!in!their!
own!words!(Vagle,!2014).!After!an!extensive!review!of!the!literature,!phenomenology!
appeared!to!be!the!best!approach!to!answer!the!research!question.!
Patton!(2014)!proposed!multiple!designs!that!can!inform!qualitative!inquiries.!A!
few!of!these!designs!include!narrative,!phenomenology,!grounded!theory,!ethnography,!and!
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heuristic!inquiry.!I!reviewed!case!study,!hermeneutics,!and!grounded!theory!to!determine!if!
these!designs!would!provide!a!better!approach!to!exploring!the!phenomenon!of!spiritual!
intelligence.!In!a!case!study,!I!would!look!at!the!behavior!of!a!group!over!time,!not!the!
behavior!of!an!individual!in!the!group!(Patton,!2014).!Hermeneutics!is!interpretive!rather!
than!descriptive!(Patton,!2014).!Grounded!theory!is!the!process!of!discovering!a!theory!
from!extensive!data!collection!and!analysis!(Patton,!2014).!Phenomenology!was!the!only!
design!appropriate!for!scholarly!analysis!of!the!lived!experiences!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!
leaders!and!how!that!might!influence!trust!(Moustakas,!1994).!
Definitions
Emotional)intelligence:!“The!ability!to!monitor!one’s!own!and!others’!feelings!and!
emotions,!to!discriminate!among!them!and!to!use!this!information!to!guide!one’s!own!
thinking!and!actions”!(Koohbanani!et!al.,!2013,!p.!315);!the!ability!to!understand,!perceive,!
and!use!emotions!to!enhance!thought!and!relationships!(Knight!et!al.,!2015).!
Executive)leaders:)C-level!employees!as!defined!by!the!organization’s!hierarchy.!
Examples!include!CEO,!CFO,!CIO,!and!Chief!Technology!Officer!(CTO).)
General)employee:!Employees!holding!a!title!of!vice!president!or!below!as!defined!by!
the!organization’s!hierarchy.!These!employees!could!hold!a!managerial!position!or!no!
leadership!role.!
Interpersonal)intelligence:!Understanding!how!to!communicate!with!and!understand!
other!people!and!how!to!work!collaboratively!(Gardner,!1983).!
Intrapersonal)intelligence:!Understanding!the!inner!world!of!emotions!and!thoughts!
and!the!ability!to!control!them!and!work!with!them!consciously!(Gardner,!1983).!
Organizational)trust:!An!employee’s!belief!that!the!organization!will!act!as!he!or!she!
has!anticipated!(Liu!&!Wang,!2013).!
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Senior)leaders:)Employees!holding!a!title!of!senior!vice!president!or!above!as!defined!
by!the!organization’s!hierarchy.!These!leaders!also!hold!a!title!of!executive!vice!president,!
president,!CEO,!CIO,!or!CFO.!
Spiritual)intelligence:!“The!ability!to!behave!with!compassion!and!wisdom!while!
maintaining!inner!and!outer!peace!regardless!of!the!circumstances”!(Wigglesworth,!2012,!p.!
8).!
Spiritual)leadership:!“The!values,!attitudes,!and!behaviors!.!.!.!necessary!to!
intrinsically!motivate!one’s!self!and!others!.!.!.!through!calling!and!membership!and!
encompasses!qualities!of!faith,!love,!vision,!inspiration,!service,!and!discipleship”!(Fry,!2003,!
p.!695).!
Assumptions
There!were!three!assumptions!in!this!study.!First,!I!assumed!that!the!difference!
between!spirituality!and!religion!was!clearly!communicated!and!understood.!Second,!I!
assumed!that!participants!would!answer!interview!questions!candidly!and!honestly.!
Maintaining!confidentiality!of!the!participants!was!intended!to!promote!honest!responses.!
Third,!I!assumed!that!the!participants!had!experienced!the!phenomenon!of!spiritual!
intelligence.!The!inclusion!criteria!called!for!executive!or!senior!leaders,!and!employees!
who!reported!to!them!but!did!not!require!leaders!to!have!self-proclaimed!experience!with!
spiritual!intelligence.!
Scope and Delimitations
The!scope!of!this!study!included!both!executive!or!senior!leaders,!and!employees!
who!reported!to!them!in!a!large!global!financial!organization.!I!intended!to!include!at!least!
20!participants,!and!data!saturation!was!achieved!after!16!interviews!(see!Saunders!et!al.,!
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2017).!The!participants!included!senior!leaders!with!a!title!of!senior!vice!president!or!above!
and!employees!who!reported!to!them!with!a!title!of!vice!president!or!below.!!
The!ratio!of!participants!was!half!leaders!and!half!employees.!The!reasoning!behind!
this!ratio!was!to!account!for!potential!leader!bias!regarding!the!perception!of!trust!in!the!
organization.!An!equivalent!sample!of!employees!enhanced!credibility!of!the!study.!I!
conducted!1-hour!semistructured!interviews!using!an!interview!script!with!a!list!of!open-
ended!questions.!
The!selection!criteria!for!this!population!were!based!on!the!participant’s!position!in!
the!organization.!Senior!leaders!were!defined!as!holding!a!job!title!of!senior!vice!president!
or!higher.!General!employees!were!defined!as!holding!a!job!title!of!vice!president!or!lower.!
The!inclusion!criteria!called!for!senior!leaders!because!they!were!perceived!as!having!the!
power!to!influence!organizational!trust.!An!equivalent!sample!of!general!employees!was!
included!to!account!for!the!possibility!of!bias!in!leaders’!perception!of!trust!in!the!
organization.!The!study!addressed!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!senior!leaders!and!
their!influence!on!trust.!The!perspectives!of!senior!leaders,!based!on!their!lived!experiences!
with!spiritual!intelligence,!provided!insight!regarding!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!
influencing!trust!within!the!organization.!
In!this!study,!I!used!a!sample!of!executive!and!senior!level!corporate!leaders!as!well!
as!general!employees.!My!initial!design!called!for!executive!level!leaders!only,!but!there!
were!fewer!than!10!executives!to!choose!from,!which!did!not!meet!Walden!University’s!
recommended!requirement!for!a!phenomenological!study.!I!expanded!the!sample!to!include!
senior!level!leaders!to!ensure!data!saturation.!I!recruited!participants!from!one!large!global!
company!in!one!specific!industry.!This!company!has!three!major!organizational!structures!
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with!multiple!lines!of!business!with!different!geographical!U.S.!locations!to!allow!for!a!
diverse!population.!
Limitations
This!study!may!have!been!limited!by!the!participants’!understanding!of!the!
difference!between!spirituality!and!religion.!Understanding!the!distinction!was!critical!for!
data!collection.!My!lack!of!control!over!participants’!honesty!in!answering!questions!was!
another!limitation.!The!study!may!also!have!been!limited!by!participants!not!having!
experience!with!the!phenomenon.!
In!addition,!participant!selection!bias!could!have!influenced!the!outcomes!of!this!
study.!Limiting!the!sample!to!executive!and!senior!leaders!in!the!organization!may!have!
resulted!in!a!biased!viewpoint.!This!was!taken!into!consideration!when!I!designed!the!study!
to!include!the!experiences!of!senior!leadership!and!employees.!Adding!general!employees’!
perception!of!trust!in!the!organization!helped!account!for!the!possibility!of!bias!in!the!
leaders’!perception!of!trust!in!the!organization.!Researcher!bias!was!also!a!concern!in!this!
qualitative!study.!I!limited!the!risk!of!personal!bias!by!transcribing!interviews!exactly!and!
using!the!participants’!words!to!obtain!the!results,!not!my!interpretations.!
Significance of the Study
The!results!of!this!study!added!to!the!body!of!knowledge!on!spiritual!intelligence.!
While!scholars!debate!the!operational!definition!for!spirituality!and!spiritual!intelligence,!
this!study!may!further!the!understanding!of!the!influence!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence!
on!the!development!of!organizational!trust.!Studies!on!spiritual!leadership!indicated!that!
spiritual!intelligence!and!a!combination!of!other!leadership!factors!(e.g.,!emotional!
intelligence,!servant!leadership)!work!together!to!form!a!transformational!leadership!style!
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conducive!to!building!a!culture!of!trust!within!an!organization!(Bligh,!2017;!Gieseke,!2014;!
Gilbert!et!al.,!2016).!
Significance to Practice
The!potential!contribution!of!this!study!was!that!it!might!not!only!bring!new!insight!
to!the!study!of!spiritual!intelligence,!but!it!may!influence!leadership!development.!
Organizations!that!experience!low!trust!levels!might!consider!spiritual!intelligence!
development!programs!to!change!their!corporate!culture.!The!results!of!this!study!may!be!
the!catalyst!to!inspire!leaders!to!take!a!new!approach!toward!developing!their!leadership!
skills.!
Significance to Theory
For!scholars,!the!results!of!this!study!may!inspire!future!research!into!spiritual!
intelligence.!Research!on!the!factors!that!create!and!maintain!trust!in!organizations,!servant!
leadership,!and!the!elements!that!form!a!spiritual!leader!are!all!positive!social!change!
initiatives.!The!results!of!this!study!may!also!add!to!the!scholarly!knowledge!of!
organizational!trust.!
This!study!filled!the!gap!in!the!literature!on!how!the!spiritual!intelligence!of!leaders!
influences!trust!in!their!organizations.!A!significant!relationship!exists!between!spiritual!
intelligence!and!transformational!leadership!(Gieseke,!2014).!This!study!might!provide!
insight!into!future!research!on!spiritual!intelligence!and!transformational!leadership.!
Significance to Social Change
Research!into!the!spiritual!intelligence!of!leaders!may!result!in!findings!that!could!
produce!bolder,!wiser,!more!self-aware!and!compassionate!leaders.!Insights!from!this!study!
may!improve!the!quality!of!organizational!leaders!and!may!also!lead!to!positive!social!on!a!
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broader!scale!by!bringing!these!qualities!home!to!families!and!communities.!The!results!of!
this!study!might!be!the!catalyst!for!organizational!leaders!to!learn!how!to!behave!with!
greater!wisdom!and!compassion.!
Summary and Transition
In!Chapter!1,!I!introduced!the!need!to!research!spiritual!intelligence!from!the!
perspective!of!leaders’!lived!experience!of!the!phenomenon.!The!lack!of!trust!between!
leaders!and!employees!was!the!research!problem!addressed!in!the!study.!I!hoped!to!gain!a!
better!understanding!of!the!influence!of!leaders’!spiritual!intelligence!on!organizational!
trust.!!
The!conceptual!framework!for!this!study!was!based!on!various!intelligence!theories.!
Because!the!interest!in!spirituality!in!the!workplace!has!grown!and!leaders!have!gained!
interest!in!workplace!spirituality,!it!became!necessary!to!develop!a!better!understanding!for!
spiritual!leadership!development.!The!purpose!of!this!study!was!to!identify!the!role!of!
spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!and!report!the!lived!
experiences!of!senior!leaders!of!a!global!insurance!company!regarding!their!spiritual!
intelligence!and!trust.!Data!collection!was!accomplished!through!semistructured!interviews!
using!open-ended!questions!with!a!population!of!16!employees!in!a!global!insurance!
organization,!which!resulted!in!data!saturation!(see!Saunders!et!al.,!2017).!Research!on!the!
factors!that!create!and!maintain!trust!in!organizations,!servant!leadership,!and!the!elements!
that!form!a!spiritual!leader!are!all!positive!social!change!initiatives.!!
In!Chapter!2,!I!present!a!review!of!the!literature!that!addressed!leadership!theories!
and!spiritual!intelligence.!The!literature!review!provides!background!on!spirituality,!
servant!leadership,!transformational!leadership,!emotional!and!spiritual!intelligence,!and!
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organizational!trust.!These!theories!formed!a!sound!conceptual!framework!to!conduct!an!
analysis!of!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!organizational!trust.!
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
The!purpose!of!this!phenomenological!study!was!to!identify!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!and!report!the!lived!experiences!of!
senior!leaders!who!are!employed!in!a!global!insurance!company.!Distrust!and!suspicion!are!
growing,!and!confidence!in!many!institutions!is!lacking!(Carucci!&!Hansen,!2015).!The!
problem!appears!to!be!a!lack!of!spiritual!intelligence!to!create!an!environment!that!
promotes!ethical!behavior!and!organizational!effectiveness!(Ajike,!2016)!!
A!lack!of!organizational!trust!can!negatively!impact!organizational!effectiveness,!
degenerate!moral!and!ethical!behavior,!and!deteriorate!the!integrity!of!an!organization!
(Bansal,!2016;!Jason,!2014;!Zuppa!et!al.,!2016).!One!of!the!outcomes!of!this!study!was!to!
provide!a!deeper!understanding!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence!and!the!potential!
application!in!leadership!development.!Much!of!the!research!on!spiritual!intelligence!has!
been!focused!on!defining!the!phenomenon!and!explaining!how!to!tap!into!spiritual!
intelligence,!rather!than!demonstrating!practical!business!applications!to!leadership!
development.!
My!professional!experience!spans!more!than!30!years!in!military!and!civilian!
leadership!roles.!Throughout!this!time,!I!personally!experienced!the!phenomenon!of!
spiritual!intelligence!and!observed!it!in!other!leaders.!I!also!experienced!work!
environments!that!had!high!levels!of!organizational!trust!and!others!that!had!low!levels!of!
organizational!trust.!I!noticed!the!organizations!with!high!levels!of!trust!also!had!leaders!
with!a!perceived!high!level!of!spiritual!intelligence.!Conversely,!organizations!with!low!trust!
had!leaders!with!low!or!no!sign!of!spiritual!intelligence.!
Researchers!have!studied!different!aspects!of!leadership!theories,!styles,!and!
behaviors!such!as!transformational!leadership,!servant!leadership,!and!emotional!
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intelligence!(Amram,!2007;!Greenleaf,!1970;!Hildebrant,!2011).!In!this!literature!review,!I!
examine!leadership!theories,!styles,!and!behaviors!and!expand!on!the!theory!of!spiritual!
intelligence!as!an!important!aspect!of!leadership!development.!For!this!study,!spiritual!
intelligence!was!defined!as!a!leader’s!ability!to!think,!judge,!and!react!to!each!situation!with!
prophetic!inspiration.!The!term!prophetic!was!used!because!it!had!no!reference!to!a!specific!
religion,!but!referred!rather!to!a!fundamental!belief!in!some!power!greater!than!humans.!
This!literature!review!was!structured!to!provide!breadth!and!depth!to!the!study!of!
spiritual!intelligence!including!different!leadership!theories!and!styles.!The!review!includes!
the!literature!search!strategy!and!the!conceptual!framework!used!to!support!the!study.!The!
body!of!this!review!includes!the!concepts!of!effective!leadership,!leadership!theories,!and!
organizational!trust.!The!review!concludes!with!a!summary!of!the!findings.!
Literature Search Strategy
Research!for!this!study!was!conducted!through!Walden!University’s!online!library!
and!the!Google!Scholar!online!search!engine.!The!following!databases!were!used!to!search!
the!literature:!ABI/INFORM!Complete,!Academic!Search!Complete,!Dissertations!&!Theses!
at!Walden!University,!EBSCO!eBooks,!Emerald!Insight,!ProQuest!Central,!SAGE!Premier,!and!
Thoreau.!!
The!key!search!terms!used!in!this!research!included!spiritual)intelligence,)
spirituality,)spiritual)leadership,)servant)leadership,)transformational)leadership,)
organizational)trust,)spiritual)leadership)and)trust,)spiritual)intelligence)and)trust,)spirituality)
and)trust,)servant)leadership)and)trust,)spiritual)leadership)and)transformational)leadership,)
spiritual)intelligence)and)transformational)leadership,)spirituality)and)servant)leadership,)
spiritual)intelligence)and)servant)leadership,)spiritual)leadership)and)servant)leadership,)
emotional)intelligence,)emotional)intelligence)and)trust,)emotional)intelligence)and)spiritual)
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intelligence,)emotional)intelligence)and)spirituality,)emotional)intelligence)and)spiritual)
leadership,)emotional)intelligence)and)transformational)leadership,)multiple)intelligence)and)
trust,)multiple)intelligence,)effective)leadership,)leadership)theories,)leadership)trust,)
leadership)integrity,)leadership)ethics,)and)moral)leadership.!Additionally,!I!searched!for!
authors!of!important!articles!to!find!related!articles!by!the!same!authors.!Lastly,!I!reviewed!
the!reference!pages!of!articles!and!dissertations!to!find!related!sources.!The!search!resulted!
in!over!300!articles,!dissertations,!and!books!from!as!recent!as!the!current!year!and!going!
back!to!over!30!years!ago,!all!relevant!to!this!study.!In!this!study,!I!referenced!157!sources,!
and!87%!were!published!within!the!last!5!years.!
Conceptual Framework
Many!psychologists!and!scholars!have!explored!the!phenomenon!of!spirituality.!
Over!the!last!two!decades,!researchers!have!examined!spirituality!as!a!form!of!intelligence.!
Spiritual!intelligence!(SQ)!has!been!defined!many!ways!and!continues!to!be!debated!as!a!
legitimate!form!of!intelligence.!In!this!study,!I!defined!SQ!as!the!ability!to!think,!judge,!and!
react!to!each!situation!with!prophetic!inspiration.!I!used!the!term!prophetic!because!it!had!
no!reference!to!a!specific!religion,!but!referred!rather!to!a!fundamental!belief!that!there!is!
some!power!greater!than!humans.!
Intelligence!is!a!complex!concept!and!has!been!the!focus!of!research!for!many!years.!
Studying!intelligence,!sharing!the!meaning!of!intelligence,!and!applying!this!knowledge!to!
the!field!of!education!is!attributed!to!the!works!of!Gardner!(1983,!1999),!Sternberg!(1988,!
1997),!and!Perkins!(1995).!Gardner!(1983)!proposed!a!theory!of!multiple!intelligences.!
Originally,!Gardner!(1983)!identified!seven!types!of!intelligence!(kinesthetic,!interpersonal,!
intrapersonal,!linguistic,!mathematical,!musical,!and!spatial).!Gardner!never!legitimized!
spiritual!intelligence!but!considered!adding!existential!intelligence!to!the!list.!In!1999,!
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Gardner!added!the!eighth!intelligence,!naturalistic,!while!also!suggesting!a!philosophical!
intelligence!that!would!incorporate!the!spiritual,!moral,!transcendental,!and!religious!
intelligences.!
To!examine!the!complexity!of!human!intelligence!and!imagination,!researchers!
should!consider!more!than!IQ!and!EQ!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!The!ability!for!human!
beings!to!be!creative,!insightful,!and!discerning!takes!spiritual!intelligence!(Radhika,!2014).!
Gardner!(1999)!viewed!spirituality!as!a!religious,!theological,!mystical,!and!transcendent!
phenomenon.!Conversely,!he!viewed!existentialism!as!an!understanding!of!self!in!relation!to!
the!cosmos,!including!the!significance!of!life!and!the!meaning!of!death.!Gardner!decided!not!
to!include!spiritual!intelligence!in!the!list!of!intelligences.!Gardner!argued!that!cognitive-
based!conversations!of!spirituality!were!problematic!because!the!essence!of!spirit!was!
primarily!seen!as!phenomenological.!
Zohar!and!Marshall!(2001)!defined!SQ!as!“the!intelligence!with!which!we!address!
and!solve!problems!of!meaning!and!value”!(p.!3).!In!the!simplest!terms,!SQ!provides!
direction!and!the!ability!to!choose!right!from!wrong.!SQ!allows!people!to!voice,!defend,!and!
apply!their!personal!moral!standards.!People!use!SQ!to!expand!their!capacity!to!make!
greater!contributions!to!the!service!of!others!(Radhika,!2014).!Zohar!defined!12!principles!
of!spiritual!intelligence,!and!five!are!frequently!addressed!in!the!literature:!self-awareness,!
compassion,!humility,!asking!why,!and!being!value!led.!Emmons!(2000)!defined!SQ!using!
five!core!abilities:!
the!capacity!for!transcendence;!the!ability!to!enter!into!heightened!spiritual!states!of!
consciousness;!the!ability!to!invest!everyday!activities,!events,!and!relationships!
with!a!sense!of!the!sacred;!the!ability!to!utilize!spiritual!resources!to!solve!problems!
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in!living;!and!the!capacity!to!engage!in!virtuous!behavior!or!to!be!virtuous!(to!show!
forgiveness,!the!express!gratitude,!to!be!humble,!to!display!compassion).!(p.!10)!
SQ!includes!deep!inner!resources!to!give!people!the!capacity!to!care!and!the!power!to!
tolerate!and!adapt!(Radhika,!2014).!SQ!aligns!personal!values!with!a!clear!sense!of!purpose!
(Radhika,!2014).!
Wigglesworth!(2012)!defined!SQ!as!“the!ability!to!behave!with!wisdom!and!
compassion,!while!maintaining!inner!and!outer!peace,!regardless!of!the!situation”!(p.!9).!SQ!
is!separate!from!spirituality!and!religion.!SQ!is!viewed!as!skills!developed!over!time.!
Wigglesworth!broke!down!SQ!into!21!skills!arranged!into!four!quadrants:!ego!self-
awareness,!universal!awareness,!ego!self-mastery,!and!spiritual!presence/social!mastery.!
SQ!allows!people!to!stay!calm!and!focused!in!the!face!of!crisis!and!chaos,!to!maintain!a!
selfless!and!altruistic!attitude!toward!others,!and!to!have!a!relaxed!perspective!on!life!
(Radhika,!2014).!
A!servant!leader!seeks!to!fill!the!needs!of!followers!by!providing!them!with!the!tools!
and!support!necessary!to!accomplish!their!goals!(Zimmerer,!2013).!Servant!leaders!
influence!organizational!culture!through!example!and!by!creating!a!culture!of!trust.!One!of!
the!factors!in!creating!a!trust!culture!is!the!ability!to!generate!quality!interpersonal!
relationships!(Korsgaard!et!al.,!2015).!A!lack!of!organizational!trust!could!be!addressed!
through!the!development!of!servant!leadership!patterns!within!the!organization.!Low-trust!
organizations!result!in!decreased!job!fulfillment,!poor!work!quality,!low!motivation,!and!
high!employee!turnover!(Sinclair,!2013).!
The!phenomenon!of!trust!has!been!explored!by!social!science!researchers!including!
Fukuyama,!Deutsch,!and!Barber!(Balliet!&!Van!Lange,!2013).!Deutsch!(1958)!provided!one!
of!the!earliest!observations!of!trust!in!social!situations!in!which!one!person’s!loss!or!gain!is!
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dependent!on!another!person’s!behavior.!Trust!is!a!dynamic,!interpersonal!connection!
between!an!employee!and!a!leader!(Le!&!Lei,!2018).!Balliet!and!Van!Lange!(2013)!argued!
that!trust!is!essential!to!initiate,!establish,!and!maintain!social!relationships.!
Effective Leadership
A!framework!that!integrates!transformational,!servant,!and!spiritual!leadership!
theories!is!needed!to!create!a!future!for!cogent!leadership!theories.!Latham!(2014)!
proposed!a!roadmap!for!future!leadership!theory!research!to!address!an!inadequate!
definition!of!effective!leadership.!Latham!argued!that!effective!leadership!must!operate!free!
of!context,!include!measurable!variables,!and!present!predictable!relationships.!Latham!
pointed!out!that!human!beings!are!not!predictable!and!do!not!always!obey!the!immutable!
natural!laws!of!science.!Spirituality!could!be!a!competitive!advantage!when!it!comes!to!
organizational!effectiveness!and!performance!(Latham,!2014).!
Effective!leadership!was!defined!as!achieving!high!quantity!and!quality!standards!of!
job!performance!through!people!(Popoola!&!Zaid,!2015).!Researchers!have!found!a!
relationship!between!spiritual!values,!spiritual!practices,!and!effective!leadership!(Rahal!&!
Rimsr,!2016).!Popoola!and!Zaid!posited!that!additional!competencies!of!effective!leadership!
include:!integrity,!self-efficacy,!and!emotional!intelligence.!Effective!leadership!is!the!key!to!
organizational!success,!and!identifying!the!appropriate!leadership!model!is!also!essential!to!
organizational!success!(Raddanipour!&!Siadat,!2013).!
A!comprehensive!definition!of!success!is!necessary!to!assess!effective!leadership.!
Researchers!have!examined!how!to!leverage!leadership!theories!and!styles!to!create!an!
environment!beneficial!to!all!stakeholders!(Latham,!2014).!Latham!(2014)!argued!that!the!
increase!in!workforce!diversity!in!a!global!environment!complicates!the!leadership!role.!
Success!is!often!measured!financially!and!often!at!the!cost!of!other!stakeholders,!society,!or!
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the!environment!(Latham,!2014).!The!most!effective!leaders!combine!different!styles!of!
leadership!depending!on!the!situation,!allowing!them!to!act!quickly!in!emergency!situations!
and!include!the!whole!team!in!the!process!(Hamstra,!Van!Yperen,!Wisse,!&!Sassenberg,!
2014).!
Leader!success!is!measured!by!subordinate!loyalty,!organizational!effectiveness,!and!
the!ability!to!build!psychological!capital!and!well-being!with!employees!(C.!Chen!et!al.,!
2013).!C.!Chen!et!al.!(2013)!confirmed!that!servant!leadership!influences!a!subordinate’s!
eudemonic!well-being.!C.!Chen!et!al.!specified!that!through!the!creation!of!a!positive!work!
environment,!servant!leaders!enable!employees!to!develop!higher!professional!goals.!The!
result!is!increased!motivation!and!greater!productivity!(C.!Chen!et!al.,!2013).!
Virtue-based!leadership!principles!are!a!useful!approach!for!leaders!(Caldwell,!
2017).!Ethical!leadership!involves!the!advancement!of!moral!conduct!while!developing!
follower!commitment!(Skubinn!&!Herzoz,!2016).!Transformative!leadership!is!a!model!that!
enables!leaders!to!demonstrate!their!ethical!commitment!to!employees!and!integrate!the!
ethical!elements!of!other!leadership!perspectives!such!as!transformational!and!servant!
leadership!(Caldwell,!2017).!
Researchers!have!examined!how!the!spiritually!intelligent!leader!improves!
leadership!effectiveness.!Hyson!(2013)!looked!at!how!leaders!use!their!spiritual!intelligent!
skill!set!to!stay!focused,!motivate!others,!and!produce!more!effective!results.!Borrowing!
from!Wigglesworth’s!(2012)!research!on!the!21!skills!associated!with!spiritual!intelligence,!
Hyson!composed!the!four!cornerstones!of!spiritually!intelligent!leaders!(SQLs).!The!first!
attribute!is!the!awareness!of!time!and!space.!SQLs!know!how!to!take!time!out,!refresh,!and!
return!refocused!on!the!situation!at!hand.!The!second!attribute!is!a!tolerance!for!
imperfection.!The!SQL!knows!that!no!one!is!perfect,!and!mistakes!sometimes!happen.!
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Fostering!an!atmosphere!of!learning!helps!others!feel!more!comfortable!to!takes!risks!and!
be!vulnerable.!The!third!attribute!is!servant!leadership.!SQLs!make!a!special!effort!to!help!
others.!The!fourth!attribute!is!radiating!peace.!The!SQL!has!inner!peace!and!can!maintain!it!
under!pressure!(Hyson,!2013).!What!makes!SQLs!special!is!they!live!these!attributes!every!
day!(Hyson,!2013).!!
To!address!the!leadership!challenges!of!the!21st!century,!a!convergence!of!
leadership!theories!is!necessary.!Bass!(1985)!posited!that!transformational!leadership!
occurs!when!leaders!focus!on!the!interest!of!employees,!gain!their!acceptance,!and!inspire!
them!to!look!beyond!themselves!and!work!toward!a!common!goal.!Transformational!
leadership,!although!successful,!does!not!prevent!abuse!of!power!(Bass,!1985).!Servant!and!
spiritual!leadership!are!emerging!alternatives!with!quite!a!bit!of!overlap;!however,!research!
is!still!being!done!to!validate!these!theories!(Latham,!2014).!Latham!(2014)!argued!for!
theories!that!address!how!leaders!can!create!value!for!multiple!stakeholders.!Latham!also!
challenged!researchers!to!have!the!courage!to!throw!out!the!theories!that!do!not!address!
value!creation.!
Leadership Theories
Leadership!theories!include!the!emotional!and!moral!aspects!of!leadership!
behaviors!(Pawar,!2014;!Spector,!2014).!Bass!(1985)!introduced!transformational!
leadership!theory,!focused!on!leadership!behaviors!like!influence!and!motivation.!Fry!
(2003)!introduced!spiritual!leadership!theory,!focused!on!leadership!behaviors!like!values!
and!attitudes.!Servant!leadership!is!a!philosophy,!introduced!by!Greenleaf!(1970),!that!
focused!on!serving!followers’!needs.!Researchers!consider!servant!leadership!a!theory!that!
shows!concern!towards!followers!and!helps!them!develop!and!grow!(Kashyap,!2016).!
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Transformational!leadership!is!an!effective!leadership!style!because!it!has!
significant!effects!on!follower!performance!(Le!&!Lei,!2018).!Bass!(1985)!argued!that!
transformational!leaders!motivate!followers!by!emphasizing!the!value!of!goals!and!working!
with!the!organization!toward!a!common!goal!and!perform!beyond!expectations.!Leadership!
behavior!has!a!direct!influence!on!follower!outcomes!(Breevaart!et!al.,!2014)!and!goal!
achievement!can!be!predicted!by!leadership!style!(Hamstra!et!al.,!2014).!The!development!
of!spiritual!leadership!is!positioned!in!the!middle!of!other!value-based!leadership!theories!
like!transformational!leadership!and!servant!leadership!(Gotsis!&!Grimani,!2017).!
There!is!growing!interest!in!studies!on!the!link!between!spirituality!and!
organizational!leadership!(Geh,!2014;!Mohla!&!Aggarwal,!2014;!Yusof!&!Mohamad,!2014).!
Studies!over!the!past!10!years!have!shown!that!the!effectiveness!of!leaders!is!associated!
with!their!spirituality!(Yusof!&!Mohamad,!2014).!When!highlighting!the!importance!of!
spirituality!in!the!workplace,!how!spirituality!impacts!employees!and!the!organization!are!
the!main!areas!of!empirical!research!(Yusof!&!Mohamad,!2014).!The!emphasis!of!spirituality!
in!leadership!is!important!to!future!leaders!because!it!provides!new!knowledge!and!skill!as!
well!as!develops!a!higher!level!of!emotional!and!spiritual!maturity.!A!heightened!interest!in!
spirituality!also!opens!us!up!to!a!greater!understanding!of!the!meaning!of!our!own!lives!
(Geh,!2014).!
Leadership!style!affects!the!eudemonic!well-being!of!subordinates!(C.!Chen!et!al.!
2013).!Leadership!style!also!illustrates!how!an!individual!chooses!to!manage!any!given!
situation!to!drive!employee!motivation!and!satisfaction!(Walker,!2015).!Leaders!should!
become!more!aware!of!their!own!style!and!make!the!necessary!adjustments!to!create!a!
more!positive!work!environment.!Additionally,!leaders!who!create!an!environment!of!
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autonomy!will!encourage!employees!to!internalize!their!motivation!to!produce!eudemonic!
well-being!(C.!Chen!et!al.!2013).!
Servant!leadership!refers!to!a!behavior!that!demonstrates!leaders’!desire!to!serve!
first!(Chan!&!Mak,!2014).!When!servant!leadership!was!first!introduced!it!brought!a!moral!
dimension!to!the!leadership!field!(Sousa!&!van!Dierendonck,!2017).!Servant!leaders!
embody!ethical!values,!inspire!trust,!offer!empathy!and!emotional!support,!act!as!role!
models,!and!place!the!satisfaction!of!subordinate!needs!before!their!own!(Chiniara!&!
Bentein,!2016).!Leaders!who!desire!a!personal!approach!to!leadership,!quality!
relationships,!and!open!communication!seek!to!cultivate!a!servant!leadership!culture!
(Flynn,!Smither,!&!Walker,!2015).!
Transformational Leadership Theory
Bass!(1985)!defined!transformational!leadership!as!leaders!who!create!a!culture!of!
helping!others!and!influence!others!toward!organizational!goals.!Transformational!
leadership!theory!also!emphasizes!how!leaders!elevate!follower!perceptions!of!themselves!
in!ways!that!enable!them!to!perform!and!achieve!at!levels!that!exceed!expectations!
(Schaubroeck!et!al.,!2016).!Transformational!leadership!theory!focuses!on!the!leader’s!
influence!on!followers!by!way!of!intellectual!stimulation,!inspiration,!and!individual!
attention!to!motivate!toward!goal!achievement.!Research!findings!by!Schaubroeck!et!al.!
(2016)!indicated!that!transformational!and!ethical!leadership!are!both!influential!
behaviors,!even!among!leaders!with!no!formal!authority.!
Pallas!(2016)!found!a!statistically!significant!correlation!between!emotional!
intelligence!and!transformational!leadership.!Additionally,!Potter,!Egbelakin,!and!Phipps!
(2018)!found!a!relationship!between!emotional!intelligence!and!transformational!
leadership.!These!findings!might!imply!that!emotional!intelligence!is!an!antecedent!to!
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transformational!leadership.!Leaders!who!understand!emotions!are!better!suited!to!develop!
relationships!with!followers!(Seena,!Suresh,!&!Ravindranadan,!2017).!Followers!want!to!
know!that!their!leaders!care!about!them.!
Ethical!leadership,!spiritual!leadership,!and!servant!leadership!can!all!be!classified!
as!transformational!(Gieseke,!2014;!Gilbert!et!al.,!2016;!van!Dierendonck,!Stam,!Boersma,!de!
Windt,!&!Alkema,!2014).!Mahembe!and!Engelbrecht!(2013)!referred!to!transformational!
and!servant!leadership!as!examples!of!value-based!theories!of!leadership.!These!value-
based!leadership!models!can!be!considered!transformational!because!of!their!focus!on!
leader!behavior,!emotions,!and!moral!values;!unlike!the!traditional!leadership!models!that!
are!based!strictly!on!cost-benefit!and!leaders-follower!exchange!relationships!(C.!Chen!et!
al.,!2013).!Spiritual!or!spirit-centered!leadership!has!been!a!hot!topic!in!business!literature!
for!the!last!decade!(Crossman,!2011;!Fry,!2013;!Hyson,!2013;!&!Maharana!et!al.,!2014).!
Spiritual!leadership!is!characterized!by!high!morals!and!ethics,!making!spiritual!leaders!
ideal!to!influence!and!motivate!employees!to!go!beyond!self-interests!for!the!good!of!others!
and!society!(Afsar!et!al.,!2016).!
Spiritual Leadership Theory
Spiritual!leadership!theory!is!associated!with!forming!a!learning!organization,!
bringing!people!together,!and!creating!a!sense!of!calling!and!membership!to!the!
organization.!“A!spiritual!leader!is!a!person!who!provides!spiritual!survival!of!
organizational!members!using!values,!attitudes,!and!behaviors!that!are!essential!for!his/her!
internal!motivation!and!that!of!others”!(Raddanipour!&!Siadat,!2013,!p.!186).!Spiritual!
leaders!have!an!important!role!in!organizational!effectiveness!(Zavvareh!&!Samangooei,!
2013).!Followers!become!more!willing!to!share!in!the!responsibility!of!harmonizing!
compassion!and!wisdom!in!a!more!ethical!work!environment!(Zavvareh!&!Samangooei,!
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2013).!The!expected!result!is!increased!motivation,!higher!performance,!and!greater!
organizational!commitment!(Mohla!&!Aggarwal,!2014).!
A!universal!definition!of!spirituality!continues!to!be!open!for!interpretation.!
Crossman!(2011)!posited!that!spirituality!can!be!distinguished!from!religion!in!which!it!is!
an!unsystematic,!individually!interpreted,!private!experience!whereas!religion!is!a!public!
and!institutionalized!process!based!on!sacred!texts,!rituals,!and!practices.!Researchers!have!
examined!that!spirituality!impacts!an!individual’s!attitude,!behavior,!and!decision-making!
process!(Kaur,!Sambasivan,!&!Kumar,!2013).!Spiritual!leadership!combines!
transformational!and!servant!leadership!with!spiritual,!ethical,!and!value-based!leadership!
models!to!create!a!combination!of!core!competencies!that!develop!into!a!behavior!model!for!
the!spiritual!leader!(Hildebrant,!2011).!
Crossman!(2011)!highlighted!the!relationship!between!spiritual!leadership!and!
other!value-based!leadership!theories!like!transformational!and!servant!leadership,!while!
contributing!to!the!theoretical!understandings!necessary!to!develop!spiritual!leadership!
into!a!workable!paradigm.!Spiritual!leadership!is!part!of!the!value-based!leadership!theories!
that!serve!as!a!response!to!disturbing!situations,!non-ethical!leadership,!and!abuse!in!an!
unhealthy!organization!(Zavvareh!&!Samangooei,!2013).!Spiritual!leadership!builds!an!
environment!of!respect,!ethics,!values!and!integrity.!However,!it!begins!with!the!leader’s!
own!ethics!and!integrity.!The!benefit!spiritual!leadership!brings!to!the!organization!includes!
increased!performance,!greater!employee!job!satisfaction,!and!higher!rates!of!return!on!
investment!(Hildebrant,!2011).!
Leadership!is!defined!as!the!decisions!and!actions!of!a!leader!that!are!intended!to!
influence!followers!(Longest,!2017).!Spiritual!leadership!takes!into!consideration!the!social!
good!with!a!history!of!ties!to!corporate!social!responsibility.!Therefore,!spiritual!leaders!are!
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motivated!more!by!their!contribution!to!the!social!good!rather!than!the!money!they!earn!
(Zavvareh!&!Samangooei,!2013).!The!purpose!of!spiritual!leadership!is!to!develop!the!
spiritual!well-being!of!both!leaders!and!followers!through!making!a!difference!in!life!and!a!
sense!of!belonging!(Fry,!2003;!Mohla!&!Aggarwal,!2014).!This!type!of!leadership!brings!real!
meaning!and!importance!to!an!employee’s!job!(Raddanipour!&!Siadat,!2013).!Spiritual!
leaders!have!the!capacity!to!build!organizational!trust!and!compassion!(Crossman,!2011).!
A!leader!is!an!influential!role!model!within!the!organization!and!instrumental!in!
fostering!the!development!of!spiritual!organizations!(Geh,!2014).!Dougherty!(2011)!
examined!spiritual!leadership!theory!(SLT)!and!found!that!the!qualities!of!a!spiritual!leader!
increased!organizational!productivity!and!commitment.!Geh!(2014)!posited!that!
organizational!spiritual!leadership!is!about!managing!the!spiritual!energy!of!an!
organization!starting!with!the!power!to!feel!in!a!leader,!then!spreading!it!throughout!the!
organization.!Spiritual!leadership!can!also!be!connected!to!Servanthood!(Crossman,!2011).!
Servanthood!was!first!composed!by!Greenleaf!(1970)!as!a!leader!who!considers!the!
common!good!or!the!interest!of!people!before!themselves.!
Servant Leadership
Greenleaf!first!introduced!the!concept!of!servant!leadership!in!his!1970!essay,!The)
Servant)as)Leader,!where!service!and!meaning!were!brought!together.!Servant!leadership!
has!been!defined!as!“a!leader!who!has!a!sense!of!values!and!consciously!serves!these!values!
in!his!or!her!leadership!style”!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001,!p.!33).!In!American!business,!values!
are!defined!as!demonstrating!excellence,!fulfilling!potential,!and!showing!a!commitment!to!
never!ending!growth.!Over!the!last!few!decades,!values!have!strayed!from!those!traditional!
eastern!values!like!compassion,!humility,!gratitude,!and!service!to!family!and!earth!(Zohar!&!
Marshall,!2001).!
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The!concept!of!servant!leadership!inspires!subordinates!to!generate!better!
awareness,!trust,!learning,!and!spiritual!fulfillment!at!work!(C.!Chen!et!al.,!2013).!The!term!
service!is!at!the!core!of!servant!leadership.!The!function!of!a!servant!leader!is!to!put!
people’s!interest!before!self-interest!(van!Dierendonck!et!al.,!2014).!The!result!is!greater!
tolerance,!open-mindedness,!patience,!optimism,!proactiveness,!and!a!willingness!to!learn!
by!the!employee.!From!an!ethical!standpoint,!a!leader!who!recognizes!the!value!of!moral!
and!ethical!behavior!is!worthy!of!the!trust!of!employees,!customers,!and!business!
stakeholders!(Fry,!2003).!
C.!Chen!et!al.!(2013)!discovered!an!interesting!discrepancy!between!supervisor!and!
subordinate!perception!of!servant!leadership.!A!high!proportion!of!supervisors!rated!
themselves!higher!than!their!subordinates,!suggesting!that!supervisors!overestimate!
themselves,!or!employees!do!not!perceive!the!leadership!values!as!much!as!their!
supervisors!perceive!in!themselves!(C.!Chen!et!al.,!2013).!Although!servant!leadership!has!
mostly!positive!effects!on!followers,!some!servant!leaders!could!become!obsessed!with!the!
needs!of!followers!and!lose!sight!of!the!organization.!A!spiritual!or!transformational!leader!
focuses!on!the!needs!of!the!organization!(Geh,!2014).!
The!concept!of!servant!leadership!has!its!roots!in!the!Bible.!“For!even!the!Son!of!
Man!came!not!to!be!served!but!to!serve,!and!to!give!his!life!as!a!ransom!for!many”!(Mark!
10:45,!English!Standard!Version).!Greenleaf!(1970)!introduced!the!concept!of!servant!
leadership!to!the!world!of!leadership!studies.!A!servant!leader!is!the!opposite!of!an!
authoritarian!style!leader!who!is!primarily!concerned!with!power!and!wealth!(Lynch!&!
Friedman,!2013).!Lynch!&!Friedman!suggested!that!spiritual!individuals!are!much!more!
likely!to!become!servant!leaders!since!the!concepts!are!so!very!closely!related.!
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Academic!studies!on!servant!leadership!focused!on!follower!growth,!empowerment,!
and!ethical!behavior!(Chiniara!&!Bentein,!2016).!Crossman!(2011)!found!a!clear!
relationship!between!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!leadership.!Trust,!humility,!vision!and!
integrity!are!descriptors!found!in!both!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!leadership!literature!
(Winston!&!Fields,!2015).!Crossman’s!big!picture!view!of!the!commonalities!between!
spiritual!leadership!and!other!value-based!leadership!theories!helped!to!develop!the!
concept!of!servant!leadership!and!build!its!application!to!organization!management!and!
added!to!the!literature!on!leadership!theories.!
Crossman!(2011)!examined!the!synergies!that!appear!to!exist!between!spiritual!
leadership!and!environmental!leadership.!Commonalities!include!social!responsibility,!good!
stewardship,!servanthood,!and!a!sense!of!connectedness!(Crossman,!2011).!Crossman!
established!the!relationship!between!business!and!spirituality!through!the!early!works!of!
Tawney,!Weber,!and!Maslow.!Tawney!argued!that!the!Christian!values!of!thrifty,!diligence,!
sobriety!and!frugality!are!the!very!qualities!valued!in!business!(Crossman,!2011).!Weber!
focused!on!spiritual!matters!and!the!relationship!with!economic!life!and!rationality!
(Crossman,!2011).!Maslow!believed!that!everything!we!do!is!tied!to!some!sort!of!spiritual!
values!(Crossman,!2011).!
A!spiritual!or!transformational!leader!focuses!on!the!needs!of!the!organization,!
unlike!a!servant!leader!who!focuses!on!both!the!needs!of!followers!and!the!needs!of!society!
(Lynch!&!Friedman,!2013).!Little!is!known!about!the!antecedents!or!leader!traits!associated!
with!servant!leadership!(Flynn!et!al.,!2015).!The!ideal!leader!is!a!servant!but!must!also!have!
a!moral!compass!to!be!a!spiritual!servant!leader.!Zohar!and!Marshall!(2001)!posited!that!a!
person!high!in!spiritual!intelligence!is!also!likely!to!be!a!servant!leader;!someone!who!is!
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responsible!for!bringing!higher!vision!and!value!to!others!and!showing!them!how!to!use!it.!
A!person!with!spiritual!intelligence!inspires!other!people!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
Researchers!have!examined!the!relationship!between!servant!leadership!and!
organizational!trust.!Researchers!found!that!servant!leadership!was!an!antecedent!of!
organizational!trust!(Sinclair,!2013).!High!levels!of!trust!increase!employee!motivation!and!
decreases!cost!for!control!mechanisms!due!to!the!improved!self-control!of!employees.!
Emphasis!is!placed!on!leadership!to!create!a!stimulus!for!driving!toward!organizational!
goals.!One!leadership!model!that!harmonizes!interpersonal!skills!with!organizational!goals!
is!servant!leadership!(van!Dierendonck!et!al.,!2014).!
Intelligence Theories
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional!Intelligence!(EQ)!is!the!ability!to!identify,!assess,!and!manage!the!
emotions!of!one’s!self!and!others!intelligently!(Gardner,!1983).!Understanding!the!emotions!
of!others!and!the!ability!to!manage!those!emotions!can!help!with!leader!success!and!
follower!job!satisfaction!(Gardner,!1983).!Emotional!intelligence!is!the!ability!to!understand!
behavioral!reactions!and!the!motivation!behind!those!patterns!(Yadav!&!Punia,!2016).!
Leaders!who!can!regulate!their!own!emotions,!read!others’!emotions,!and!effectively!
communicate!typically!exhibit!high!levels!of!emotional!intelligence!and!facilitate!high!
performance!in!their!organization!(Nikoui,!2015;!Seena!et!al.,!2017).!
Goleman!(2014)!argued!that!emotional!intelligence!consists!of!four!
multidimensional!components!such!as!empathy,!social!skill,!self-awareness!and!self-
regulation.!Emotional!intelligence!is!different!from!other!intelligences!because!it!focuses!on!
skills!and!abilities!in!the!emotional!realm!like!self-awareness,!empathy,!and!quality!
35!
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communication!(Freed,!2016;!Seena!et!al.,!2017).!Authentic!leaders!who!demonstrate!
empathy,!compassion!and!support!for!others!develop!strong!relationships!with!their!team.!
Building!relationships!and!encouragement!are!characteristics!of!both!servant!leaders!and!
emotionally!intelligent!leaders!(Chan!&!Mak,!2014;!Goleman,!2014).!
There!are!three!skills!of!emotional!intelligence!that!influence!the!personality!of!
leaders:!self-awareness,!recognizing!the!emotions!of!other!people,!and!dealing!with!the!
emotions!of!other!people!(Cic,!Mulej,!&!Zizek,!2018).!These!skills!intertwine!personality!and!
social!skills.!Self-awareness!is!key!because!a!leader!should!be!aware!of!their!own!emotions!
and!be!able!to!modify!potential!negative!behavior!(Zhang,!Cao,!&!Wang,!2018).!Dealing!with!
the!emotions!of!other!people!is!a!leader’s!ability!to!understand!how!to!react!to!certain!
feelings!and!the!impact!on!other!people!(Cic!et!al.,!2018).!Lastly,!successful!leaders!are!
aware!of!employee’s!needs,!concerns,!and!feelings!while!providing!them!guidance!to!
achieve!their!professional!goals!(Goleman,!2014).!
Researchers!have!examined!the!relationship!between!emotional!intelligence!and!
transformational!leadership!(Potter,!Egbelakin,!Phipps,!&!Balaei,!2018;!Zhang!et!al.,!2018).!
Transformational!leaders!display!inspirational!motivation,!demonstrate!effective!
communication!skills,!and!create!a!vision!of!the!future!that!inspires!followers!to!commit!
(Echevarria,!2015).!Transformational!leaders!are!considered!agents!of!social!and!
organizational!change.!Researchers!examined!the!relationship!between!emotional!
intelligence!and!other!leadership!behaviors!and!found!that!managers!with!higher!emotional!
intelligence!prefer!open!communication!and!proactive!leadership!styles!(Zhang!et!al.,!2018).!
Barbuto,!Gottfredson,!and!Searle!(2014)!examined!emotional!intelligence!as!an!
antecedent!to!servant!leadership.!Their!results!suggested!that!emotional!intelligence!is!a!
good!predictor!of!servant!leadership!from!a!leader’s!perspective,!but!not!from!a!follower’s!
36!
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!
perspective.!Du!Plessis!et!al.!(2015)!conducted!a!similar!study!to!investigate!the!
relationships!between!servant!leadership,!emotional!intelligence!and!trust.!Their!results!
provided!evidence!for!the!relationship!between!emotional!intelligence!and!servant!
leadership.!The!significance!of!these!studies!is!important!in!the!understanding!of!servant!
leader!behaviors!and!how!emotional!intelligence!training!might!be!a!necessary!step!in!the!
development!of!servant!leaders!(Beck,!2014;!du!Plessis!et!al.,!2015).!
Findings!from!Seena!et!al.’s!(2017)!study!revealed!spiritual!intelligence!as!having!
crucial!importance!on!a!person’s!emotional!intelligence!and!well-being.!People!with!higher!
emotional!intelligence!benefit!from!a!greater!sense!of!creativity,!critical!thinking,!lower!
anxiety,!and!ability!to!develop!strong!relationships!with!others!(Nikoopour!&!Esfandiari,!
2017).!Wills!(2018)!replicated!previous!studies!of!EQ!and!SQ!(Yadav!&!Punia,!2016)!and!
although!she!confirmed!the!relationship!between!EQ!and!SQ,!Wills!found!that!SQ!factors!to!
predict!EQ!and!EQ!factors!to!predict!SQ!were!much!less!in!the!U.S.!versus!India.!The!
significance!of!these!findings!is!that!predictive!relationships!between!EQ!and!SQ!may!be!
influenced!by!different!cultures!(Wills,!2018).!
Spiritual Intelligence
Spiritual!intelligence!(SQ)!has!been!an!emerging!topic!for!over!a!decade.!Scholars!
are!still!in!debate!on!whether!SQ!should!be!considered!a!legitimate!intelligence!or!remain!
an!elusive!construct.!Fry!and!Wigglesworth!(2013)!argued!the!existence!of!a!multi-level!
ontology!that!could!serve!as!a!foundation!for!a!being-centered!theory!of!spiritual!
intelligence.!Spiritual!intelligence!is!“the!ability!to!behave!with!altruistic!love!through!
wisdom!and!compassion!while!maintaining!inner!and!outer!peace!regardless!of!the!
circumstances”!(Fry!&!Wigglesworth,!2013,!p.!34).!Future!research!is!still!needed!on!
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workplace!spirituality!as!well!as!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!its!influence!on!
spiritual!leadership.!
Spirituality!is!an!individual!experience,!searching!for!the!meaning!of!life,!a!quest!for!
existential!understanding,!looking!for!personal!truths!(Crossman,!2011).!Spirituality!has!no!
class!system!or!doctrine,!whereas!religion!is!characterized!by!a!class!system!and!a!doctrine!
(Crossman,!2011).!The!definition!of!spiritual!intelligence!throughout!the!literature!
references!many!of!the!same!characteristics!as!spirituality!and!similarly!contrasts!with!the!
definition!of!religion.!It!is!important!to!note!this!contrast!while!studying!the!phenomenon!of!
spiritual!intelligence!(Hildebrant,!2011).!“Spiritual!intelligence!has!been!proposed!as!a!
measure!of!an!individual’s!propensity!toward!spiritual!leadership”!(Hildebrant,!2011,!p.!
61).!
Wigglesworth!left!her!full-time!job!in!human!resources!to!create!her!own!consulting!
company!focused!on!spiritual!development!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!She!designed!the!SQ21!
spiritual!intelligence!assessment!instrument!to!identify!21!measurable!SQ!skills.!These!skills!
presented!in!faith-neutral!terms,!help!people!understand!and!increase!their!own!spiritual!
intelligence!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!A!model!for!spiritual!leader!development!was!then!
introduced!in!a!co-authored!paper!(Fry!&!Wigglesworth,!2013)!based!on!their!theory!of!
spiritual!intelligence.!
As!Wigglesworth’s!own!spiritual!growth!occurred,!she!recognized!a!direct!impact!on!
her!effectiveness!as!a!leader!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Working!in!human!resources,!she!
understood!the!sensitivity!of!talking!about!religion!or!anything!that!sounds!religious!in!the!
workplace!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!This!was!the!beginning!of!Wigglesworth’s!work!in!
translating!spiritual!intelligence!into!universal!terms!that!are!free!from!religious!
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!
associations.!Through!this!process,!spiritual!skills!and!competencies!were!identified!along!
with!a!scientific!way!to!measure!these!skills!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
Wigglesworth!studied!the!works!of!Daniel!Goldman!on!emotional!intelligence!
(EQ)(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Goldman!highlighted!three!skills!for!building!relationships:!
emotional!self-awareness,!empathy,!and!emotional!self-control!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
These!skills!are!important!because!they!are!the!foundation!for!working!with!spiritual!
intelligence!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Although!spiritual!intelligence!is!less!accepted!than!
emotional!intelligence,!it!is!slowly!making!its!way!around!philosophical!and!psychological!
scholars!as!well!as!the!business!world.!Covey!(2004)!identified!spiritual!intelligence!as!a!
key!component!of!leadership.!“Spiritual!intelligence!is!the!central!and!most!fundamental!of!
all!the!intelligences!because!it!becomes!the!source!of!guidance!for!the!others”!(Covey,!2004,!
p.!53).!
Wigglesworth!became!certified!in!the!Goldman!and!Boyatis!methodology!of!
emotional!intelligence!and!attended!many!emotional!intelligence!conferences!
(Wigglesworth,!2012).!She!believed!someone!should!do!for!SQ!that!Goldman!and!Boyatis!
did!for!EQ.!Wigglesworth!searched!for!researchers!and!scholars!and!found!no!one!working!
on!developing!a!spiritual!intelligence!methodology.!This!was!the!motivation!for!her!to!leave!
her!full-time!employment!to!start!her!own!business.!The!first!step!was!to!develop!some!
hypotheses!and!begin!describing!these!spiritual!intelligence!skills!from!a!low-level!novice!to!
a!high-level!expert!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!These!skills!would!fall!into!four!quadrants!just!
like!Goldman’s!EQ!competency!framework,!except!SQ!skills!would!be!a!step!up!
(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
Wigglesworth!(2102)!created!a!chart!to!identify!the!21!skills!of!SQ!and!presented!
these!skills!as!levels!from!one!to!five.!She!created!a!questionnaire,!validated!it,!tested!it,!
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!
made!adjustments,!and!tested!it!again.!The!result!was!a!self-assessment!online!instrument!
that!asks!approximately!130!questions!to!measure!21!skills!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
Zohar!and!Marshall!(2001)!explored!spiritual!intelligence!from!a!psychology,!
neurology,!anthropology,!and!cognitive!science!viewpoint.!Zohar!and!Marshall!argued!that!
spiritual!intelligence!is!viewed!as!how!we!address!and!solve!problems!of!meaning!and!
value.!IQ,!known!as!intelligence!quotient,!is!our!intellectual!or!rational!intelligence!(Zohar!&!
Marshall,!2001).!EQ,!known!as!emotional!intelligence,!is!our!awareness!of!feelings!both!self!
and!in!others!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!SQ,!known!as!spiritual!intelligence,!is!our!ability!to!
answer!the!question!why!and!allows!us!to!be!creative!and!compassionate!(Hacker!&!
Washington,!2017;!Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
It!is!SQ!that!gives!people!the!ability!to!discern!right!from!wrong!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!
2001).!SQ!gives!people!their!moral!sense.!SQ!is!used!to!challenge!the!question!of!good!and!
evil.!SQ!is!used!to!envision!unrealized!possibilities!and!to!dream!and!aspire!(Zohar!&!
Marshall,!2001).!SQ!is!a!transformative!power!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!While!EQ!focuses!
on!how!to!behave!in!any!situation,!SQ!allows!people!to!determine!if!they!want!to!be!in!that!
situation!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!“SQ!must!show!up!in!our!actions!and!our!behaviors”!
(Wigglesworth,!2012,!p.!9).!
Zohar!and!Marshall!(2001)!examined!three!psychological!processes.!Freud!defined!
the!primary!and!secondary!processes!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!The!primary!process!is!
associated!with!the!id:!instinct,!body,!emotion,!and!the!unconscious!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!
2001).!The!secondary!process!is!associated!with!the!ego:!conscious!and!rational!mind!
(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!Zohar!and!Marshall!linked!the!secondary!process!to!IQ!based!on!
the!serial!neural!wiring!in!the!brain.!They!linked!the!primary!process!to!EQ!based!on!the!
associative!neural!wiring!in!the!brain.!Therefore,!SQ!would!be!considered!the!third!neural!
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!
system!based!on!the!synchronous!neural!oscillations!that!unify!data!across!the!whole!brain!
(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
“Conventional!religion!is!an!externally!imposed!set!of!rules!and!beliefs”!(Zohar!&!
Marshall,!2001,!p.!9).!SQ!is!about!a!person’s!inner!self.!SQ!is!the!intelligence!that!rests!in!that!
deep!part!of!the!self!that!is!connected!to!wisdom!from!beyond!the!ego;!it!is!the!intelligence!
with!which!people!not!only!recognize!existing!values,!but!with!which!new!values!are!
creatively!discovered!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!Developing!that!wisdom!and!learning!how!
to!follow!its!guidance!is!the!most!vital!part!of!spiritual!intelligence!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
Before!the!1990’s,!researchers!only!examined!two!forms!of!brain!neural!
organization:!serial!and!parallel.!Serial!neural!connections!are!the!basis!of!IQ;!allowing!
people!to!follow!rules,!think!logically!and!rationally!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!Parallel!
neural!network!organization!bundles!a!hundred!thousand!neurons!and!connects!
haphazardly!to!other!bundles!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!This!neural!network!is!the!basis!of!
EQ;!giving!people!emotion-driven,!pattern!recognizing,!habit!building!intelligence!(Zohar!&!
Marshall,!2001).!Both!have!different!abilities,!but!neither!operates!with!meaning;!neither!
can!ask!the!question!why!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!This!is!where!the!work!of!Austrian!
neurologist,!Singer,!on!unifying!neural!oscillations!offers!a!third!kind!of!thinking,!unitive!
thinking,!or!spiritual!intelligence!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!
Hildebrant!(2011)!examined!the!relationship!between!spiritual!intelligence!and!
moral!development.!Three!measurement!instruments!for!SQ!were!evaluated!and!the!SISRI-
24!instrument!was!selected!(Hildebrant,!2011).!The!Perceived!Leader!Integrity!Scale!(PLIS)!
was!used!to!measure!moral!development.!Hildebrant!validated!SISRI-24!as!a!reliable!
measurement!instrument!for!SQ.!She!found!that!the!level!of!SQ!was!not!affected!by!age,!
gender,!or!educational!level.!Religious!affiliation!and!spiritual!practices!were!found!to!be!
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linked!to!the!constructs!used!to!measure!SQ!(Hildebrant,!2011).!Hildebrant’s!results!are!
consistent!with!the!literature.!The!level!of!SQ!and!the!stage!of!moral!development!were!
correlated!(Hildebrant,!2011).!Leaders!with!high!moral!character!also!have!high!levels!of!SQ!
(Hildebrant,!2011).!
Dougherty!(2011)!explored!the!relationship!between!spirituality,!spiritual!
intelligence,!and!leadership!practices!and!found!recurring!themes!in!the!definitions!and!
interpretations!of!spirituality.!These!themes!included:!connectedness!to!or!a!relationship!
with!a!higher!power,!a!search!for!the!meaning!of!life,!and!beliefs!and!practices!related!to!
religion!(Dougherty,!2011).!Dougherty!focused!on!college!students!and!the!literature!
confirmed!a!considerable!interest!in!spirituality!within!the!academic!environment.!
“Spiritual!intelligence!has!been!characterized!as!a!distinct!set!of!mental!capacities!
contributing!to!refined!self-awareness,!enhanced!personal!meaning,!heightened!spiritual!
stats!of!consciousness,!and!virtuous!behavior”!(Doughterty,!2011,!pp.!1-2).!
Dougherty!(2011)!reviewed!the!literature!and!focused!on!the!major!contributors!in!
the!study!of!spiritual!intelligence!(Emmons,!Kwilecki,!Mayer,!Gardner,!Wolman,!Zohar!and!
Marshall,!Vaughan,!Rogers!and!Dantley,!Covey,!Amram!and!Dryer,!King!and!DeCicco).!The!
general!theme!focused!on!the!meaning,!value,!and!purpose!of!life.!Dougherty!offered!
multiple!definitions!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!introduced!two!instruments!developed!to!
measure!the!construct.!
Dougherty!(2011)!concluded!that!a!significant!correlation!was!measured!between!
spirituality,!spiritual!intelligence,!and!leadership!practices.!The!SISRI-24!instrument!was!
used!in!the!study!to!measure!the!level!of!SQ!(Dougherty,!2011).!Dougherty!found!this!
instrument!to!be!reliable.!However,!because!the!population!studied!was!limited!to!only!BYU!
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students,!generalized!statements!about!spirituality!cannot!be!made!across!all!populations!
(Dougherty,!2011).!
“To!have!high!spiritual!intelligence!is!to!be!able!to!use!the!spiritual!to!bring!greater!
context!and!meaning!to!living!a!richer!and!more!meaningful!life,!to!achieve!a!sense!of!
personal!wholeness,!purpose,!and!direction”!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001,!p.!111).!
Wigglesworth!(2012)!argued!that!physical,!cognitive,!emotional,!and!spiritual!intelligences!
should!be!developed!to!meet!the!demands!of!life!and!fulfill!the!desire!to!grow.!These!
intelligences!are!interconnected!in!the!same!way!Maslow’s!hierarchy!of!needs!are!
developed!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Lower!level!needs!must!be!fulfilled!before!moving!up!to!
the!higher!levels!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!
Organizational!values!are!critical!to!business!success!(Hildebrant,!2011).!
Organizations!are!made!up!individuals!and!it!is!those!individuals!that!influence!the!values!of!
the!organization!(Hildebrant,!2011).!Personal!values!shape!how!leaders!respond!in!times!of!
conflict.!People!with!the!clearest!personal!values!make!choices!based!on!principle!and!can!
identify!ethical!concerns!even!when!they!are!not!clearly!visible!(Hildebrant,!2011).!
Organizational Trust
Trust!is!a!common!term!but!can!have!different!meanings!depending!on!context.!In!a!
social!context,!trust!can!be!defined!as!a!general!willingness!to!be!vulnerable!(Zuppa!et!al.,!
2016).!Trust!is!a!dynamic,!interpersonal!link!between!people!(Bligh,!2017).!Trust!is!also!
typically!viewed!as!reciprocal,!expecting!that!others!will!exhibit!the!same!behavior!(Lusher,!
Kremer,!&!Robins,!2013).!Trust!is!the!framework!for!leader-follower!relationships!in!the!
workplace!(Le!&!Lei,!2018).!
Trust!is!the!root!of!all!great!leadership!(Bligh,!2017).!To!foster!trust!among!the!
followers!of!an!organization,!leaders!need!to!pay!more!attention!to!practicing!
43!
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!
transformational!leadership!(Le!&!Lei,!2018).!Researchers!found!that!emotional!intelligence!
is!an!important!element!for!trust!to!exist!(Ansari!&!Malik,!2017).!Trust!has!become!a!key!
component!in!most!core!leadership!theories!(Bligh,!2017).!Trust!in!a!leader!is!built!on!the!
character!of!a!leader!which!is!focused!on!how!followers!perceive!a!leader’s!characteristics,!
such!as!ability,!integrity,!dependability,!and!benevolence!in!the!workplace!(Goh!&!Low,!
2014).!
Trust!is!a!key!process!in!ethical,!servant,!and!authentic!leadership!styles!(Bligh,!
2017).!Transformational!leaders!become!role!models!for!their!followers!and!through!
observation,!they!develop!trust!in!them.!Over!time,!followers!learn!more!about!their!leaders!
providing!evidence!for!their!trustworthiness.!Choi!et!al.!(2015)!posited!that!emotional!
intelligence!creates!the!trustworthiness!and!authenticity!of!a!person.!Cognition-based!trust!
is!established!through!an!individual’s!perception!of!another!person’s!trustworthiness,!
which!is!based!on!that!person’s!integrity,!behavior,!capability,!and!reputation!(Pishdad-
Bozorgi!&!Beliveau,!2016).!Miao!et!al.!(2014)!found!that!higher!levels!of!trustworthiness!
may!be!established!through!servant!leader!behavior.!
Researchers!have!examined!ways!that!trust!can!develop!close!relationships!(Ansari!
&!Malik,!2017).!Communication!is!key!to!building!strong!trust-based!relationships!in!the!
workplace!(Seifert,!Brockner,!Bianchi,!&!Moon,!2016).!Good!working!relationships!are!
developed!when!values!and!attitudes!are!shared!(Seifert!et!al.,!2016).!A!willingness!to!build!
strong!interpersonal!relationships!and!being!genuinely!concerned!about!the!well-being!of!
subordinates!mediate!the!impact!of!servant!leadership!on!affective!trust!(Miao!et!al.,!2014).!
Integrity!is!established!when!leaders!and!followers!abide!by!a!standard!set!of!rules!and!
ethical!conduct.!Honesty!and!integrity!are!ethical!values!characterized!by!spiritual!
managers!(Faraji!&!Begzadeh,!2017).!Leaders!must!develop!and!sustain!perceptions!of!
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integrity!through!justice,!acting!in!ways!that!are!consistent!with!their!values!and!
accountability!(Bligh,!2017).!
Perceptions!of!justice!are!important!in!determining!trust!in!a!leader!or!the!
organization.!The!ability!to!express!personal!views!has!a!positive!impact!on!the!perception!
of!fairness!and!productivity!in!the!organization!(Vanhala!&!Ritala,!2016).!The!perception!of!
an!ethical!work!climate!is!directly!related!to!leader!trust,!implying!that!organizational!
elements!might!influence!the!perceptions!of!a!leader’s!trustworthiness!(Bligh,!2017).!
Organizational!trust!refers!to!both!trust!in!individuals!and!trust!in!the!organization!as!a!
whole!(Vanhala,!Heilmann,!&!Salminen,!2016).!
Trust!in!organizational!leadership!tends!to!have!a!greater!impact!on!organizational!
outcomes,!such!as!whether!or!not!an!employee!is!committed!to!the!company!even!if!they!
receive!a!more!attractive!offer!somewhere!else.!This!example!suggests!that!followers!might!
develop!different!trust!relationships!with!their!immediate!leaders!versus!leaders!higher!up!
in!the!organization!(Bligh,!2017).!Vanhala!et!al.!(2016)!examined!employee!trust!in!their!
organization,!their!future!in!that!organization,!and!employee!support!for!the!evolution!of!
interpersonal!trust.!Researchers!have!found!that!both!organizational!trust!and!leader!trust!
were!positively!associated!with!servant!leadership!style!and!concluded!that!servant!
leadership!was!an!antecedent!of!organizational!trust!and!leader!trust!(Kashyap!&!
Rangnekar,!2016).!
Trust!theories!are!based!on!social!exchange!theory,!suggesting!that!trust!forms!
through!repeated!exchange!of!interests!between!two!entities,!or!through!the!interaction!of!a!
person’s!values,!attitudes,!and!emotions!(Liu!&!Wang,!2013).!Liu!and!Wang!(2013)!found!
that!managers!need!to!earn!employee!trust!to!sustain!long-term!relationships.!Establishing!
employee!trust!will!aid!in!the!development!of!the!organization!(Liu!&!Wang,!2013).!
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!
Researchers!have!examined!mutual!trust!and!support!the!notion!that!when!one!party!acts!
in!a!trustworthy!manner,!both!parties!are!apt!to!have!higher!levels!of!trust!(Koorsgaard,!
Brower,!&!Lester,!2015).!To!maintain!a!trust!relationship!with!employees,!organizations!
should!focus!on!controlling!the!work-related!risk!to!create!an!effective!work!environment!
(Liu!&!Wang,!2013).!
Trust!is!a!multi-faceted!component,!and!the!level!of!trust!is!related!to!the!level!of!
perceived!risk!(Knight!et!al.,!2015).!The!connection!between!trust!and!risk!comes!from!a!
reciprocal!relationship!in!that!risk!creates!the!opportunity!for!trust!that!can!subsequently!
lead!to!risk!taking!(Vanhala!et!al.,!2016).!Two!conditions!must!be!met!for!trust!to!exist,!risk!
and!interdependence.!Risk!creates!the!opportunity!for!trust!(Vanhala!et!al.,!2016).!The!
greater!the!risk,!the!greater!the!trust!(Knight!et!al.,!2015).!
Summary and Conclusions
In!Chapter!2,!I!presented!a!review!of!the!literature!that!addressed!leadership!
theories!and!spiritual!intelligence.!The!literature!review!provided!background!on!
spirituality,!servant!leadership,!transformational!leadership,!emotional!and!spiritual!
intelligence,!and!organizational!trust.!These!theories!formed!a!sound!conceptual!framework!
to!conduct!an!analysis!of!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!
organizational!trust.!
I!divided!the!literature!review!into!four!sections:!effective!leadership,!leadership!
theories,!intelligence!theories,!and!organizational!trust.!I!examined!studies!with!a!focus!on!
spiritual!intelligence,!emotional!intelligence,!servant!leadership,!and!organizational!trust.!
Each!of!these!studies!demonstrated!a!positive!relationship!between!emerging!leadership!
theories!and!organizational!trust.!I!also!reviewed!the!seminal!works!of!Gardner,!Emmons,!
Fry,!Zohar!&!Marshall,!and!Greenleaf!to!explore!how!spiritual!intelligence,!emotional!
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intelligence,!and!servant!leadership!contributed!to!leadership!development!and!the!
development!of!organizational!trust.!Ajike!(2016)!concluded!that!organizational!trust!and!
spiritual!intelligence!are!effective!factors!that!enhance!organizational!performance.!Ajike!
validated!the!importance!of!researching!the!relationships!between!spiritual!intelligence!and!
organizational!trust.!Kaya!(2015)!posited!that!spiritual!leadership!is!not!only!linked!with!
organizational!citizenship!behaviors,!but!he!also!agreed!with!researchers!on!the!
relationship!between!spiritual!leadership!and!other!variables!such!as!job!satisfaction,!
morale,!productivity,!and!trust.!
Addressing!the!gap!in!the!literature!of!the!spiritual!intelligence!of!leaders!who!
influence!organizational!trust!and!specifically,!the!lack!of!spiritual!intelligence!that!helps!
create!the!environment!for!ethical!behavior!and!organizational!effectiveness!will!extend!the!
knowledge!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!its!role!in!leadership!development.!Roberts!(2013)!
argued!that!future!studies!are!needed!to!link!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!intelligence!to!
organizational!outcomes!like!productivity,!job!turnover,!and!job!satisfaction.!Fry!and!
Wigglesworth!(2013)!argued!that!organizations!and!their!leaders!have!a!vested!interest!in!
better!understanding!spiritual!intelligence!and!its!role!in!leadership!development.!She!
recommended!future!research!on!workplace!spirituality!to!explore!increased!organizational!
performance.!
In!Chapter!3,!I!will!outline!the!research!design!and!methodology.!I!will!provide!
details!on!why!the!phenomenological!design!was!chosen!and!how!the!research!question!
guided!the!direction!of!this!study.!I!will!describe!the!role!I!played!as!the!researcher,!and!the!
process!I!used!to!select!participants,!collect!data,!and!the!data!analysis!plan.!
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Chapter 3: Research Method
The!purpose!of!this!phenomenological!study!was!to!identify!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!and!report!the!lived!experiences!of!
senior!leaders!of!a!global!insurance!company!regarding!their!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!
The!implications!for!social!change!include!creating!a!deeper!and!broader!understanding!of!a!
leader’s!spiritual!intelligence,!how!spiritual!intelligence!might!play!a!role!in!a!leader’s!
influence!on!trust!within!an!organization,!and!the!potential!business!application!for!
leadership!development.!In!this!chapter,!I!provide!a!detailed!description!of!the!research!
methodology!used!in!this!phenomenological!study.!!
Phenomenology!is!a!form!of!inquiry!that!addresses!participants’!lived!experience!of!
and!perception!of!a!phenomenon!(Patton,!2014).!Researchers!should!examine!participants’!
descriptions!in!their!own!words,!distinct!from!the!researcher’s!perception!of!the!
phenomenon!(Saldana,!2009).!The!participants!are!viewed!as!subjective!epistemological!
beings!to!prevent!contamination!of!the!data!with!extraneous!worldview!assumptions!
(Dahlberg,!Dahlberg,!&!Nystrom,!2008).!This!Husserlian!method!is!intended!to!create!pure!
presentations!and!uninterpreted!data!based!on!human!experience!(Koopman,!2015).!
This!chapter!includes!an!overview!of!the!research!design!and!the!rationale!for!
choosing!this!design.!This!is!followed!by!a!description!of!my!role!as!the!researcher.!I!explain!
how!participants!were!selected,!the!data!collection!method!that!was!used,!and!the!
recruitment!plan.!Lastly,!I!summarize!the!data!analysis!plan!and!address!ethical!
considerations!and!credibility!of!the!study.!
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Research Design and Rationale
The!research!question!guided!this!qualitative!study!and!informed!the!
phenomenological!approach:!What!is!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!
organizational!trust!within!a!global!insurance!company?!Several!theorists!and!researchers!
have!identified!specific!characteristics!and!behaviors!related!to!spirituality!(Crossman,!
2011;!Fry,!2003;!Geh,!2014;!Yusof!&!Mohamad,!2014).!Workplace!spirituality!appears!to!be!
gaining!more!interest,!and!leaders!are!becoming!more!aware!of!the!value!it!brings!to!the!
organization!(Milliman!et!al.,!2016).!This!suggested!a!need!for!leaders!to!learn!more!about!
spiritual!leadership!and!for!organizations!to!develop!leadership!programs!around!it!
(Hacker!&!Washington,!2017).!
Gardner!(1999)!viewed!spirituality!as!a!religious,!theological,!mystical,!and!
transcendent!phenomenon.!Zohar!(2001)!defined!spiritual!intelligence!as!“the!intelligence!
with!which!we!address!and!solve!problems!of!meaning!and!value”!(p.!3).!Transformational!
and!servant!leadership!styles!are!examples!of!value-based!theories!of!leadership!(Mahembe!
&!Engelbrecht,!2013).!Crossman!(2011)!classified!spiritual!leaders!as!inspirational!and!
noted!that!spiritual!intelligence!should!be!linked!to!transformational!leadership.!Spiritual!
leaders!have!the!capacity!to!build!trust!and!compassion!within!an!organization!(Crossman,!
2011).!The!objective!of!this!study!was!to!explore!the!influence!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!
intelligence!on!the!development!of!organizational!trust.!
Patton!(2014)!described!several!theoretical!and!philosophical!perspectives!that!
inform!qualitative!inquiries!and!research!designs.!A!few!of!these!perspectives!include!
narrative,!phenomenology,!grounded!theory,!ethnography,!and!heuristic!inquiry.!Each!
design!has!a!specific!focus!and!addresses!issues!in!a!unique!way.!In!the!current!study,!a!
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phenomenological!design!was!chosen!to!capture!and!analyze!the!lived!experiences!of!
spiritual!intelligence!among!executive!leaders.!!
In!phenomenological!studies,!the!researcher!focuses!on!exploring!the!human!
experience!of!the!phenomenon!and!transforms!that!experience!into!real-world!meaning!
(Patton,!2014).!Moustakas!(1994)!classified!phenomenology!as!“rooted!in!questions!that!
give!a!direction!and!focus!to!meaning,!and!in!themes!that!sustain!an!inquiry,!awaken!further!
interest!and!concern,!and!account!for!our!passionate!involvement!with!whatever!is!being!
experienced”!(p.!59).!The!intent!of!using!phenomenology!in!the!current!study!was!to!
understand!leaders’!perception!and!perspective!on!spiritual!intelligence!and!how!spiritual!
intelligence!might!play!a!role!in!leaders’!influence!on!trust!in!organizations!(see!Leedy!&!
Ormrod,!2010).!
I!used!a!descriptive!design!based!on!the!theoretical!framework!grounded!in!
lifeworld!phenomenology.!The!research!process!was!guided!by!the!phenomenological!
approach!of!reflective!lifeworld!research,!which!was!based!on!the!phenomenological!
philosophy!of!Husserl!and!Merleau-Ponty!(Lindberg,!Hörberg,!U.,!Persson,!E.,!&!Ekebergh,!
2013).!This!approach!allowed!me!to!identify!the!experiences,!thoughts,!and!feelings!of!
leaders.!I!chose!phenomenology!because!it!was!a!rigorous!alternative!to!the!traditional!
methods!used!in!the!natural!sciences!that!were!not!appropriate!for!examining!human!
experience!(see!Brooks,!2015).!!
A!qualitative!approach!allows!the!researcher!to!explore!the!perceptions!and!
perspectives!of!a!particular!event!rather!than!determining!the!relationship!between!
variables!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!The!research!design!of!phenomenology!was!most!
appropriate!because!it!allowed!me!to!explore!the!lived!experience!of!the!phenomenon.!A!
narrative!study!addresses!participants’!experiences!told!through!stories!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!
50!
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2010).!A!grounded!theory!study!is!used!to!create!a!theory!based!on!the!experiences!(Leedy!
&!Ormrod,!2010).!An!ethnographic!study!involves!a!cultural!group!and!addresses!the!
shared!experiences!of!members!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!A!case!study!addressed!a!specific!
issue!using!one!case!or!multiple!cases!looking!for!common!themes!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!2010).!
In!the!current!study,!I!used!a!phenomenological!design!to!“contemplate!and!theorize!the!
various!ways!things!manifest!and!appear!in!and!through!our!being!in!the!world”!(see!
Moustakas,!1994,!p.!22).!
Role of the Researcher
In!qualitative!studies,!the!role!of!the!researcher!is!important!to!the!accuracy,!
authenticity,!and!reliability!of!the!observations!being!made!(Patton,!2014).!The!researcher!
is!the!instrument!(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014;!Patton,!2014).!My!role!as!researcher!was!to!
collect!data!as!the!interviewer.!As!a!qualitative!researcher,!my!role!was!to!learn!from!the!
experiences!of!my!participants!and!maintain!a!stance!of!empathic!neutrality!(Patton,!2014).!
The!interviewer!influences!the!worth!of!the!data!collected!(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014).!!
Phenomenological!research!grows!out!of!an!intense!interest,!excitement,!and!
curiosity!of!the!researcher,!but!Moustakas!(1994)!cautioned!the!researcher!to!contain!his!or!
her!opinions,!beliefs,!and!suppositions!to!reduce!potential!bias.!Bracketing!(or!bridling)!
allows!the!researcher!to!remove!personal!beliefs,!judgments,!and!preconceived!ideas!
(Moustakas,!1994).!Planning!the!interviews!is!essential.!The!interview!process!includes!
establishing!rapport,!showing!respect,!building!trust,!showing!interest,!taking!notes,!and!
recording!the!session!(Patton,!2014).!The!researcher!needs!to!echo!the!voice!of!each!
participant!and!synthesize!the!voices!of!all!participants!when!analyzing!the!data!(Patton,!
2014).!!
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The!sample!for!this!study!was!purposely!drawn!from!my!company.!The!participants!
included!executive!or!senior!leaders!with!a!title!of!senior!vice!president!or!above,!and!
employees!who!reported!to!them!with!a!title!of!vice!president!or!below.!The!ratio!of!
participants!were!half!leaders!and!half!general!employees.!The!rationale!for!this!ratio!was!
to!account!for!potential!leader!bias!regarding!the!perception!of!trust!in!the!organization.!An!
equivalent!sample!of!general!employees!added!credibility!to!the!study.!!
Participants!who!were!leaders!inside!my!chain!of!command!were!all!senior!to!me;!
therefore,!I!had!no!power!or!influence!over!them.!I!did!not!choose!general!employees!within!
my!chain!of!command!to!remove!any!possible!conflict!of!interest!or!bias!regarding!their!
participation.!However,!I!needed!to!address!the!perceived!barriers!created!by!the!
hierarchical!relationship!of!leaders!above!me.!The!first!step!was!to!confirm!the!
confidentiality!of!the!conversation.!Next,!I!offered!a!copy!of!the!transcripts!and!results!so!
the!participants!would!have!full!disclosure!of!the!completed!study.!Lastly,!I!followed!
Moustakas’s!(1994)!suggestion!to!begin!interviews!with!a!social!conversation!to!create!a!
relaxed!and!trusting!atmosphere.!
Choosing!the!researcher’s!workplace!as!the!focus!of!research!can!present!ethical!
concerns,!including!conflicts!of!interest!and!power!differential!issues!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!
2010).!I!held!a!leadership!role!in!my!organization!and!developed!professional!relationships!
with!many!senior!level!leaders.!The!topic!of!my!study!did!not!involve!any!of!the!internal!
workings!of!the!company!or!any!proprietary!information.!My!research!addressed!the!
leadership!styles!of!executive!and!senior!level!managers!throughout!the!company.!
Participation!was!confidential,!and!no!names!or!other!identifying!information!was!used!in!
the!study.!
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Methodology
Because!phenomenology!was!the!chosen!design!for!this!study,!I!implemented!
strategies!related!to!this!design.!These!strategies!started!with!how!participants!were!
selected!and!the!method!that!was!used!for!data!collection.!In!the!following!sections,!I!
describe!the!strategies!used!for!recruitment,!participation,!data!collection,!and!data!
analysis.!I!also!address!the!credibility,!transferability,!dependability,!confirmability,!and!
ethical!procedures!for!this!study.!
Participant Selection Logic
The!global!insurance!company!chosen!for!this!study!is!a!95-year-old!company!doing!
business!in!100!countries!with!over!65,000!employees.!The!organization!is!split!into!
corporate!and!business!structures.!I!work!in!the!corporate!structure,!but!I!wanted!to!
include!the!business!organization!as!part!of!the!sample.!The!strategy!behind!selecting!
participants!from!both!corporate!and!business!organizations!was!to!explore!leaders’!
spiritual!intelligence!and!trust!across!the!entire!company!and!not!in!one!silo!of!leadership.!!
The!first!criterion!to!participate!in!this!study!was!to!hold!an!executive!or!senior!
level!leadership!position!in!the!company.!A!senior!leader!was!someone!holding!the!title!of!
senior!vice!president!or!above.!The!second!criterion!to!participate!in!this!study!was!to!be!an!
employee!reporting!to!these!senior!leaders!with!a!job!title!of!vice!president!or!below!and!in!
a!reporting!structure!outside!of!my!chain!of!command.!I!purposely!excluded!general!
employees!within!my!chain!of!command!to!eliminate!any!possible!conflict!of!interest!or!
bias.!As!a!corporate!employee,!I!had!access!to!organizational!charts!to!confirm!that!
participant!selection!criteria!were!met.!Additionally,!my!employment!with!the!company!
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provided!access!to!these!participants!and!their!office!locations!with!proper!notification!
prior!to!arrival.!!
Patton!(2014)!explained!the!reasoning!behind!purposeful!sampling,!which!is!why!I!
recruited!leaders!from!both!corporate!and!business!organizations.!Demographic!and!
geographic!criteria!were!not!important!for!this!study!and!were!not!used!to!select!the!
sample.!Phenomenological!research!has!no!specific!guide!for!participant!sample!size.!
Walden!University!suggested!a!minimum!of!20!participants!or!until!data!saturation!occurs.!
My!study!included!16!participants!with!an!even!mix!of!senior!leaders!and!general!
employees!who!reported!to!them.!!
Saturation!is!the!point!in!data!collection!when!no!new!or!relevant!information!
emerges!(Saunders!et!al.,!2017).!Fusch!and!Ness!(2015)!indicated!that!structured!interview!
questions!would!help!achieve!data!saturation.!Fusch!and!Ness!also!recommended!
interviewing!people!who!would!not!normally!be!considered!to!enhance!data!saturation.!To!
determine!saturation,!I!conducted!10!interviews,!coded!and!analyzed!the!data,!and!noted!
the!emerging!themes.!Then!I!conducted!two!more!interviews,!analyzed!the!data,!and!looked!
for!new!codes!or!new!emergent!themes.!I!repeated!the!process!until!no!new!themes!
emerged!and!saturation!was!confirmed.!No!new!codes!or!themes!emerged!from!the!data!
after!the!16th!interview.!Data!saturation!was!declared,!and!the!interviews!stopped!(see!
Morse,!2015).!!
The!participant!selection!process!included!purposive!sampling!of!senior!leaders!and!
employees!who!reported!to!them!using!organizational!charts!and!sending!letters!of!
cooperation.!Initially,!20!participants!were!selected!(10!leaders!and!10!general!employees),!
with!a!contingency!of!10!additional!participants!(five!leaders!and!five!general!employees)!in!
the!event!some!of!the!original!participants!were!unable!or!unwilling!to!participate.!
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Participants!were!chosen!from!both!the!corporate!organization!and!the!business!
organization.!Because!I!had!a!rapport!with!many!of!the!senior!leaders,!recruitment!was!not!
an!issue.!I!was!also!able!to!leverage!my!relationships!with!senior!leaders!to!foster!
participation!at!the!executive!level!of!the!organization.!All!participants!were!told!that!their!
contribution!to!this!study!would!be!completely!voluntary!and!confidential!and!they!could!
withdraw!from!the!study!at!any!time.!!
I!recruited!20!employees!to!participate!in!this!study!without!coercion.!Each!of!the!
leader!participants!had!a!title!of!senior!vice!president!or!above!and!was!employed!in!either!
the!corporate!or!business!organization.!The!general!employees!held!various!positions!in!the!
company,!reported!to!one!of!the!senior!leaders,!held!a!job!title!of!vice!president!or!below,!
and!were!not!within!my!chain!of!command.!I!chose!20!participants!across!the!corporate!and!
business!organizations!to!ensure!maximum!variation!sampling!and!a!balance!of!leader!and!
employee!participation!in!the!study.!No!other!demographic!factors!were!considered,!and!I!
did!not!exclude!anyone!from!the!study!except!those!within!my!chain!of!command.!
Data Collection Method
The!primary!source!of!data!collection!for!this!study!was!interview!driven.!The!
interviews!were!comprised!of!open-ended!questions!based!on!the!theoretical!framework!of!
lifeworld!phenomenology.!Husserl!is!acknowledged!as!the!founding!father!of!
phenomenology!(Vagle,!2014).!Husserl!believed!the!only!way!to!understand!the!human!
experience!in!the!world!is!to!be!grounded!in!the!human!experience,!focusing!on!what!
people!perceive!rather!than!how!it!is!perceived!(Brooks,!2016).!
In!lifeworld!research,!data!gathering!is!an!activity!where!researchers!seek!out!
narratives,!descriptions,!utterances,!and!any!other!expression!of!the!phenomenon!being!
studied!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!The!researcher!is!responsible!for!understanding!the!
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meanings!that!belong!to!the!lifeworld!and!the!relationship!between!the!subject!and!the!
phenomenon!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!Researchers!should!use!an!open!and!bridled!approach!
to!find!their!way!through!these!meanings!(Moustakas,!1994).!Researchers!taken!for!granted!
perspectives!of!lived!experiences!are!replaced!with!a!glimpse!of!the!phenomenon!as!it!was!
truly!lived,!not!theorized!(Vagle,!2014).!
The!level!of!knowledge!the!researcher!has!about!the!phenomenon!can!have!a!
negative!impact!on!the!research!project!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008)!
advised!not!to!read!too!much!existing!literature!about!the!phenomenon!to!avoid!making!it!
difficult!to!bridle!new!information!from!the!research.!Lifeworld!research!does!not!have!
specific!methods!or!techniques;!instead,!it!uses!every!day!means!of!understanding!(Brooks,!
2016).!
Instrumentation
The!data!collection!instruments!used!for!this!study!included!an!interview!protocol,!
an!interview!guide!with!script,!audio!tape!of!interviews,!and!field!notes.!All!instruments!
were!researcher!produced.!I!created!the!interview!protocol!to!consistently!record!the!
participants!in!my!study.!The!information!recorded!included!their!name,!contact!info,!
position!in!the!organization,!location,!interview!date!and!time!and!the!unique!code!used!to!
confidentially!label!their!data.!I!also!created!an!interview!script!to!maintain!consistency!
with!each!of!my!interviews.!Lastly,!I!used!a!digital!recorder!and!took!field!notes!to!
document!each!interview.!
The!basis!for!instrument!development!came!from!literature!sources!such!as!Vagle!
(2014)!and!Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008).!These!literature!sources!suggested!that!unstructured!
interviews!are!the!most!common!method!for!data!gathering!in!a!phenomenological!study!
(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008;!Vagle,!2014).!Validity!was!established!by!field-testing!the!interview!
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questions!to!assure!they!would!produce!the!necessary!data!for!this!study!(Leedy!&!Ormrod,!
2010).!A!panel!of!four!qualitative!experts!were!assembled!to!review!my!problem!statement,!
purpose!statement,!research!question!and!the!list!of!interview!questions!to!validate!
alignment.!After!making!the!recommended!changes!by!the!panel!and!the!URR,!the!interview!
questions!and!phenomenological!design!were!in!alignment.!
Field Test
To!validate!that!my!research!method!and!design!were!aligned!to!my!research!
questions!and!interview!questions,!I!conducted!a!field!test!with!four!qualitative!research!
experts.!I!extended!invitations!to!seven!Walden!University!faculty!members!with!four!who!
agreed!to!participate!and!three!who!cordially!abstained.!I!sent!each!participant!a!copy!of!my!
problem!statement,!purpose!statement,!research!question!and!list!of!interview!questions.!I!
requested!each!participant!to!review!the!draft!to!determine!if!my!interview!questions!
aligned!with!my!research!method,!design,!and!research!question.!
All!four!participants!concluded!that!my!interview!questions!were!too!pointed!and!
might!lead!interviewees!to!a!specific!answer!rather!than!identify!their!experiences!and!
perceptions!of!the!phenomenon.!One!suggestion!was!to!break!down!the!questions!to!
simplify!the!understanding!of!the!phenomenon!I!was!trying!to!identify.!A!suggestion!made!
by!two!panel!members!was!to!focus!on!asking!questions!about!the!lived!experience.!One!
panel!member!believed!some!of!the!interview!questions!did!not!support!the!purpose!of!the!
study!and!other!questions!needed!more!focus!and!clarity.!I!adopted!the!suggestions!and!
revised!the!interview!questions!accordingly.!
I!received!mixed!reviews!on!the!alignment!of!my!study.!Two!panel!members!
believed!my!problem!statement,!purpose!statement,!and!research!question!were!in!
alignment.!One!panel!member!believed!I!should!narrow!down!the!population!and!tighten!
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the!link!between!problem,!purpose!and!research!questions.!The!fourth!panel!member!
believed!I!was!saying!three!different!things!in!my!problem,!purpose!and!research!question.!
Since!50%!of!my!panel!did!not!see!alignment,!I!worked!with!my!chair!and!committee!to!add!
clarity!and!focus!on!aligning!the!problem,!purpose!and!research!question.!I!adopted!panel!
recommendations!and!incorporated!them!into!my!proposal.!
Upon!the!second!review!of!this!proposal,!the!URR!found!that!the!research!method!
and!design!were!not!aligned!to!the!research!question!and!interview!questions.!After!
confirming!a!few!recommendations!with!the!URR,!I!adjusted!the!research!question!and!
interview!questions!to!better!align!with!the!research!method!and!design.!The!new!interview!
questions!are!aligned!to!the!phenomenological!design!and!should!produce!an!expected!
aligned!outcome.!The!revised!interview!questions!are!listed!in!Appendix!F.!
Procedures for Recruitment and Participation
As!specified!in!the!previous!section,!I!used!the!interview!as!the!primary!source!of!
data!collection!for!this!study.!No!collection!of!data!occurred!until!permission!was!received!
from!Walden!University!IRB!on!2017.02.14!17:26:46-06’00’.!The!IRB!approval!number!for!
this!study!is!02-17-17-0138797.!Data!was!collected!from!the!interviews!of!18!employees!
within!the!corporate!and!business!organizations!and!resulted!in!data!saturation.!
For!each!interview,!I!had!planned!to!travel!to!the!participant’s!office,!some!of!which!
require!out!of!state!travel!or!to!set!up!a!video!conference!for!participants!who!were!unable!
to!meet!personally.!I!scheduled!one-hour!appointments!with!each!participant!to!respect!
their!time!and!each!interview!lasted!no!longer!than!one!hour.!The!interviews!were!
recorded,!and!I!took!field!notes.!The!interviews!were!conducted!over!a!9-week!period!due!
to!participant!availability.!
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At!the!start!of!each!interview,!I!reviewed!the!protocols!outlined!in!the!interview!
script,!reviewed!the!consent!letter,!and!let!the!participants!know!that!they!could!stop!the!
interview!at!any!time!since!this!was!strictly!voluntary.!I!reinforced!that!the!interview!would!
be!recorded,!I!would!be!taking!notes,!and!no!information!would!be!shared!with!anyone,!nor!
would!their!names!or!positions!be!revealed!in!the!study.!I!confirmed!data!confidentiality!
and!that!this!information!would!only!be!used!for!my!study.!I!also!offered!to!provide!a!
summary!of!the!findings!after!the!study!was!complete.!Lastly,!I!provided!each!participant!
with!the!contact!information!for!the!Director!of!Walden!University’s!Institutional!Review!
Board.!
The!interviews!were!guided!by!the!list!of!open-ended!questions!relevant!to!help!
answer!the!research!question.!Probing!questions!were!asked!to!obtain!details!or!clarifying!
unclear!statements!to!gain!a!greater!understanding!of!the!phenomenon.!The!revised!list!of!
questions!used!during!the!interview!is!attached!in!Appendix!F.!After!each!interview,!the!
recordings!were!transferred!to!a!large!storage!device!with!a!copy!in!the!cloud!as!a!backup.!!
Access!to!this!data!was!password!controlled!and!I!am!the!only!person!with!access.!
Names!and!positions!were!not!used!to!label!the!data.!As!an!additional!precaution,!I!used!
date!of!interview,!initials!and!the!sequence!number!of!the!interview!for!filename!
identification.!In!addition!to!recordings,!I!also!took!notes!to!help!verify!the!data!collected.!!
Interviews!were!conducted!in!person,!in!the!private!office!of!the!participant!or!by!a!
conference!call!in!the!event!a!face-to-face!meeting!was!not!conducive.!This!environment!
was!chosen!to!help!participants!feel!comfortable!in!their!own!office.!Interviews!were!
recorded!using!a!digital!recorder!with!a!backup!recorder!in!the!event!one!fails.!I!set!one-
hour!appointments!to!respect!participant!time,!but!always!allowed!the!interview!to!
continue!beyond!the!allotted!time!if!the!participant!was!comfortable!and!it!did!not!interfere!
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with!other!engagements.!Although!I!had!interview!questions!to!guide!the!conversation,!I!
attempted!to!keep!the!interview!more!conversational!to!allow!participants!to!open!and!
share!their!experiences!freely.!Moustakas!(1994)!described!the!interviewer!as!being!
responsible!for!creating!a!climate!in!which!the!research!participant!will!feel!comfortable!
and!will!respond!honestly!and!comprehensively.!
In!lifeworld!research,!the!question!of!sample!size!cannot!be!decided!in!exact!
numbers!before!the!study!begins!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008)!argued!that!
the!more!complex!phenomenon!may!require!a!larger!participant!pool.!Alternatively,!a!less!
complicated!phenomenon!may!only!require!a!few!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!For!this!study,!a!
participant!pool!of!20!employees!was!chosen.!In!the!event!saturation!was!not!met!with!20!
participants,!an!additional!10!participants!were!chosen!and!recruited!as!standby!
participants.!In!the!event!saturation!occurred!early,!the!remaining!participants!would!be!
contacted!and!informed!that!I!collected!sufficient!data!to!complete!the!study!and!thanked!
them!for!volunteering!to!participate.!After!16!interviews,!no!new!themes!emerged,!and!
saturation!was!declared!(Morse,!2015).!
Interviews!were!transcribed,!and!a!copy!of!the!transcript!was!made!available!to!the!
participants.!I!had!planned!to!ask!each!participant!to!review!the!transcript!and!notes,!
checking!for!accuracy!and!completeness.!However,!the!IRB!indicated!that!having!
participants!review!transcripts!for!accuracy!places!an!unnecessary!burden!on!them!in!
terms!of!their!time!and!effort,!as!most!people!do!not!accurately!remember!what!was!said!in!
the!interview.!They!recommended!checking!the!transcript!against!the!audio!tapes!to!
validate!accuracy.!
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Data Analysis Plan
All!recorded!interview!data!were!transcribed!verbatim!by!hand.!Accuracy!was!
validated!by!following!along!with!the!transcription!as!the!recording!was!played!back.!
Analysis!software!such!as!NVivo!was!not!used!in!this!study.!Handwritten!notes!were!added!
to!the!transcription!to!validate!the!data.!Transcripts!were!zipped!and!stored!securely!for!the!
allotted!period!required!by!Walden!University.!All!data!was!stored!electronically!using!
passwords!where!only!I!have!access.!A!backup!of!this!data!was!stored!in!the!cloud!and!
password!protected!as!well.!Transcribed!data!was!organized,!coded!and!analyzed!manually.!
The!first!step!in!data!analysis!was!reading!and!rereading!the!data!to!understand!the!
interviews!(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014).!Verbal!and!nonverbal!(consider!silence!and!
hesitation)!listening!and!transcribing!contributed!to!becoming!familiar!with!the!material!
(Lindberg,!2013).!I!searched!for!meaning!in!the!transcribed!interviews.!I!used!bridling!to!
pull!out!personal!experience!and!allowed!for!essential!meanings!to!appear!(Kymre,!2013).!!
Step!two!in!data!analysis!was!organizing!the!data!into!categories!or!themes!called!
clusters.!Putting!meanings!into!clusters!created!temporary!patterns!in!search!for!essential!
meaning!(Vagle,!2014).!The!most!abstract!level!of!analysis!was!to!find!the!essence!(Horberg,!
2013).!Essence!was!formulated!by!rereading!clusters!and!original!data!(Horberg,!2013).!
The!best!method!for!getting!to!the!real!meaning!or!essence!of!the!data!was!to!constantly!flip!
back!and!forth!between!the!clusters!and!the!original!data!(Lindberg,!2013).!
The!third!step!was!to!transform!the!data!into!meaning.!“Interpretation!brings!
meaning!and!coherence!to!the!themes,!patterns,!categories,!developing!linkages!and!a!story!
line!that!makes!sense!and!is!engaging!to!read”!(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014,!p.!162-163).!
Reflective!lifeworld!research!requires!the!researcher!to!have!a!reflective!attitude!and!allow!
the!true!meaning!of!the!phenomenon!to!come!through!(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!The!act!of!
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bridling!or!bracketing!sets!aside!the!researcher’s!pre-understanding!or!assumptions!about!
the!phenomenon!(Lindberg,!2013).!Bridling!gives!room!for!new!and!unexpected!meanings!
to!show!up.!The!researcher!must!wait!for!meanings!to!emerge!by!continually!putting!
questions!to!the!data!(Vagle,!2014).!Once!the!essence!was!formulated,!analysis!continued!to!
identify!contextual!nuances!of!the!phenomenon!known!as!constituents.!!
Lastly,!the!results!were!presented!in!structures!of!meanings.!The!essential!meanings!
were!illustrated!in!a!way!that!expands!the!understanding!of!human!beings!and!the!human!
experience!(Kymre,!2013).!The!researcher!applied!a!word!or!phrase!to!the!constituents!
based!on!the!shared!meanings!of!the!participants.!All!the!identified!constituents!were!pulled!
together!in!a!descriptive!paragraph,!forming!a!general!descriptive!psychological!structure.!
Issues of Trustworthiness
Credibility
The!credibility!and!believability!of!qualitative!research!rests!on!its!validity!
(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014).!To!ensure!credibility!of!this!phenomenological!study,!I!
validated!data!saturation.!Saturation!was!determined!at!the!point!when!no!new!meanings!
were!revealed!(see!Saunders!et!al.,!2017).!I!used!bridling!to!isolate!personal!experience!and!
bias!and!allowed!the!essential!meanings!of!the!phenomenon!to!appear!(Lindberg,!2013).!
Interviewing!a!small!population!of!general!employees!helped!add!credibility!to!the!leader’s!
perception!of!trust!in!the!organization.!Lastly,!to!make!sure!this!study!had!credibility,!I!
checked!for!alignment!between!the!research!question!and!the!instrument!used!to!collect!the!
data.!
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Transferability
Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014)!argued!that!transferability!is!the!ability!of!the!
researcher!to!argue!that!his!findings!will!be!useful!in!other!similar!situations!using!similar!
research!questions.!In!this!study,!leveraging!purposive!sampling,!the!findings!could!be!
applied!to!other!contexts.!Moustakas!(1994)!validated!that!phenomenological!studies!create!
a!greater!interest!and!concern!about!the!phenomenon.!The!findings!from!this!study!could!
be!used!to!build!a!quantitative!study!looking!at!the!relationship!between!the!level!of!
spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader!and!the!level!of!trust!in!the!organization.!
Dependability
Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014)!argued!that!in!an!ever-changing!world,!the!concept!of!
replication!is!problematic.!The!dependability!of!a!study!assumes!that!if!similar!subjects!and!
similar!context!were!replicated,!it!would!yield!the!same!result!(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014).!
To!establish!dependability,!I!utilized!audit!trails!by!taking!notes,!recorded!interviews,!and!
leveraged!electronic!journaling!on!the!computer.!
Confirmability
Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014)!also!argued!that!confirmability!is!simply!a!matter!of!
determining!if!someone!else!can!confirm!the!conclusions!and!interpretations!of!a!
researcher.!The!best!method!for!establishing!confirmability!in!this!study!was!to!maintain!
clear!and!detailed!documentation!for!auditors!to!follow.!Interviews!were!recorded,!
transcribed!and!validated.!Researcher!notes!from!the!interviews!were!also!included!as!part!
of!the!transcriptions.!Analysis!notes!were!maintained!for!review!if!someone!else!wanted!to!
confirm!my!results.!
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Ethical Procedures
Qualitative!researchers!should!always!be!thinking!about!moral!and!ethical!concerns.!
“Most!ethical!issues!in!research!fall!into!one!of!four!categories:!protection!from!harm,!
informed!consent,!right!to!privacy,!and!honesty!with!professional!colleagues”!(Leedy!&!
Ormrod,!2010,!p.!101).!Qualitative!interviews!can!open!thoughts,!feelings,!and!experiences!
that!the!interviewee!did!not!know!before!the!interview!(Patton,!2014).!In!this!study,!I!
planned!to!be!diligent!about!having!informed!consent!from!my!participants,!providing!the!
right!to!privacy,!and!working!honestly!with!integrity!with!my!professional!colleagues.!
As!required!by!Walden!University!IRB,!I!sent!consent!forms!to!all!participants!for!
signature.!At!the!start!of!each!interview,!I!reviewed!the!informed!consent!form!with!
participants!to!make!sure!they!had!no!questions!or!concerns.!I!reiterated!that!their!
participation!was!strictly!voluntary,!and!they!could!stop!the!interview!at!any!time!without!
recourse.!
The!nature!of!this!study!dealt!with!the!personal!lived!experiences!of!senior!leaders!
regarding!their!spiritual!intelligence!and!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!
influence!on!organizational!trust.!Participants!can!often!feel!uncomfortable!talking!about!
these!topics!and!do!not!want!to!share!personal!insights.!Privacy!is!a!great!concern!for!
participants.!Before!the!interview!started,!I!reviewed!the!right!to!privacy!with!participants!
and!let!them!know!that!anything!conveyed!during!the!interview!was!held!in!strict!
confidentiality.!I!let!them!know!that!names!and!positions!were!not!used!in!my!study.!Lastly,!
I!offered!to!share!a!summary!of!the!study!after!it!was!complete.!
Keeping!the!data!safe!was!also!part!of!the!right!to!privacy.!Interviews!were!recorded!
and!stored!on!high!capacity!hard!drives!that!were!password!protected.!I!am!the!only!one!
with!access!to!this!storage.!Data!was!also!backed!up!in!the!cloud,!which!was!also!password!
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protected.!I!reviewed!my!data!handling!process!with!each!participant!and!let!them!know!
the!data!will!be!destroyed!after!the!waiting!period!dictated!by!Walden!University!IRB.!
Lastly,!the!population!I!chose!to!study!was!in!my!workplace.!The!participants!
selected!do!not!report!to!me,!but!some!might!be!in!my!chain!of!command.!This!study!was!
not!a!conflict!of!interest!since!the!topics!did!not!involve!the!internal!workings!of!the!
business.!However,!I!was!diligent!about!the!personal!sensitivity!of!the!information!the!
leaders!shared!during!the!interview.!
Summary
In!this!chapter,!I!provided!a!detailed!description!of!the!research!design!used!in!this!
phenomenological!study.!The!research!question!guided!this!qualitative!study!and!informed!
the!phenomenological!approach.!I!summarized!the!conceptual!framework!that!drove!the!
research!design!and!the!rationale!for!choosing!this!design.!I!described!my!role!as!the!
researcher!and!how!that!role!influences!the!outcome!of!the!study.!I!explained!how!
participants!were!selected,!the!data!collection!method,!and!the!recruitment!plan.!Lastly,!I!
reviewed!the!data!analysis!plan!and!reframed!all!ethical!considerations!and!credibility!of!
the!study.!
When!studying!phenomenology,!researchers!try!to!contemplate!and!theorize!the!
various!ways!things!manifest!and!appear!in!the!world!as!they!see!it!(Vagle,!2014).!By!
design,!the!researcher!identifies!and!reports!the!lived!experience!of!those!who!experienced!
the!phenomenon!(Vagle,!2014).!Phenomenology!is!a!form!of!inquiry!that!holistically!values!
the!participants!lived!experience!of!meaning!making!and!informs!people!about!their!
perception!of!the!phenomenon.!This!Husserlian!method!created!pure!presentations!and!
uninterpreted!data!based!on!human!experience!(Koopman,!2015)!that!are!organized!in!
Chapter!4.!
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Chapter 4: Results
The!purpose!of!this!phenomenological!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!and!report!the!lived!experiences!of!
senior!leaders!in!a!global!insurance!company!regarding!their!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!
The!central!research!question!used!to!guide!this!phenomenological!study!was!the!following:!
What!is!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!within!a!
global!insurance!company?!The!implications!for!social!change!include!creating!a!deeper!
understanding!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence,!how!spiritual!intelligence!might!play!a!role!
in!a!leader’s!influence!on!trust!within!the!organization,!and!the!potential!business!
application!for!leadership!development.!
Chapter!4!contains!a!presentation!of!the!data!collected!from!interviews!in!this!
phenomenological!study.!Data!collection!began!on!March!10,!2017!and!took!9!weeks!to!
complete!and!achieve!data!saturation.!The!data!collected!from!the!interviews!reflected!the!
lived!experiences!and!perceptions!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust!by!the!participants.!This!
chapter!includes!a!review!of!the!research!setting,!participant!demographics,!and!data!
collection!process.!I!also!present!the!results!of!the!study!and!address!issue!of!
trustworthiness.!!
Research Setting
Senior!leaders!and!employees!of!a!large!global!insurance!company!were!asked!to!
participate!in!interviews!lasting!30!minutes!to!1!hour.!Participants!were!in!various!offices!
across!the!United!States!making!it!a!challenge!to!meet!face-to-face!with!everyone.!Senior!
leaders!were!very!busy,!making!it!a!challenge!to!schedule!time!for!interviews.!Despite!these!
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challenges,!14!phone!interviews!and!two!face-to-face!interviews!were!conducted!to!reach!
data!saturation.!
During!the!period!of!the!study,!the!company!was!going!through!changes!in!
leadership!and!a!reduction!in!personnel!because!of!budget!cuts.!When!the!study!began,!the!
CIO!resigned!from!the!company!and!was!replaced!by!an!internal!candidate.!Only!a!few!
weeks!later,!the!CEO!announced!his!resignation.!Throughout!the!9-week!period!of!the!study,!
dozens!of!employees!had!their!positions!eliminated.!Several!participants!shared!their!
thoughts!about!the!changes!and!their!perceptions!about!the!future.!It!is!my!opinion!that!
these!organizational!changes!had!some!influence!on!participants’!perspectives.!
Interview!results!differed!slightly!between!senior!leaders!and!employees.!Budget!
cuts!and!layoffs!seemed!to!have!more!negative!effects!on!employees!than!senior!leaders.!I!
took!notes!during!the!interviews!to!capture!first!impressions!of!the!participant’s!attitude,!
tone!of!voice,!and!behaviors!that!may!have!been!important!in!the!analysis!of!data.!I!also!
recorded!the!date,!time,!and!length!of!interview!for!each!participant.!All!participants!agreed!
to!recording!the!interview,!and!I!received!a!signed!consent!form!from!each!of!them.!After!
the!interviews!were!completed,!I!transcribed!and!reviewed!the!recordings!to!ensure!
accuracy.!
Demographics
The!participants!were!selected!from!a!large!global!insurance!company.!The!
inclusion!criteria!were!senior!leaders!with!a!title!of!senior!vice!president!or!above!and!
general!employees!below!senior!vice!president.!The!decision!to!include!general!employees!
was!made!to!mitigate!potential!bias!regarding!senior!leaders’!perceptions!of!trust!within!
the!organization.!
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Data Collection
The!primary!source!of!data!collection!for!this!study!was!interviews.!The!interviews!
included!eight!open-ended!questions!based!on!the!theoretical!framework!of!lifeworld!
phenomenology.!I!planned!for!20!interviews!to!ensure!data!saturation.!I!conducted!10!
interviews,!performed!some!initial!coding!and!analysis,!conducted!two!more!interviews,!
and!coded!again!looking!for!repeating!themes.!I!repeated!the!process!until!I!reached!
saturation,!which!occurred!after!interviewing!16!participants!(see!Morse,!2015).!
Most!interviews!were!conducted!over!the!phone!because!participants!were!
scattered!across!the!United!States.!When!participants!were!local,!interviews!were!
conducted!face-to-face.!Interviews!were!scheduled!and!conducted!at!the!convenience!of!the!
participant.!Because!of!the!busy!schedule!of!senior!leaders,!some!interviews!had!to!be!
rescheduled.!Interviews!lasted!between!30!minutes!and!1!hour.!The!data!collection!process!
took!approximately!9!weeks.!
Interviews!were!recorded!digitally.!During!the!interviews,!I!took!field!notes!to!
evaluate!my!initial!observation!of!the!participant!regarding!each!question.!After!each!
interview,!I!listened!to!the!recording!and!made!additional!notes!to!help!during!the!coding!
and!analysis!process.!I!took!note!of!nuances!in!the!conversation!such!as!long!pauses!or!
difficulty!answering!a!question.!I!also!considered!when!certain!questions!were!not!
understood!and!needed!clarification.!Once!saturation!was!achieved,!I!transcribed!the!
interviews!for!analysis.!
Purposive!sampling!was!used!to!recruit!participants.!I!planned!to!conduct!more!
face-to-face!interviews,!but!participant!availability!and!location!were!challenges.!I!also!
planned!to!use!video!conferencing!to!accommodate!the!issue!of!location,!but!that!
technology!was!not!available!to!most!of!the!participants.!I!contacted!50!candidates!and!
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scheduled!18!interviews.!Senior!leaders!were!difficult!to!schedule,!and!many!declined!to!
participate.!Nonsenior!leaders!were!happy!to!participate!and!easy!to!schedule.!This!
phenomenon!was!included!in!my!analysis.!
Data Analysis
Based!on!my!review!of!data!analysis!practices!in!phenomenological!research,!I!
discovered!that!most!approaches!incorporated!the!whole-part-whole!analysis!method!
(Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008;!Vagle,!2014;!Van!Manen,!2016).!My!data!analysis!consisted!of!a!four-
step!process.!The!first!step,!reading!the!whole!data!set,!involved!highlighting!key!words,!
phrases,!and!descriptions.!The!second!step,!reading!part!of!the!data,!involved!finding!
meanings!based!on!highlighted!words,!phrases,!and!descriptions.!The!third!step,!reading!the!
whole!data!set,!included!exploring!the!clusters!and!patterns!in!search!of!essential!meanings!
or!essences!in!relation!to!the!whole!data!set.!!
The!first!step!of!data!analysis,!according!to!Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014),!is!to!read!
and!reread!the!data!to!understand!the!interviews.!Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008)!noted!that!“to!
understand!the!whole!in!terms!of!the!detail!and!the!detail!in!terms!of!the!whole!is!a!
methodological!principle!that!takes!research!into!an!art!of!understanding”!(p.!237).!
Listening!to!the!recordings!and!personally!transcribing!the!interviews!contributed!to!my!
familiarity!with!the!data.!The!analysis!process!started!with!hand-coding!each!interview!
transcript.!Following!Dahlberg!et!al.’s!recommendation,!I!searched!for!meaning!in!the!
transcribed!interviews!and!used!bridling!to!set!aside!my!personal!beliefs!and!experiences!
with!the!phenomenon!allowing!the!essential!meanings!of!the!data!to!appear.!
The!second!step!in!the!data!analysis!was!to!organize!the!data!into!patterns!of!
meaning!(see!Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008),!themes!(see!van!Manen,!2016)!or!meaning!units!(see!
Giorgi,!2009).!In!this!process,!I!chose!to!use!a!descriptive!phenomenological!method.!I!
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organized!meanings!into!clusters!to!create!a!temporary!pattern!when!searching!for!
essential!meanings.!To!identify!the!real!meaning!or!essence!of!the!data,!I!had!to!flip!back!
and!forth!between!the!clusters!and!the!original!data!multiple!times.!
The!third!step!was!to!transform!the!data!into!meanings.!In!this!step,!I!assessed!the!
meaning!that!was!discovered!as!belonging!to!the!phenomenon!and!avoided!supplying!
understanding!with!the!meaning!(see!Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!The!act!of!bridling!involves!the!
researcher!setting!aside!assumptions!or!beliefs!about!the!phenomenon!and!opening!up!for!
new!and!unexpected!meanings!to!appear!(Lindberg,!2013).!I!continued!my!analysis!by!
questioning!the!text!about;!what!was!said,!how!it!was!said,!and!what!was!the!meaning!
behind!what!was!said!(see!Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!By!questioning!the!data,!I!was!able!to!
reveal!more!about!the!phenomenon.!After!many!iterations!of!reading!the!original!data,!
listening!to!the!recordings,!and!comparing!the!clusters,!patterns!gradually!emerged.!
The!fourth!step!was!to!present!these!structures!of!meanings!in!a!descriptive!way!
that!expanded!the!reader’s!understanding!of!the!phenomenon.!In!this!step,!I!wrote!a!
narrative!to!emphasize!the!essence!of!the!phenomenon.!After!the!essence!was!presented,!I!
pulled!together!the!general!meanings!as!well!as!the!individual!lived!meanings!as!they!were!
expressed!by!the!participants!and!presented!them!in!a!descriptive!paragraph,!forming!a!
general!descriptive!psychological!structure!(see!Dahlberg!et!al.,!2008).!
I!immersed!myself!in!the!data!collection!and!analysis!by!personally!transcribing!the!
recorded!interviews.!Taking!advice!from!Vagle!(2014),!I!performed!all!the!coding!and!
analysis!by!hand!to!stay!as!close!as!possible!to!the!data.!My!analysis!approach!included!a!
combination!of!steps!from!Giorgi’s!(2009)!descriptive-oriented,!Van!Manen’s!(2016)!
interpretive-oriented,!and!Dahlberg!el!al.’s!(2008)!reflective-oriented!methods.!This!
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combined!approach!provided!results!that!yielded!a!new!understanding!of!the!phenomenon!
of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!
The!initial!codes!were!derived!from!the!conceptual!framework!for!the!study,!my!
research!question,!and!the!list!of!interview!questions!in!my!interview!guide.!These!initial!
codes!included!emotional!intelligence,!spiritual!intelligence,!compassion,!wisdom,!empathy,!
spiritual!leadership,!higher!purpose,!big!picture,!transformational,!authentic,!ethical,!
inspire,!self-awareness,!servant!leader,!and!trust.!After!the!first!round!of!analysis,!additional!
codes!were!added!to!the!list:!integrity,!moral!compass,!communication,!vision,!risk,!and!
disruption.!
Interview!Question!1!(IQ1)!was!designed!as!an!icebreaker!to!get!participants!
warmed!up!to!answering!questions!openly.!The!question!addressed!the!attributes!of!a!
leader!that!were!considered!important!to!the!participant.!This!question!led!to!the!themes!of!
servant!leadership!and!integrity!emerging!from!the!data.!The!theme!of!servant!leadership!
was!also!supported!by!Interview!Question!7!(IQ7)!when!Participant!1!(P1)!reported!that!his!
perception!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader!was!“someone!who!has!a!heart!for!service.”!
Interview!Question!2!(IQ2)!was!designed!to!elicit!how!participants!perceived!
spiritual!leadership!in!a!business!environment.!This!question!led!to!the!themes!of!emotional!
intelligence,!moral!compass,!trust,!and!empathy!emerging!from!the!data.!These!themes!
emerge!from!IQ4,!IQ7,!and!IQ8.!P6!summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“spiritual!leaders!are!
confident,!believe!in!people,!support!people,!work!hard,!fair,!a!leader!who!has!your!back,!
and!someone!you!can!trust!with!confidence.”!!
Interview!Question!3!(IQ3)!was!designed!to!elicit!how!participants!perceived!big!
idea!ways!of!thinking!in!business.!This!question!led!to!the!themes!of!vision,!disruption,!and!
risk!emerging!from!the!data.!The!general!perception!of!leaders!who!exhibit!big!idea!ways!of!
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thinking!was!that!they!are!risk!takers!and!see!disruption!as!a!positive.!Participants!used!
terms!like!visionary!and!strategic!to!classify!this!type!of!leader.!
!Interview!Question!4!(IQ4)!was!designed!to!elicit!how!participants!perceived!
empathy!in!the!workplace.!This!question!contributed!to!the!emerging!theme!of!emotional!
intelligence,!integrity,!and!trust.!Interview!Question!5!(IQ5)!was!designed!to!elicit!how!
participants!perceived!business!decisions!that!go!against!popular!proposals.!Similar!to!IQ3,!
this!question!led!to!the!themes!of!vision,!disruption,!and!risk!emerging!from!the!data.!
Interview!Question!6!(IQ6)!was!designed!to!elicit!what!participants!believe!is!
learned!when!things!go!wrong!in!the!workplace.!This!question!led!to!the!theme!of!
communication!emerging!from!the!data.!P3!summed!up!the!theme!by!saying!“it’s!an!
opportunity!to!sit!and!talk!with!one!another,!to!have!clear!communication!about!the!
challenges,!and!how!to!improve!upon!them.”!!
Interview!Question!7!(IQ7)!and!Interview!Question!8!(IQ8)!were!designed!from!my!
central!research!question.!These!questions!addressed!participants’!perception!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!a!leader!and!the!perception!of!trust!in!their!organization.!The!data!from!these!
questions!were!consistent!with!the!themes!identified!from!the!previous!six!questions.!
Participants!saw!a!relationship!between!an!emotionally!intelligent!leader!and!a!spiritually!
intelligent!leader.!
Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008)!asserted!that!the!process!of!analysis!and!understanding!the!
data!might!seem!endless,!and!it!is!up!to!the!researcher!to!determine!when!it!is!time!to!stop.!
By!spending!a!lot!of!time!immersing!myself!in!the!data,!I!was!able!to!develop!a!better!
understanding!of!participants’!perception!of!themselves,!senior!leaders,!spiritual!
intelligence,!and!trust.!Most!participants!reported!their!experiences!from!a!positive!
perspective.!However,!a!few!participants!reported!their!experiences!from!a!negative!
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perspective.!These!negative!perspectives!might!have!resulted!from!the!organizational!
changes!occurring!at!that!time.!
Evidence of Trustworthiness
Credibility
The!credibility!and!believability!of!qualitative!research!rests!on!its!validity!
(Marshall!&!Rossman,!2014).!I!reached!data!saturation!after!16!interviews!using!open-
ended!questions!and!asking!for!more!details!as!necessary!to!enhance!my!understanding!of!
the!participant’s!response.!The!sample!population!was!split!evenly!between!senior!leaders!
and!general!employees!to!enhance!credibility!of!the!study.!I!was!careful!to!bracket!my!
personal!experiences!to!allow!for!the!true!meaning!of!the!phenomenon!to!appear.!I!also!
verified!the!accuracy!of!the!transcripts!with!the!recorded!interviews.!
Transferability
Marshall!&!Rossman!(2014)!proposed!that!transferability!is!the!ability!of!the!
researcher!to!argue!that!his!findings!will!be!useful!in!other!similar!situations!using!similar!
research!questions.!In!this!study,!I!took!a!sample!from!a!single!global!organization.!The!
findings!from!this!study!could!be!applied!to!other!contexts.!Moustakas!(1994)!argued!that!
phenomenological!studies!create!a!greater!interest!and!concern!about!the!phenomenon.!
The!findings!from!this!study!could!be!leveraged!across!other!organizations!to!expand!the!
reader’s!understanding!of!the!phenomenon!and!bring!a!fresh!perspective.!Additionally,!a!
quantitative!study!could!be!designed!to!look!at!the!level!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader!
and!its!relationship!to!the!level!of!trust!in!the!organization.!
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Dependability
Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014)!argued!that!in!an!ever-changing!world,!the!concept!of!
replication!is!problematic.!The!dependability!of!a!study!assumes!that!if!similar!subjects!and!
similar!context!were!replicated,!it!would!yield!the!same!result.!In!this!study,!I!utilized!
consistent!and!systematic!procedures!for!data!collection!and!analysis.!
Adding!to!the!dependability!of!this!study,!I!conducted!a!field!test!leveraging!a!panel!
of!phenomenology!experts!to!help!validate!proper!alignment!of!the!problem!statement,!
purpose!statement!and!research!question.!The!field!notes!from!each!interview,!the!
transcripts!taken!from!each!recording,!and!the!consistent!application!of!codes!taken!from!
the!conceptual!framework!of!this!study!added!to!consistency.!A!future!researcher!could!
repeat!the!work!using!the!same!phenomenological!design.!
Confirmability
Marshall!and!Rossman!(2014)!defended!confirmability!as!simply!a!matter!of!
determining!if!someone!else!can!confirm!the!conclusions!and!interpretations!of!a!
researcher.!The!best!method!for!establishing!confirmability!in!this!study!is!to!maintain!clear!
and!detailed!documentation!for!auditors!to!follow.!First,!I!utilized!a!script!for!each!interview!
(Appendix!C),!leveraging!the!same!questions!for!each!of!the!participants!(Appendix!F).!
Secondly,!I!took!field!notes!during!interviews!to!include!in!the!transcripts.!Thirdly,!I!
recorded!interviews!and!transcribed!them!later.!I!verified!transcripts!against!the!recorded!
interviews!for!accuracy.!Lastly,!I!compared!the!hand!coding!and!analysis!of!the!data!with!
the!literature!review!and!conceptual!framework!of!this!study!to!confirm!the!
trustworthiness!of!the!research!findings.!
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Study Results
The!central!research!question!that!guided!this!study!was:!What!is!the!role!of!
spiritual!intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!within!a!global!insurance!
company?!The!results!were!reported!as!themes!that!developed!from!the!coding!and!analysis!
of!the!responses!from!the!16!participants!to!the!8!interview!questions!posed!in!the!
interview!guide.!The!sections!that!follow!present!the!five!themes!and!five!sub-themes!that!
emerged!from!the!lived!experience!of!the!participants!to!support!the!central!research!
question.!
Theme 1: Emotional Intelligence
! A!recurring!theme!that!emerged!from!the!participant’s!responses!was!emotional!
intelligence!(EQ).!Thirteen!(81%)!of!the!participants!interviewed!stressed!the!importance!
of!emotional!intelligence!in!a!leader.!Participant!responses!indicated!that!authentic!leaders!
who!demonstrated!empathy,!compassion!and!support!for!others!developed!strong!
relationships!with!their!team.!In!a!conversation!about!empathy!in!the!workplace,!
Participant!2!(P2)!concluded,!“it’s!understanding!the!impact!that!you!have!on!people!and!
the!impact!the!organization!has!on!people!and!for!me,!that’s!really!validation!that!empathy!
is!important!to!be!a!leader,!to!be!a!team!player.”!P4!summed!up!the!theme!saying:!
!taking!into!account!just!sort!of!that!personal!aspect!of!understanding!how!things!
affect!people’s!performance!in!the!workplace!and!working!either!around!and!with!
that,!to!ensure!that!people!are!motivated!and!happy!and!productive!and!doing!their!
job!is!pretty!important.!
!EQ!is!the!ability!to!understand!behavioral!reactions!and!the!motivation!behind!those!
patterns!(Yadav!&!Punia,!2016).!P4!reported:!
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I!think!it’s!very!important!for!a!leader!to!understand!what!motivates!people!and!
how!different!people!are!motivated!differently!and!how!people!just!inherently!by!
personality!or!intellect!or!what!have!you!will!respond!to!different!things!differently.!
I!think!that’s!when!EQ!becomes!particularly!important,!recognizing!when!people!are!
having!trouble!with!their!environment!because!of!more!of!the!emotional!aspect!of!
things!or!from!a!morale!perspective!and!that!sort!of!thing!with!them!being!able!to!
actually!respond!to!it!effectively!and!keep!people!on!board!and!moving!forward.!
P8!summed!up!by!saying:!
it’s!understanding!what!motivates!people.!That’s!more!of!the!practical!side!of!it.!
Once!you!get!those!theoretical!considerations!down,!understanding!how!to!motivate!
people!and!how!to!interact!with!them!successfully!is!the!next!big!thing.!At!a!high!
level,!that’s!what!I!think!of!what!leadership!is.!
!EQ!differs!from!other!intelligence!with!a!focus!on!skills!and!abilities!in!the!emotional!
realm!including!self-awareness,!empathy,!and!quality!communication!(Freed,!2016;!Seena!
et!al.,!2017).!In!response!to!the!conversation!on!empathy!in!the!workplace,!P7!summed!up!
his!perception!by!saying,!“I!think!it!comes!down!to!self-awareness!and!I!think!some!people!
have!more!self-aware!than!others.”!P8!added,!“I!think!emotional!intelligence!and!being!
connected!to!people!emotionally!(and!I!think!empathy!is!part!of!that)!is!super!
important!because!it’s!just!another!way!that!you!form!a!connection!with!people.”!
!Leaders!who!can!regulate!their!own!emotions,!read!others’!emotions,!and!effectively!
communicate!typically!exhibit!high!levels!of!emotional!intelligence!and!facilitate!high!
performance!in!their!organization!(Nikoui,!2015;!Seena!et!al.,!2017).!P9!summed!up!his!
perception!saying,!“I!also!believe!that!a!leader!has!to!have!a!strong!EQ!because!you’ve!got!to!
be!able!to!connect!with!people,!so!your!communications!skills!have!to!be!terrific.”!When!
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asked!about!important!attributes!of!a!leader,!P13!expressed,!“pretty!simple,!the!ability!to!
communicate!clearly!their!thoughts!above!and!below.”!P16!reported,!“it!comes!down!to!how!
they!communicate,!whether!you!want!to!call!it!charisma!or!their!style!or!their!personality,!
however!you!want!to!put!it,!but!I!think!how!people!communicate!is!absolutely!critical!for!
them!to!be!a!leader.”!
Theme 2: Servant Leadership
!The!emerging!theme!of!servant!leadership!was!equally!emphasized!by!13!(81%)!of!
the!participants!interviewed.!Academic!studies!on!servant!leadership!focused!on!follower!
growth,!empowerment,!and!ethical!behavior!(Chiniara!&!Bentein,!2016).!Servant!leadership!
is!unique!because!it!combines!the!drive!of!a!leader!with!a!focus!on!serving!follower!needs!
(van!Dierendonck!et!al.,!2014).!P2!described!the!servant!leader!saying,!“it’s!a!leader’s!
responsibility!to!support!their!teams,!build!an!organization,!design!and!drive!their!team’s!
success!so!that!a!leader!truly!serves!their!team.”!P3!reported,!“I!will!attempt,!with!the!
organization!I’m!responsible!for,!to!provide!a!vision,!a!direction,!sense!of!empowerment,!to!
the!folks!I’ve!been!given!the!opportunity!and!responsibility!to!drive!that!mission!in!mandate!
for!and!then,!to!provide!both!support!and!the!challenge!that!is!necessary!as!we!go!forward!
to!try!to!achieve!and!adjust!towards!those!objectives.”!
!Servant!leadership!has!been!compared!with!a!variety!of!elements!describing!how!it!
works.!Some!descriptions!include!humility,!wisdom,!vision,!trust,!and!transcendental!
spirituality!(Winston!&!Fields,!2015).!P5!described!the!attributes!of!a!leader!saying,!“I!think!
a!leader,!especially!in!a!work!environment,!would!have!the!best!interest!of!the!employee!in!
their!personal!growth,!to!encourage!them!to!grow!further,!to!gain!more!knowledge!more!
skill!sets!even!to!broaden!their!own!bigger!picture!so!that!they!can!understand!the!bigger!
problem!and!succeed!on!their!own.”!P6!reported,!“a!leader!is!someone!you!can!trust,!who!is!
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trustworthy,!and!someone!who!is!a!protector!of!other!people.”!P8!added,!“a!good!leader!has!
the!ability!to!create!a!shared!vision!for!people!to!follow!.!.!.!people!feel!like!the!leader!has!
their!interest!at!heart!.!.!.!the!leader!cares!about!what!it!is!their!trying!to!do!.!.!.!and!you!can’t!
be!a!leader!without!trust.”!
!Trust!in!a!leader!is!built!on!the!character!of!the!leader!which!is!focused!on!how!
followers!perceive!the!leader’s!character!(Goh!&!Low,!2014).!P9!summed!up!his!perception!
saying,!“anyone!of!us!we!can!get!a!lot!done!as!an!individual!but!you’re!going!to!get!so!much!
more!done!if!you!get!a!team!or!group!of!people,!a!country,!the!world,!behind!you.!But!you’re!
never!going!to!do!that!unless!you!won!both!their!hearts!and!minds.!And!so,!the!most!
effective!leaders,!I!think,!are!the!ones!that!just!have!an!amazing!EQ.!They!have!an!amazing!
ability!to!connect!with!people,!to!empathize!with!people,!to!understand!what!makes!people!
tick!and!they!make!it!work.”!P11!added,!“I!look!for!someone!who!has!an!authentic!
leadership!style!.!.!.!somebody!who!walks!the!walk!and!not!just!talking!the!talk,!they!lead!by!
example!.!.!.!somebody!that!possesses!integrity!and!is!honest!in!their!dealings.”!
Sousa!and!van!Dierendonck!(2017)!concluded!that!a!leader’s!humility!would!
moderate!their!effectiveness!in!motivating!followers.!P14!reported,!“I!really!try!to!
incorporate!into!my!style!with!not!just!my!direct!reports,!but!my!entire!team,!and!let!them!
know!my!personality.!I!let!them!know!that!I!am!no!better,!I’m!no!worse,!than!anyone!else.!I!
just!happen!to!have!a!higher!box!on!an!org!chart!and!I!get!to!make!the!final!decision.!But!I’m!
human!like!everyone!else.”!
The!ability!to!be!compassionate,!wise,!and!peaceful!should!matter!to!a!leader.!
Leveraging!spiritual!intelligence!to!motivate!people!taps!into!their!desire!for!meaning!and!
purpose!in!their!work!life!(Wigglesworth,!2014).!P16!reported,!“people!are!going!to!need!to!
have!a!sense!of!purpose.!When!you!look!at!why!people!stay!in!a!job,!and!why!people!are!
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motivated!to!go!the!extra!distance,!or!above!and!beyond!in!their!job,!there!needs!to!be!some!
sense!of!belonging!or!obligation!or!purpose!.!.!.!you!got!to!have!that!sense!of!purpose!and!
the!ability!to!translate!to!whoever!it!is!you’re!trying!to!get!to.!Being!able!to!connect!people!
to!that!sense!of!purpose!is!what!I!would!interpret!as!spiritual!leadership.”!
Theme 3: Trustworthiness
!Trustworthiness!was!reported!by!11!(69%)!of!the!participants!interviewed.!A!
willingness!to!build!strong!interpersonal!relationships!and!being!genuinely!concerned!
about!the!well-being!of!their!subordinates!mediate!the!impact!of!servant!leadership!on!
affective!trust!(Miao!et!al.,!2014).!P1!reported,!“I!think!it’s!people!that!drives!trust!in!the!
organization.”!P2!read!up!on!how!to!turn!his!collection!of!direct!reports!into!a!trusted!
leadership!team.!He!summed!up!his!perception!saying:!!
the!ideal!team!player!has!a!balance!of!3!attributes.!The!first!is!humility,!which!I!love.!
The!second!is!hunger,!which!he!(the!author!of!the!book)!equates!to!a!leader’s!drive,!
in!that!leaders!want!to!have!to!work!hard.!The!third!is,!he!(the!author!of!the!book)!
calls!it!smarts!but,!in!his!book!it’s!EQ.!!
P3!added,!“to!me,!having!some!level!of!trust!that!the!organization!you!work!for!cares!for!you!
and!supports!you!and!therefore!that!you!would!support!that!organization!is!a!really!
valuable!measure.”!!
!Cognition-based!trust!is!established!through!a!person’s!perception!of!another!
person’s!trustworthiness,!which!is!based!on!that!person’s!integrity,!behavior,!capability,!and!
reputation!(Pishdad-Bozorgi!&!Beliveau,!2016).!P6!summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“the!
key!attribute!of!a!leader!is!someone!you!can!trust!with!confidence.”!P7!reported,!“I!think!the!
people!that!you’re!dealing!with!make!all!the!difference!as!far!as!whether!you!feel!there!is!
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trust!in!your!organization!because!you!know!they’re!the!ones!you’re!interacting!with.”!P8!
added:!
I!think!operating!in!a!fashion!where!you!demonstrate!that!you!care!about!people,!
that!you!care!about!what!you’re!trying!to!do,!you!operate!in!an!environment!of!trust!
and!with!integrity.!I!think!those!characteristics,!aside!from!any!personal!
characteristics,!are!what!makes!a!great!leader.!
!The!ability!to!express!one’s!views!has!a!positive!impact!on!the!perception!of!fairness!
and!productivity!in!the!organization!(Vanhala!&!Ritala,!2016).!Communication!is!key!to!
building!strong!trust-based!relationships!in!the!workplace!(Seifert!et!al.,!2016).!P12!
reported,!“open!and!honest!communication!leads!to!trust.”!P14!added,!“trust!is!probably!
one!of!the!most!important!things!of!a!positive!culture!and!a!positive!work!environment.!It’s!
certainly!something!I!try!to!invoke!in!my!style.”!P15!believed!the!top!three!attributes!of!are!
leader!are,!“empathy,!trust,!and!determination.”!P16!reported:!
I’ve!dealt!with!various!people!throughout!my!career!from!entry-level!managers!up!
to!executives.!The!key!portion!around!leadership!is!somebody!you!can!trust.!And!for!
me!personally,!even!more!than!you!can!trust!somebody,!they!need!to!have!a!high!
amount!of!integrity.!
Theme 4: Integrity
Integrity!was!reported!by!nine!(56%)!of!the!participants!interviewed.!Trust!in!a!
leader!is!built!on!the!character!of!a!leader!which!is!focused!on!how!followers!perceive!a!
leader’s!characteristics,!such!as!ability,!integrity,!dependability,!and!benevolence!in!the!
workplace!(Goh!&!Low,!2014).!When!asked!about!the!important!attributes!of!a!leader,!both!
P7!and!P12!reported,!“honesty!and!integrity.”!P8!believed!strongly!about!integrity!stating,!“I!
view!the!political!capital!you!have!with!people!is!based,!to!me,!almost!entirely!upon!your!
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integrity.”!While!reviewing!the!importance!of!trust!in!the!organization,!P3!reported,!“I!think!
trust!is!another!way!of!saying!that!they!(employees)!trust!that!the!organization!highly!
values!their!contribution,!their!intellectual!integrity,!and!what!they!think!about!the!
situation!and!what!they’re!willing!to!stand!for.”!
!Honesty!and!integrity!are!ethical!values!characterized!by!spiritual!managers!(Faraji!
&!Begzadeh,!2017).!Integrity!was!number!one!according!to!P9!saying:!
if!you!give!me!integrity!and!you!give!me!great!communication!skills!and!then!you!
combine!that,!for!me,!with!the!ability!to!have!an!intellectual!capacity!that!challenges!
people!and!makes!people!better,!because!they!have!to!stretch!their!minds!to!keep!
up!with!you,!to!me,!that’s!an!effective!leader.!
P11!reported,!“a!spiritual!leader!is!somebody!who!is!going!to!be!an!authentic!leader!and!
operates!with!honor!and!integrity!and!does!so!with!all!their!interactions!with!the!people!
that!they!work!with!and!that!they!lead.”!
Theme 5: Moral Compass
!Moral!compass!was!reported!by!only!four!(25%)!of!the!participants!interviewed,!
but!they!believed!a!strong!moral!compass!leads!to!the!development!of!a!spiritual!leader.!A!
leader!with!a!higher!purpose!might!respond!to!everyday!business!challenges!in!an!ordinary!
manner!but!demonstrate!little!spirituality.!Higher!purpose!does!not!necessarily!mean!a!
religious!higher!purpose!but!more!of!a!leader’s!belief!in!doing!what!is!right!(Klaus!&!
Fernando,!2016).!P5!provided!an!example!of!spiritual!intelligence!saying,!“if!you!relay!
something!in!confidence,!with!the!expectation!that!there!is!trust!between!someone!and!
somebody!who!has!a!strong!moral!compass!or!spiritual!intelligence,!I!would!assume!they!
would!respect!that.”!P7!reported,!“somebody!could!have!all!of!those!traits!and!have!
absolutely!no!spiritual!base!whatsoever,!they!could!just!have!a!very!strong!moral!code!in!
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their!upbringing!and!they!just!pride!themselves!on!trying!to!live!by!that!particular!code.”!P8!
added,!“part!of!that!moral!compass!is!creating!an!environment!where!people!can!raise!
concerns!and!where!you!deal!with!those!concerns!appropriately.”!
!Spiritual!leadership!is!characterized!by!high!morals!and!ethics,!making!spiritual!
leaders!ideal!to!influence!and!motivate!employees!to!go!beyond!self-interests!for!the!good!
of!society!(Afsar!et!al.,!2016).!P9!reported,!“to!me,!integrity!and!moral!compass!go!hand-in-
hand.!I!believe!the!idea!of!leading,!getting!the!people!that!you’re!leading!to!believe!in!
something,!is!an!emotional!not!just!factual!experience.”!In!a!post-materialistic!world,!
people’s!basic!needs!and!workplace!needs!are!changing.!To!accommodate!the!new!higher-
order!needs,!leaders!must!focus!on!values!over!profits!(Korazija,!Sarotar,!&!Mumel,!2016).!
P15!agreed!with!the!need!to!focus!on!values!saying,!“I!think!most!people!would!say,!when!
push!comes!to!shove,!whether!it’s!layoffs,!as!you’ve!experienced,!or!bonuses,!the!time!to!do!
things!of!quality!or!feels!morally!right,!those!are!often!decremented!to!some!other!
overarching!priorities.”!
Subtheme 1: Communication
!Communication!is!an!important!attribute!for!leaders!and!10!(63%)!of!the!
participants!interviewed!agreed.!Managers!can!shape!an!organization!by!creating!an!
effective!communication!system!that!allows!employees!to!participate!in!the!decision-
making!process!(Yusof!&!Mohamad,!2014).!P3!reported:!
you!know!when!everything!goes!right,!everybody!feels!great!about!it.!And!when!
things!go!wrong,!that’s!when!you!learn!the!most.!The!opportunity!to!improve!comes!
when!we!when!we!miss!step.!So,!it’s!the!opportunity!to!sit!and!talk!with!one!
another,!to!have!clear!communication!about!what!are!challenges!and!how!to!
improve!upon!them.!
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P9!added:!
I!also!believe!that!a!leader!has!to!have!a!strong!EQ,!because!you’ve!got!to!be!able!to!
connect!with!people.!So,!your!communication!skills!have!to!be!terrific.!You!need!
somebody!who’s!a!good!communicator.!Interestingly,!I’m!going!to!say!that!the!
communication!capability!is!far!more!the!spirituality!element!of!this,!which!is,!I!
need!to!be!able!to!communicate!facts!that!I!need!to!be!able!to!get!you!to!believe!in!
the!thing!you’re!hearing!in!your!heart!and!in!your!mind.!
!When!asked!about!important!attributes!of!a!leader,!the!first!thing!that!came!to!mind!
for!P10!was!communication.!P12!reported:!
if!you!have!that!spirituality!in!front!of!you,!that!means!that!you!are!always!upfront!
with!your!employees,!right.!You’re!always!upfront,!you’re!honest!with!them,!they!
trust!you,!right.!They!trust!your!open!and!honest!communication!leads!to!trust.!
P15!summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“I!think!it’s!transparency.!Maybe!you!get!
transparency!through!communication,!but!I!think!there’s!something!to!be!said!for!
understanding!all!dynamics!in!the!problem.”!P16!reported:!
I!think!it’s!pretty!hard!for!somebody!to!just!come!in!and!lead!and!not!have!some!
experience!base.!So,!I’d!say!integrity,!experience,!and!then!it!comes!down!to!how!
they!communicate.!Whether!that’s!you!want!to!call!it!charisma!or!their!style!or!their!
personality,!however!you!want!to!put!it,!but!I!think!how!people!communicate!to!
their!teens!or!their!peers!or!their!boss,!is!absolutely!critical!for!them!to!be!a!leader.!
Subtheme 2: Empathy
!The!importance!of!empathy!was!reported!by!8!(50%)!of!the!participants!
interviewed.!Goleman!(2014)!argued!that!emotional!intelligence!consists!of!four!
multidimensional!components!such!as!empathy,!social!skill,!self-awareness!and!self-
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regulation.!P1!reported,!“I!think!people!would!have!healthier!relationships!with!their!
positions!if!there!was!more!empathy!in!the!workplace.”!P2!added,!“it’s!understanding!the!
impact!that!you!have!on!people!and!the!impact!an!organization!has!on!people.!And!for!me,!
that’s!really!validation!that!empathy!is!important!to!be!a!leader,!to!be!a!team!player.”!P4!
summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“I!don’t!think!you!can!be!a!good!manager!without!a!
certain!level!of!empathy.”!
! “Empathy!and!social!skills!are!core!competencies!for!managing!emotions!in!
interpersonal!settings”!(Choi!et!al.,!2015,!p.63).!P7!reported:!
!I!think!empathy!gives!you!the!ability!to!understand!kind!of!the!human!component.!I!
think!that!it!speaks!to,!sort!of,!you!know,!I!know!it’s!kind!of!a!catch!phrase!that!
everybody’s!using!now,!but!sort!of!like!your!emotional!intelligence!and!whether!you!
can!really!recognize!when!you’re!communicating!with!somebody.!Where!the!right!
places!to!go,!what!the!right!thing!is!to!say,!where!the!boundaries!are,!and!also,!I!
think!it!helps!you!to!be!compassionate.!
P6!added,!“I!think!empathy!toward!others!is!really!powerful!and!necessary.”!
Subtheme 3: Vision
!Vision!was!reported!by!7!(44%)!of!the!participants!interviewed.!Leaders!articulate!a!
vision!that!inspires!followers!to!commit!to!that!vision!(Echevarria,!2015).!P2!reported,!“I!
find!good!leaders!need!to!be!able!to!not!only!operate!at!the!strategic!visionary!level!but!
being!able!to!go!down!into!the!details!of!understanding!and!come!back!up,!helps!a!leader!
in!an!organization’s!effectiveness.”!P3!summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“I!really!think!the!
compelling!attribute!for!a!leader!are!to!provide!a!vision!and!the!support!and!challenge!
functions!necessary!for!the!overall!team!to!drive!toward!accomplishing!that!and!creating!
that!ecosystem!and!environment!which!is!necessary.”!P4!added:!
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I!really!think!it’s!important!for!a!leader!to!have!a!vision!and!have!the!ability!to!
communicate!effectively!because!if!you!don’t!have!that!vision!in!the!first!place,!
you’re!just!wandering!around.!You!might!be!able!to!get!people!to!follow!you,!but!
where!are!you!going?!
!Transformational!leaders!articulate!a!vision!and!inspire!motivation!to!develop!
follower!goals!and!accomplish!a!shared!vision!(Gilbert!et!al.,!2016;!Mackington,!2015).!P6!
reported:!
I!tend!to!side!with!leaders!who!are!more!visionary,!not!just!because!I!believe!that!
change!is!always!a!constant,!and!if!you’re!not!looking!for!change,!and!you’re!not!
looking!at!what!direction!you!may!need!to!be!considering,!for!better!or!for!worse,!
then!you’re!going!to!die!and!you’ll!just!be!swallowed!up!by!somebody!else!in!the!
company;!some!other!innovator,!right!or!wrong.!
P8!summed!up!his!perception!saying,!“I!think!the!qualities!that!make!a!good!leader!are!the!
ability!to!create!a!shared!vision!for!people!to!follow.”!P15!worked!for!an!innovative!leader!
and!remembered,!“the!experience!I!had!was!you’re!either!very!centered!or!focused!on!what!
the!vision!looks!like.”!P16!added,!“I!think!the!job!of!a!leader!is!being!able!to!have!some!
vision!for!the!team!and!being!able!to!connect!people!to!that!vision.”!
Subtheme 4: Self-Awareness
!The!concept!of!self-awareness!was!reported!by!5!(31%)!of!the!participants!
interviewed.!The!development!of!spiritual!intelligence!begins!with!stimulating!a!deeper!
awareness!of!self!(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Self-reflection!and!inquiry!is!fundamental!to!
spiritual!intelligence!(Hacker!&!Washington,!2017).!P7!reported:!
If!you!are!somebody!who!has!a!strong!spiritual!base!or!spiritual!self,!that!is!going!to!
be!reflective!in!your!work.!I!would!say!that!probably,!I!would!bring!that!into!my!own!
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work.!I!would!think!that!it!does!give!me!somewhat!of!a!solid!foundation!when!I’m!
dealing!with!my!own!team!and!coworkers.!I!think!you!could!also!have!the!person!
who!is!the!more!detail-oriented!person,!that!you!would!say!could!also!have!a!very!
strong!spiritual!kind!of!sense!of!self.!I!just!really!think!it!depends,!where!
everybody’s!unique,!so!how!those!aspects!of!ourselves!are!reflected!in!the!world!are!
unique.!I!think!it!comes!down!to!self-awareness!and!I!think!some!people!or!more!
self-aware!than!others.!
!Spiritual!intelligence!contributes!44%!to!work!performance!and!significantly!
impacts!service!quality!(Taneva-Veshoska!&!Drakulevski,!2014).!Wigglesworth!(2012)!
asserted!that!the!ability!to!listen!to!individuals’!inner-self!can!be!learned!and!then!used!to!
lead!with!wisdom!and!compassion.!P8!reported:!
I!think!one!of!the!most!important!things!that!you!have!to!do!as!a!leader!is!be!able!to!
self-assess.!I!think!that!is!absolutely!critical!for!a!variety!of!reasons.!And!what!I!
mean!by!that!is!there!are!things!that!I’m!good!at!and!there’s!things!that!I’m!not!good!
at.!And!so,!one!of!the!things!I!always!try!to!do!when!I!build!out!my!team!is!I!don’t!
hire!a!bunch!of!people!just!like!me.!I!think!that!spiritual!intelligence!really!starts!
with!self-assessment!and!self-knowledge.!It’s!knowing!what!you!can!do!and!what!
you!can’t!do.!It’s!bringing!people!around!you!to!help!you!with!that.!Everyone!should!
step!outside!of!their!comfort!zone,!but!it’s!not!stepping!outside!of!your!competence!
zone.!
P14!added:!
The!individual!leader!has!to!be!able!to!be!self-aware.!Maybe!they!are!somebody!that!
doesn’t!show!trust.!So,!if!I’m!a!leader!that!I’m!not!trusting!my!team!at!all,!and!I!go!
learn!that!high!trust!leads!to!high!productivity,!but!I!believe!I’m!giving!high!trust,!
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then!I’m!not!going!to!make!any!change.!So,!I!have!to!be!emotionally!intelligent.!I!
have!to!be!self-aware.!I!have!to!be!willing!to!acknowledge!where!my!faults!are.!
Subtheme 5: Disruption/Risk
The!concept!of!creating!disruption!or!risk!was!reported!by!5!(31%)!of!the!
participants!interviewed.!Resilient!leaders!are!those!who!act!and!lead!with!courage!despite!
the!risk!they!may!face!(Ramachandaran,!Krauss,!Hamzah,!&!Idris,!2017).!Emotionally!
intelligent!leaders!are!willing!to!take!risks!that!other!might!view!as!impractical!(Freed,!
2016).!P6!reported:!
I’m!a!big!believer!in!disruption.!I!want!to!be!on!the!receiving!end!of!that,!quite!
frankly,!no,!sorry,!I!want!to!be!on!the!delivery!side!of!that!and!not!the!receiving!side!
of!that.!And!to!do!so,!you!need!to!always!be!looking!at!what’s!happening!in!the!
future.!And!I!love!talking!to!futurist.!And!I!love!talking!to!people!who!are!looking!at!
ideas!20!years!out!and!trying!to!figure!out!what!my!path!is!going!to!be,!to!potentially!
be!involved!in!some!of!that.!You!have!to!just!be!able!to!stand!up!and!say,!I’m!going!to!
take!a!risk!and!call!the!ball.!I!may!fail,!but!I!may!be!successful!at!the!same!time,!you!
never!know.!But!it’s!a!risk.!You!need!to!be!able!to!take!a!risk.!Good!leaders!take!risk.!
Usually!calculated!risks,!but!sometimes!they!are!instinctual!risks.!
Servant!leaders!are!effective!leaders!when!they!show!initiative,!assume!risk,!and!
take!ownership!for!their!actions!(Sousa!&!Dierendonck,!2017).!P3!reported:!
We!are!in!inside!an!industry!that!everyone!is!talking!about!being!ripe!for!disruption.!
We!have!more!than!10,000!people!working!in!the!IT!space.!The!opportunity!for!big!
picture!thinking!is!people!who!are!able!to!kind!of!look!at!our!portfolio!and!look!at!
the!way!we!do!things!and!really!imagine!something!which!is!completely!different,!
completely!alternative!way!of!approaching!the!way!that!our!business!gets!done.!
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P8!added,!“I!think,!in!today’s!environment,!there!are!so!many!disruptive!threats!to!business!
that!I!think!you!have!to!get!out!of!your!day-to-day!routine!for!a!certain!amount!of!time!in!
the!year!and!think!about!that!stuff!because!destruction!is!everywhere.!It’s!so!easy!now.”!
Two!conditions!must!be!met!for!trust!to!exist,!risk!and!interdependence.!Risk!
creates!the!opportunity!for!trust!(Vanhala!et!al.,!2016).!Greater!trust!is!required!when!the!
risk!is!greater!(Knight!et!al.,!2015).!P14!reported:!
I!think!it’s!important!that!people!feel!it’s!okay!to!make!a!mistake!and!not!walk!on!
eggshells!and!be!afraid!of!making!mistakes!because!then!they’re!not!willing!to!take!
risks.!And!if!you’re!not!willing!to!take!risks,!you’re!not!going!to!be!innovative!or!
you’re!not!going!to!move!the!business!forward.!I!can!only!get!things!done!by!the!
power!of!the!people!that!I!lead.!And!so,!for!me,!it’s!the!need,!if!I!don’t!trust!them,!
then!how!can!anything!get!done.!Because,!I!can’t!go!do!the!job!of!50!people,!and!I!
think!it’s!important!that!they!feel!trusted!as!well.!Because,!it!gives!them!again,!that!
comfort!level!to!take!some!risks.!It!gives!him!that!comfort!level!to!be!empowered.!
P15!added:!
I!think!more!and!more!of!those!people!find!themselves!not!working!in!large!
companies.!I!think!that!there’s!so!much!involved!in!making!the!safe!decision!in!a!
large!company,!that!I!think!if!someone!is!truly!willing!to!take!risks!like!that,!they!
probably!long!ago!decided!to!do!it!in!a!small!company,!or!in!a!startup.!So!
unfortunately,!it’s!hard!harder!and!harder!to!get!that!kind!of!leadership!or!
innovation!in!a!large!company.!And!even!when!we!talk!about!willingness!to!fail!and!
stuff!like!that,!I!still!think!that’s!not!how!most!people!behave!in!a!large!organization.!
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Summary
Chapter!4!included!the!research!setting,!demographics,!data!collection,!data!
analysis,!trustworthiness,!and!study!results!based!on!the!data!gathered!from!the!interviews!
of!16!participants!who!worked!at!a!large!global!insurance!company.!I!recorded!and!
transcribed!the!interviews.!The!data!gathered!was!organized,!coded,!and!analyzed!using!
only!manual!techniques.!Finally,!using!a!combination!of!techniques!by!Dahlberg!et!al.!
(2008),!Giorgi!(2009),!and!Van!Manen!(2016),!I!reported!on!the!lived!experience!of!
participant’s!perception!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!
To!answer!the!central!research!question!of!this!study,!a!series!of!eight!interview!
questions!were!created!to!encourage!participants!to!talk!about!their!experiences!with!
spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!Using!the!whole-part-whole!analysis!technique!outlined!by!
Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008),!I!saw!five!themes!emerge!from!the!data:!emotional!intelligence,!
servant!leadership,!integrity,!trustworthiness,!and!moral!compass.!Additional!sub-themes!
were!documented:!communication,!vision,!empathy,!self-awareness,!and!disruption/risk.!
In!Chapter!5,!I!present!how!the!findings!from!this!study!extends!the!knowledge!of!
spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!I!compare!the!findings!from!the!study!with!what!was!found!
in!the!peer-reviewed!literature!summarized!in!Chapter!2.!I!examine!the!limitations!to!
trustworthiness!that!arose!from!the!execution!of!this!study.!Lastly,!I!propose!
recommendations!for!further!research!based!on!the!limitations!of!this!study!and!the!gaps!in!
the!literature.!I!evaluate!the!potential!impact!for!positive!social!change!with!both!leaders!
and!organizations.!
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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
The!purpose!of!this!phenomenological!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust!and!report!the!lived!experiences!of!
senior!leaders!in!a!global!insurance!company!regarding!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!The!
implications!for!social!change!included!creating!a!deeper!understanding!of!a!leader’s!
spiritual!intelligence,!identifying!the!role!of!spiritual!intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!
trust!within!the!organization,!and!describing!the!potential!business!application!for!
leadership!development.!Phenomenology!was!the!chosen!design!because!it!provided!the!
best!approach!to!construct!meaning!from!the!participants’!experience!(see!Vagle,!2014).!
Interviews!were!conducted!with!16!participants,!and!saturation!was!achieved!(see!
Saunders!et!al.,!2017).!
The!conceptual!framework!that!supported!this!study!comprised!intelligence,!
leadership,!and!trust!theories.!The!framework!was!informed!by!the!intelligence!theory!of!
Gardner!(1983),!the!leadership!theory!of!Bass!(1985),!the!spiritual!intelligence!theory!of!
Wigglesworth!(2012),!the!trust!theory!of!Deutsch!(1958),!and!Greenleaf’s!(1970)!servant!
leadership!philosophy.!These!theories!collectively!formed!a!sound!conceptual!framework!to!
conduct!an!analysis!of!a!leader’s!spiritual!intelligence!and!identify!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!a!leader’s!influence!on!organizational!trust.!
Interpretation of Findings
The!finding!from!this!study!were!reported!as!themes!that!developed!from!the!
coding!and!analysis!of!participants’!responses!to!the!eight!interview!questions.!Using!the!
whole-part-whole!analysis!technique!outlined!by!Dahlberg!et!al.!(2008),!I!saw!five!themes!
emerge!from!the!data:!emotional!intelligence,!servant!leadership,!integrity,!trustworthiness,!
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and!moral!compass.!Additional!subthemes!were!documented:!communication,!vision,!
empathy,!self-awareness,!and!disruption/risk.!These!themes!represented!the!lived!
experience!of!the!participants!to!answer!the!central!research!question.!
!Seena!et!al.!(2017)!posited!a!significant!relationship!between!emotional!intelligence!
and!spiritual!intelligence.!Spiritual!intelligence!is!essential!to!individuals’!well-being!and!
helps!to!provide!meaning!and!purpose!to!life!(Zohar!&!Marshall,!2001).!Participant!4!
reported!that!emotional!intelligence!was!particularly!important!for!leaders!to!understand!
how!people!are!motivated.!Thirteen!(81%)!of!participants!believed!emotional!intelligence!
was!important!to!effectively!communicate!and!connect!with!people.!Participant!7!related!
that!“being!self-aware!was!important.”!The!participants’!experiences!with!emotional!
intelligence!as!an!attribute!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader!was!supported!in!the!relevant!
literature.!
!Servant!leadership!is!a!unique!leadership!style!because!it!combines!the!drive!of!a!
leader!with!a!focus!on!serving!follower!needs!(van!Dierendonck!et!al.,!2014).!Lynch!and!
Friedman!(2013)!posited!that!the!concepts!of!servant!and!spiritual!leadership!overlap.!
Participant!3!reported!that!he!is!responsible!for!providing!a!vision,!direction,!and!a!sense!of!
empowerment!to!his!team.!Eight!of!the!16!participants!reported!a!leader!should!care!for!the!
employees!and!have!their!best!interests!at!heart.!Participant!11!added!that!“an!authentic!
leader!is!one!who!leads!by!example,!not!just!talk!the!talk.”!The!participants’!experiences!
with!servant!leadership!as!an!attribute!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader!was!supported!by!
the!literature.!
!Trust!in!a!leader!derives!from!how!followers!perceive!a!leader’s!characteristics,!
such!as!ability,!integrity,!dependability,!and!benevolence!in!the!workplace!(Goh!&!Low,!
2014).!Honesty!and!integrity!are!ethical!values!characterized!by!spiritual!managers!(Faraji!
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&!Begzadeh,!2017).!Participant!8!reported!that!“the!political!capital!you!have!with!people!is!
based!almost!entirely!upon!your!integrity.”!Eight!of!the!16!participants!reported!that!
integrity!was!the!most!important!attribute!for!a!leader.!Participant!11!added!that!“a!
spiritual!leader!is!somebody!who!is!going!to!be!an!authentic!leader!and!operates!with!honor!
and!integrity.”!The!relevant!literature!in!this!study!supported!the!participants’!experience!
with!integrity!as!an!attribute!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader.!
!Miao!et!al.!(2014)!found!that!higher!levels!of!trustworthiness!may!be!established!
through!servant!leader!behavior.!Choi!et!al.!(2015)!posited!that!emotional!intelligence!
enhances!the!trustworthiness!and!authenticity!of!a!person.!Participant!1!and!Participant!7!
reported!that!people!drive!trust!in!the!organization.!Participant!12!reported!that!“open!and!
honest!communication!leads!to!trust.”!Communication!is!key!to!building!strong!trust-based!
relationships!in!the!workplace!(Seifert!et!al.,!2016).!The!participants’!experiences!with!
trustworthiness!as!an!attribute!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader!was!supported!in!the!
relevant!literature.!
!The!moral!side!of!leadership!has!gained!interest!as!an!essential!motivator!for!
servant!leadership!(Sousa!&!van!Dierendonck,!2017).!People’s!spiritual!experiences!serve!to!
guide!their!moral!compass!(Creighton-Smith,!Cook,!&!Edginton,!2017).!Participant!7!
reported!that!people!could!have!no!spiritual!base!but!have!a!strong!moral!code.!Participant!
9!reported!that!“integrity!and!moral!compass!went!hand-in-hand.”!Spiritual!leadership!is!
characterized!by!high!morals!and!ethics,!making!spiritual!leaders!ideal!to!influence!and!
motivate!employees!to!go!beyond!their!self-interests!for!the!good!of!others!and!society!
(Afsar!et!al.,!2016).!The!literature!supported!the!participants’!experience!regarding!moral!
compass!as!an!attribute!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader.!
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!Communication!and!transparency!are!necessary!to!build!organizational!trust!
(Bansal,!2016).!Communication!is!key!to!building!strong!trust-based!relationships!in!the!
workplace!(Seifert!et!al.,!2016).!Ten!(77%)!of!the!participants!commented!on!the!
importance!of!effective!communication!to!be!a!good!leader.!Participant!15!reported!that!
transparency!is!important,!and!you!get!transparency!through!communication.!Participant!
12!reported!the!best!way!to!get!to!trust!is!by!open!and!honest!communication.!The!
participants’!experience!with!communication!as!an!element!of!leader!influence!on!
organizational!trust!was!supported!by!the!literature.!
!Emotionally!intelligent!leaders!are!visionaries!who!believe!in!a!vision.!In!doing!so,!
the!leader!can!decisively!lead!people!to!achieve!that!vision!(Cic!et!al.,!2018).!Only!7!(44%)!of!
the!participants!said!anything!about!visionary!leaders.!Those!participants!reported!that!
leaders!with!a!vision!were!focused,!innovative,!and!had!a!direction!for!people!to!follow.!
According!to!Fought!and!Misawa!(2016),!leaders!viewed!their!primary!role!as!creating!the!
vision!and!direction!for!their!organization.!Participant!16!assessed!it!this!way:!“I!think!the!
job!of!a!leader!is!being!able!to!have!some!vision!for!the!team!and!being!able!to!connect!
people!to!that!vision.”!The!literature!supported!the!participants’!experience!with!vision!as!
an!element!of!an!emotionally!intelligent!leader.!
!One!of!the!core!components!of!an!emotionally!intelligent!leader!is!empathy.!
Wigglesworth!(2012)!identified!empathy!as!one!of!three!important!skills!necessary!for!
building!strong!relationships.!Eight!(50%)!of!the!participants!in!the!current!study!reported!
that!empathy!was!important!to!be!a!leader.!Participant!8!reported!that!“emotional!
intelligence!and!being!connected!to!people!emotionally!was!important!and!empathy!was!
part!of!that.”!Leaders!who!can!regulate!their!emotions,!read!others’!emotions,!and!
effectively!communicate!exhibit!high!levels!of!emotional!intelligence!and!facilitate!high!
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performance!in!their!organization!(Nikoui,!2015;!Seena!et!al.,!2017).!Participant!9!reported!
that!a!strong!EQ!came!down!to!effective!communication.!The!participants’!experience!with!
empathy!as!an!element!of!an!emotionally!intelligent!leader!was!supported!by!the!literature.!
!Self-awareness!and!the!ability!to!self-assess!are!the!basic!principles!for!having!high!
levels!of!emotional!intelligence!(Rubens,!Schoenfeld,!Schaffer,!&!Leah,!2018).!The!
development!of!spiritual!intelligence!begins!with!stimulating!a!deeper!awareness!of!self!
(Wigglesworth,!2012).!Participant!8!reported!that!“one!of!the!most!important!skills!to!have!
as!a!leader!is!the!ability!to!self-assess.”!Knowing!yourself!and!what!you!can!and!cannot!do!
are!important!to!being!emotionally!intelligent.!Self-awareness!is!key!to!successful!
management!(Cic!et!al.,!2018).!Participant!14!associated!self-awareness!with!emotional!
intelligence!and!organizational!trust.!The!literature!supported!the!participants’!experience!
with!self-awareness!as!an!element!of!an!emotionally!intelligent!leader.!
!Leaders!must!transform!culture,!reinvent!themselves,!change!the!organizational!
structure,!and!encourage!innovation!to!avoid!getting!disrupted!(Uhl-Bien!&!Arena,!2018).!
Resilient!leaders!are!those!who!act!and!lead!with!courage!despite!the!risk!they!may!face!
(Ramachandaran!et!al.,!2017).!Five!(31%)!of!the!participants!reported!on!disruption!or!risk!
during!the!interviews.!These!participants!explained!that!for!leaders!to!be!innovative!or!
think!outside!of!the!box,!they!had!to!take!risks!and!be!disruptive.!Risk!creates!the!
opportunity!for!trust!(Vanhala!et!al.,!2016).!Participant!14!reported!that!it!was!important!to!
let!people!know!it!is!okay!to!make!a!mistake,!so!they!will!be!willing!to!take!risks.!The!
participants’!experience!with!disruption!and!risk!as!an!element!of!leader!influence!on!
organizational!trust!was!supported!by!the!literature.!
The!themes!that!emerged!from!this!study!indicated!that!spiritual!intelligence!plays!a!
critical!role!in!leaders’!capacity!to!make!good!decisions,!build!relationships,!and!provide!a!
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sense!of!empowerment.!Leaders!with!these!qualities!influence!organizational!trust.!The!
literature!showed!a!link!between!emotional!intelligence!and!spiritual!intelligence!(Seena!et!
al.,!2017),!an!overlap!between!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!leadership!(Lynch!&!
Friedman,!2013),!and!that!trust!derives!from!a!leader!who!has!ability,!integrity,!
dependability,!and!benevolence!in!the!workplace!(Goh!&!Low,!2014).!Honesty!and!integrity!
are!ethical!values!characterized!by!spiritual!managers!(Faraji!&!Begzadeh,!2017).!
Limitations of the Study
One!limitation!of!this!study!was!the!participants’!understanding!of!the!difference!
between!spirituality!and!religion.!I!attempted!to!mitigate!this!limitation!by!providing!a!
definition!of!spirituality!and!religion!to!help!explain!the!difference.!I!used!a!descriptive!
design!based!on!the!theoretical!framework!grounded!in!lifeworld!phenomenology.!The!
sample!included!16!employees!of!a!large!global!insurance!company.!The!phenomenological!
design!was!limited!to!the!identification!and!reporting!of!participants’!personal!experiences!
and!perceptions!of!the!phenomenon!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!Understanding!the!
distinction!between!spirituality!and!religion!was!critical!because!this!study!had!no!
connection!to!religion.!Providing!definitions!helped!participants!understand!the!distinction.!
The!participants!were!open!and!forthright!in!their!responses!to!the!questions,!but!
some!participants!did!not!understand!the!phenomenon!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!did!not!
draw!a!distinction!between!spirituality!and!religion.!In!these!cases,!I!provided!the!definition!
of!spiritual!intelligence!used!in!the!study.!I!also!differentiated!between!spirituality!and!
religion!to!let!participants!know!that!this!study!had!no!connection!to!religion.!Some!
participants!were!not!able!to!relate!personal!experiences,!but!these!participants!provided!
their!perception!based!on!their!new!understanding!of!the!phenomenon.!I!found!this!data!to!
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be!relevant!because!the!participants!explained!their!perceived!experience!as!if!it!were!
reality.!Their!responses!aligned!with!participants!who!did!experience!the!phenomenon.!
The!selection!of!participants!was!split!between!senior!leaders!and!employees!to!
control!for!potential!bias!of!leaders’!perception!of!trust!within!the!organization.!Participant!
responses!appeared!to!be!open!and!honest,!yet!I!noticed!a!difference!in!perception!between!
senior!leaders!and!general!employees.!Senior!leader!responses!did!not!appear!to!be!
inflated.!Rather,!the!difference!resulted!from!how!the!participants!experienced!the!
phenomenon.!Senior!leaders!experienced!trust!among!their!peers,!their!teams,!and!the!CEO.!
General!employees!experienced!trust!among!their!peers,!their!teams,!and!their!immediate!
managers.!However,!trust!in!the!organization!began!to!diminish!the!further!away!an!
employee!was!from!the!CEO!on!the!organization!chart.!The!differences!may!be!the!result!of!
the!organizational!changes!that!occurred!or!might!be!based!on!personal!opinions!of!the!
participants.!These!differences!may!limit!replication!of!this!study,!and!different!results!may!
be!found!in!other!organizations.!
Researcher!bias!was!also!a!limitation!in!this!study.!During!the!interview!phase,!my!
employment!position!was!eliminated,!and!I!lost!my!job.!I!was!able!to!complete!my!
interviews!and!begin!the!analysis!phase!of!my!study.!The!experience!of!losing!my!job!
emphasized!a!lot!of!the!experiences,!perceptions!and!feelings!that!the!participants!
expressed!in!the!interviews.!I!began!to!sympathize!with!the!participants!because!I!had!the!
same!perceptions!and!feelings.!When!a!person!sympathizes,!they!become!emotionally!
involved.!When!I!became!emotionally!involved,!I!introduced!bias!into!my!analysis.!To!
manage!my!bias,!I!leveraged!my!notes,!transcripts!and!recordings!to!focus!on!the!emerging!
themes!that!came!from!the!data.!I!used!a!qualitative!reflective!strategy!to!control!personal!
bias!that!may!have!emerged!from!my!experience.!I!bracketed!my!experience!throughout!the!
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analysis!process,!referring!back!to!the!recorded!interviews!as!necessary!to!ensure!
credibility!and!reliability!of!the!findings.!
Recommendations
The!study!of!spiritual!intelligence!is!relatively!new!and!often!is!paired!with!research!
on!emotional!intelligence.!A!shortage!of!research!on!the!constructs!of!spiritual!intelligence!
in!leaders!exists.!The!lack!of!research!addressing!what!might!lead!to!low!trust!in!leaders!
and!low!organizational!trust!contributed!to!the!motivation!for!this!study.!
I!interviewed!senior!leaders!and!nonsenior!leaders!to!understand!their!lived!
experience!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!Some!participants!self-identified!as!not!having!
spiritual!intelligence,!yet!they!were!asked!to!provide!their!experiences!or!perceptions!of!
spiritually!intelligent!leaders.!Because!I!did!not!control!for!this!bias!and!participants!did!not!
identify!as!having!spiritual!intelligence,!future!research!could!address!individuals!who!self-
identify!as!having!spiritual!intelligence!and!compare!their!perception!of!spiritually!
intelligent!leaders!with!that!of!individuals!who!self-identify!as!not!having!spiritual!
intelligence.!Additionally,!researchers!could!examine!whether!spiritually!intelligent!
individuals!only!trust!other!spiritually!intelligent!individuals.!This!study!is!needed!to!help!
further!understand!the!trust!phenomenon!among!spiritually!intelligent!people!versus!
nonspiritually!intelligent!people.!
The!theme!of!emotional!intelligence!emerged!from!the!data!with!13!(81%)!of!the!
participants!reporting!the!relevance!to!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!I!found!various!
articles!on!emotional!intelligence,!but!nothing!that!explored!the!relationship!between!
emotional!intelligence!and!spiritual!intelligence!on!organizational!trust.!Future!research!is!
needed!to!explore!the!perception!from!both!a!leader!and!a!follower!perspective.!
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The!theme!of!servant!leadership!emerged!from!the!data!with!13!(81%)!of!the!
participants!reporting!the!relevance!to!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!A!need!exists!for!
empirical!work!that!allows!for!the!discovery!of!how!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!
leadership!work!together!to!create!organizational!trust.!Future!research!is!needed!to!
address!the!role!of!servant!leadership!and!spiritual!intelligence!in!developing!
organizational!trust.!
The!participants!for!this!study!were!selected!from!a!large!global!insurance!company.!
Just!prior!to!and!during!the!data!collection!period!of!this!study,!the!company!experienced!
significant!organizational!changes!in!senior!leadership.!These!changes!introduced!a!feeling!
of!uncertainty!and!possible!fear!throughout!the!company.!Participant!responses!to!
interview!questions!might!have!been!biased.!Future!research!should!consider!changing!the!
demographics!to!include!smaller!companies!in!different!industries!that!have!been!stable!for!
a!year.!Changing!the!demographics!may!result!in!a!new!understanding!of!the!role!spiritual!
intelligence!has!in!leaders!influence!on!organizational!trust.!
One!unique!interview!with!a!participant!generated!answers!that!took!on!a!negative!
tone.!The!participant!appeared!to!view!leaders!through!a!negative!lens!which!resulted!in!
responses!that!described!bad!experiences!or!leader!qualities!that!were!not!appreciated.!One!
example!is!the!participant’s!perception!of!big!picture!thinkers:!
I’m!kind!of!detailed!myself,!so!that!kind!of!falls!along!with!managers!that!get!too!
detailed.!I’m!going!to!take!care!of!the!details.!If!you!give!me!something!to!do,!I!don’t!
need!somebody!to!be!petty.!I!don’t!need!the!manager!to!be!petty!or!to!get!too!
involved!in!the!details.!
The!participant’s!answers!changed!my!view!of!the!lived!experience.!From!the!negative!
answers,!I!was!able!to!create!a!positive!view!by!contrast.!Future!research!is!needed!to!
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explore!followers!with!negative!perceptions!of!leaders!to!better!understand!their!
perception!of!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader.!
The!research!methodology!used!for!this!study!was!qualitative!with!a!
phenomenological!design.!In!this!type!of!research,!researcher!bias!and!inaccurate!
interpretation!of!data!might!skew!the!results!and!not!present!the!true!essence!of!the!study.!
Future!research!should!consider!a!quantitative!or!mixed-methods!approach!to!add!validity!
and!reliability!to!the!data.!
Implications
Positive Social Change
The!collection!of!themes!that!emerged!from!the!data!in!this!study!contribute!to!
social!change!by!adding!to!the!knowledge!of!spiritual!intelligence!and!organizational!trust!
that!could!help!leaders!gain!a!deeper!understanding!about!themselves.!This!study!might!be!
applicable!to!human!resource!personnel!in!developing!leader!training!programs!designed!to!
help!current!and!future!leaders!understand!the!issues!related!to!leadership!practice!in!
today’s!business!environment.!Spiritual!intelligence!training!should!become!part!of!
leadership!development.!Focus!should!also!be!given!to!building!relationships!when!
coaching!and!mentoring!their!subordinates!in!order!to!build!trust!(du!Plessis!et!al.,!2015).!!
Ramachandaran!et!al.!(2015)!identified!the!attributes!of!spiritual!intelligence!as!a!
proposed!prerequisite!of!contemporary!organizational!leadership.!Faraji!and!Begzadeh!
(2017)!posited!that!spiritual!managers!create!insight,!they!trust,!and!they!show!humility.!
The!potential!for!social!change!in!senior!leaders!who!leverage!their!spiritual!intelligence!is!
they!create!an!organizational!culture!of!trust!and!empowerment.!As!a!result,!these!
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behaviors!become!a!role!model!for!others!to!follow.!These!behaviors!transcend!the!
workplace!and!can!have!a!positive!impact!on!family!and!community!life.!
Vanhala!et!al.!(2016)!confirmed!that!impersonal!trust!can!be!used!to!increase!
employees’!commitment!to!the!organization.!Paliszkiewicz,!Koohang,!and!Nord!(2014)!
acknowledged!that!organizational!trust!has!a!significant!role!in!organizational!performance.!
The!potential!for!social!change!is!supported!by!the!findings!of!this!study!as!senior!leaders!
influence!organizational!trust!and!create!stronger!relationships,!improve!organizational!
commitment!and!performance.!!
Methodological
For!this!study,!I!used!a!phenomenology!form!of!inquiry!to!holistically!value!the!lived!
experience!of!participants!on!their!perception!of!the!phenomenon!of!spiritual!intelligence!
and!trust.!It!was!important!to!have!personal!descriptions!of!the!phenomenon!from!each!
participant!rather!than!my!interpretation!of!their!experience.!The!research!participants!
were!viewed!as!subjective!epistemological!beings!to!prevent!contamination!of!the!data!with!
extraneous!worldview!assumptions!(Koopman,!2015).!This!Husserlian!method!created!pure!
presentations!and!un-interpreted!data!based!on!human!experience!(Koopman,!2015).!!
This!study!used!a!description!design!based!on!the!theoretical!framework!grounded!
in!lifeworld!phenomenology.!I!chose!to!use!phenomenology!because!it!was!a!rigorous!
alternative!to!the!traditional!methods!used!by!natural!sciences!that!are!not!appropriate!for!
examining!human!experience!(Brooks,!2015).!Participant!responses!were!mainly!based!on!
the!perception!of!leaders!grounded!on!their!insight!of!leadership!and!experience.!By!
entering!into!the!field!of!perception,!I!was!able!to!understand!spiritual!intelligence!as!the!
participants!saw!it!(Ramachandaran!et!al.,!2017).!
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Recommendations for Practice
!Radhika!(2014)!asserted!spiritual!intelligence!is!used!to!expand!the!capacity!and!
make!greater!contributions!to!the!service!of!others.!Spiritual!intelligence!utilizes!our!deep!
inner!resources!to!give!us!the!capacity!to!care!and!the!power!to!tolerate!and!adapt.!In!an!
effort!to!develop!leaders!with!a!strong!sense!of!individual!purpose,!vision,!and!values,!
spiritual!intelligence!is!being!added!to!executive!training!curricula!(Hacker!&!Washington,!
2017).!Since!training!is!available,!senior!leaders!should!consider!taking!advantage!of!this!
self-improvement!opportunity.!A!university-based!leadership!program!that!includes!SQ!as!
part!of!the!curriculum!is!available!at!University!of!Alberta.!!
Another!resource!for!leadership!development!using!SQ!skills!is!training!through!
Deep!Change!(https://www.deepchange.com/about/meet_us),!founded!by!Wigglesworth.!
The!Deep!Change!organization!utilizes!a!proprietary!approach!called!Deep!Intelligence!to!
evaluate!the!leader!and!the!organization!and!begin!to!understand!the!situation.!This!is!a!
customized!approach!to!leadership!development.!The!potential!for!social!change!is!the!
development!of!a!transformational,!self-aware!leader.!
Conclusion
The!purpose!of!this!phenomenological!study!was!to!explore!the!role!of!spiritual!
intelligence!in!leader!influence!on!organizational!trust.!Interviews!were!conducted!with!16!
participants!and!the!data!collected!was!used!to!describe!the!lived!experiences!of!senior!
leaders!regarding!spiritual!intelligence!and!trust.!The!results!were!reported!as!themes!that!
developed!from!the!coding!and!analysis!of!the!responses!from!each!participant!to!8!
interview!questions.!The!themes!that!emerged!from!the!data!represent!the!lived!experience!
101!
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of!the!participants!to!support!the!central!research!question.!The!findings!from!this!study!
support!the!conceptual!framework!outlined!in!Chapter!1!and!2.!
The!conceptual!framework!that!supported!this!study!comprised!of!intelligence,!
leadership,!and!trust!theories.!The!framework!was!informed!by!the!intelligence!theory!of!
Gardner!(1983),!the!leadership!theory!of!Bass!(1985),!the!spiritual!intelligence!theory!of!
Wigglesworth!(2012),!the!trust!theory!of!Deutsch!(1958),!and!Greenleaf’s!(1970)!servant!
leadership!philosophy.!The!themes!that!emerged!in!support!of!this!framework!included!
emotional!intelligence,!servant!leadership,!integrity,!trustworthiness,!and!moral!compass.!
The!interpretation!of!the!findings!supported!two!structures!that!emerged!from!the!shared!
experiences!of!the!phenomenon.!
The!first!structure!that!was!prevalent!throughout!this!study!was!emotional!
intelligence.!Thirteen!(81%)!of!the!participants!interviewed!stressed!the!importance!of!
emotional!intelligence!in!a!leader.!The!findings!indicated!that!authentic!leaders!who!
demonstrated!empathy,!compassion!and!support!for!others!developed!strong!relationships!
with!their!team.!Goleman!(2014)!described!that!how!well!we!manage!ourselves!and!our!
relationships!will!determine!how!effective!we!are!as!leaders.!Participant!9!reported,!“a!
leader!has!to!have!a!strong!EQ!because!you’ve!got!to!be!able!to!connect!with!people.”!The!
emergent!theme!of!emotional!intelligence!from!this!study!supports!previous!research!that!
suggested!spiritual!intelligence!in!combination!with!emotional!intelligence!and!servant!
leadership!may!work!together!to!build!a!culture!of!trust!within!an!organization!(Afsar!et!al.,!
2016;!Esfahani!et!al.,!2015,!Kashyap!&!Rangnekar,!2016).!
The!emergent!theme!of!servant!leadership!was!the!second!structure!prevalent!
throughout!this!study.!Thirteen!(81%)!of!the!participants!interviewed!emphasized!that!
leaders!who!demonstrated!humility,!wisdom,!vision,!and!trust!were!more!effective!in!
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motivating!followers.!Trust!in!a!leader!is!built!on!the!character!of!the!leader!which!is!
focused!on!how!followers!perceive!the!leader’s!character!(Goh!&!Low,!2014).!Participant!11!
reported:!
I!look!for!someone!who!has!an!authentic!leadership!style!.!.!.!somebody!who!walks!
the!walk!and!not!just!talking!the!talk,!they!lead!by!example!.!.!.!somebody!that!
possesses!integrity!and!is!honest!in!their!dealings.!
The!emergent!theme!of!servant!leadership!from!this!study!supports!previous!research!that!
suggested!servant!leadership!represents!one!of!the!four!cornerstones!of!a!spiritually!
intelligent!leader!(Hyson,!2013).!
The!structures!of!emotional!intelligence!and!servant!leadership!are!the!building!
blocks!for!a!spiritually!intelligent!leader.!Servant!leadership!was!found!to!create!follower!
trust!in!leaders!(Chan!&!Mak,!2014).!Building!relationships!and!encouragement!are!
characteristics!of!both!servant!leaders!and!emotionally!intelligent!leaders!(Chan!&!Mak,!
2014;!Goleman,!2014).!Interpreting!the!results!from!this!study!and!comparing!it!to!the!data!
from!the!literature!in!Chapter!2,!I!concluded!that!spiritual!intelligence!plays!a!critical!role!in!
leaders’!capacity!to!make!good!decisions,!build!relationships,!and!provide!a!sense!of!
empowerment.!Leaders!who!demonstrate!these!characteristics!influence!organizational!
trust.!
