1.0 TOPIC

1.1 Introduction

Leadership practices immediately affect employee retention, consumer satisfaction, and productivity. Businesses lose 7% of their annual revenues for every year of delay when they do not embrace change (Blanchard, 2020). After an organizational transformation, approximately 32% of employees feel engaged, while 18% feel actively disengaged. Since 2020, there has been an annual increase in active disengagement (Gonzales, 2023). Leaders must act as catalysts for change by inspiring and motivating their teams to initiate and implement organizational changes. Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical factor in leadership and can be developed through training and awareness programs. It enables leaders to assess group members' feelings and take the appropriate steps to enhance performance (Sampson et al., 2021).

Businesses must develop emotional intelligence in leaders to navigate organizational change effectively. By developing the right mindset and skillset, leaders can succeed in navigating organizational change. EI involves an openness to new ideas, an acceptance of learning, and an ability to take calculated risks. It also involves being humble enough to ask for help and advice at the appropriate times. Leaders must cope with the stress and uncertainty accompanying change, maintain a positive attitude, and remain focused on the organization's vision despite differences (Eliot, 2020; Hillmann & Guenther, 2021).

Globalization, technical advancements, digital transformation, and rising rivalry require organizations to be more informed (Page & Schoder, 2019). An integrated change management methodology emphasizes clear, honest communication, trust, mutual respect, and employee participation (Page & Schoder, 2019). Organizational success depends on its ability to adapt to change, as organizations that do not change leadership practices are likely to experience high turnover rates, organizational growth, and unethical work practices, ultimately leading to adverse workplace events (Yanchus et al., 2020).

1.2 Problem of Practice

The general problemis that organizations struggle to adapt to changes in their working environment, which results in their failure to meet strategic goals (Harsch & Festing, 2020). A culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement is essential for leaders to ensure their organizations remain competitive in the future (Olughor, 2023; Zighan & Ruel, 2023). Organizations will have to think about how they change their procedures, structure, and culture to adapt. These transitions are laborious, time-consuming, and expensive. The organization may also oppose change internally, making adjusting harder (Harsch & Festing, 2020; Hillmann & Guenther, 2021). Organizations require support adapting to rapid business changes. Organizations must find ways to manage change, such as enlisting outside support. Decentralized decision-making dynamics and situational awareness help organizations adapt to setbacks. Transferring strategic knowledge from executives to employees is tough (Mamouni Limnios et al., 2014). Decreased productivity, market share, and personnel turnover hurt an organization's profitability.

The specific problem is that retail business executives need to develop emotional intelligence to navigate complex organizational change, resulting in decreased employee performance and disengagement (Ojo et al., 2021). EI helps leaders inspire, motivate, and comprehend coworkers and enhances resilience. EI fosters trust, respect, understanding, and collaboration, which improves decision-making, productivity, creativity, and the workplace (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2019). Leadership affects employee retention, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Employee disengagement significantly impacts a company's bottom line, with a 10% boost in customer ratings and a 20% improvement in sales outcomes. Highly engaged teams result in a 21% increase in profitability (Smedley, 2021). Low employee involvement and morale suggest a problem and low confidence lowers employee performance. Disengaged employees cost organizations $450-$500 billion annually, and just 30% of U.S. workers are engaged and inspired (Slezak,2023). Highly engaged companies outperform their competitors and are 87% less likely to lose employees (Slezak,2023). Without leadership, employees might feel overwhelmed and disengaged during organizational transformation, which lowers productivity and morale (Ojo et al., 2021). Organizational change requires better leadership.

Emotional intelligence predicts work engagement and improves work psychology, performance, and motivation (Widowati & Satrya, 2023). EI improves performance, morale, and change management. With good leadership, businesses can adapt to change, resulting in severe revenue and market share losses (Frankiewicz & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2020; Ojo et al., 2021). Strong leadership allows firms to adapt to new markets and technology and increase customer happiness, competitiveness, and productivity (Frankiewicz & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2020). This can cause financial losses and lower consumer loyalty, putting the company at risk.

1.3 Gap in Practice

The gap in practice is that retail business leaders need more emotional intelligence to deal with complex organizational changes, which necessitates interventions to enhance their leadership abilities (Holbeche, 2019; Naong & Naong, 2022). The current state of affairs in leadership and organizational change is that many business leaders require EI to deal effectively with complex changes as well as adequate training to increase success, patience, tolerance, and receptiveness to upskilling interventions (Ojo et al., 2021; Naong & Naong, 2022). Therefore, decreased employee performance and disengagement hinder the organization's ability to adapt to new situations and achieve its goals (Hillmann & Guenther, 2021). In recent years, practitioners have noted that leaders must improve their skills to manage change, develop mindfulness and compassion, embrace resilience, and demonstrate that to their teams (Arnega et al., 2023; Eliot, 2020; Levey & Levey, 2019). COVID-19 has altered how an organization must operate in our turbulent times, causing inflation and job losses, and with technological advancements and digital transformation, many companies are downsizing to remain competitive and profitable (Giunta, 2023). Developing leaders capabilities of inspiring and leading their teams through change, maintaining a positive attitude, and effectively managing the process can benefit organizations (Holbeche, 2019). Emotionally intelligent leaders are resilient, motivated, unlikely to burn out, and have better social interactions and fewer workplace conflicts (Kumari et al., 2022). Interventions and strategies are necessary to enhance the strength of leaders within organizations, bridging the gap and improving organizational performance during times of change.

Organizations must provide adequate support and guidance to ensure leaders develop and embody the right skills to navigate complex organizational change effectively, leading to better decision-making and reduced organizational inefficiency (Guy Major, 2021; Lo et al., 2020). Additionally, they must create an environment that enables employees to take risks and innovate, ultimately leading to the advancement of the organization. Addressing this gap will alleviate the specific problem that business leaders need to leverage emotional intelligence to enhance their skills in order to navigate complex organizational change, resulting in increased employee performance and engagement, and solving the problem of organizations finding it difficult to adapt to changes in their operating environment, which results in their inability to achieve strategic goals (Ojo et al., 2021; Harsch & Festing, 2020).

1.4 Purpose of the Project and Project Questions

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry is to explore the perspectives of successful individuals in retail leadership roles regarding the strategies and practices organizations employ to develop emotionally intelligent leaders to navigate organizational change effectively.

PQ1: What are the perspectives of successful individuals in retail leadership roles regarding organizations' strategies and practices to develop emotionally intelligent leaders to navigate organizational change effectively?

1.5 Preliminary Terms and Definitions

Employee Disengagement.Job unhappiness leads to employees needing more involvement with the organization, a culture directly influenced by leadership, not creating a safe environment, and employees needing more motivation (McCrae, 2020).

Employee Performance. The performance of employees is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct composed of task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Job descriptions specify task performance, while organizational citizenship behavior is discretionary (Meijerink et al., 2021).

Emotional Intelligence (EI).Emotional intelligence is the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods, suspend judgment, pursue goals, understand emotional makeup, treat people according to their reactions, build rapport, self-confidence, realistic self-evaluation, humor, trustworthiness, openness to change, drive to achieve, optimism, organizational commitment, and expertise in developing and retaining talent (Goleman, 1996; Goleman, 2009).

Digital Transformation.In a digital economy, Digital Transformation (DT) is a company's change that combines digital technologies and business processes. It is not the same as digitization, changing the material from analog to digital (Kraus et al., 2021).

Organizational Change.Organizational change is modifying structural elements to address operational costs, productivity, and service quality deficiencies; its success requires honesty and buy-in (Hubbart, 2023).

7.0 REFERENCES

Arnega, A. Y., Montesinos, C. G., & del Val Nez, M. T. (2023). Towards an entrepreneurial leadership based on kindness in a digital age.Journal of Business Research,159, 113747.

Blanchard, S. (2020). Making the business case. The Blanchard Companies. http://blanchardpk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/coaching-skills-perspectives-mk0826-au-140820-wfweteiiyfse-9.pdf

Drigas, A., & Papoutsi, C. (2019). Emotional Intelligence as an Important Asset for HR in Organizations: Leaders and Employees.International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning,12(1).

Eliot, J. L. (2020). Resilient Leadership: The Impact of a Servant Leader on the Resilience of their Followers.Advances in Developing Human Resources,22(4), 404-418. https://doi-org.library.capella.edu/10.1177/1523422320945237

Frankiewicz, B., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2020). Digital transformation is about talent, not technology.Harvard Business Review,6(3), 1-6.

Goleman. (1996). Emotional intelligence. Why it can matter more than IQ.E-Learning.,24(6).

Goleman. (2009). What Makes a Leader? InMilitary leadership in pursuit of excellence /(Vol. 1, pp. 39-52). Westview Press, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429495007-4

Gonzales, M. (2023, January 30). Gallup: Employee disengagement hits 9-Year high. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/new-gallup-poll-employee-disengagement-hits-9-year-high.aspx#:~:text=About%2032%20percent%20of%20the,risen%20each%20year%20since%202020.

Giunta. (2023). Shifting Workplace Power: How a Pandemic, Evolving Demographics, a Tight Labor Market, and Changing Workplace Relationships Shifted Employees' Demands and Preferences.Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics.,20(1).

Guy Major, N. F. (2021). Leadership competencies for the 21st century: a review from the Western world literature.European Journal of Training and Development,45(6), 566-587. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-04-2020-0078

Harsch, K., & Festing, M. (2020). Dynamic talent management capabilities and organizational agilityA qualitative exploration.Human Resource Management,59(1), 43-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21972

Hillmann, J., & Guenther, E. (2021). Organizational Resilience: A Valuable Construct for Management Research?International Journal of Management Reviews,23(1), 7-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12239

Holbeche, L. (2019). Designing sustainably agile and resilient organizations.Systems Research & Behavioral Science,36(5), 668-677. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2624

Hubbart, J. A. (2023). Organizational Change: Considering Truth and Buy-In.Administrative Sciences,13(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13010003

Kraus, S., Jones, P., Kailer, N., Weinmann, A., Chaparro-Banegas, N., & Roig-Tierno, N. (2021). Digital Transformation: An Overview of the Current State of the Art of Research. SAGE Open, 11(3), 215824402110475. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211047576

Kumari, A., J., Hwang, J., & Cioca, L. I. (2022). Does Servant Leadership Promote Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Employees? A Structural Analysis.Sustainability.,14(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095231

Levey, J., & Levey, M. (2019). Mindful leadership for personal and organizational resilience.Clinical radiology,74(10), 739-745.

Lo, P., Allard, B., Anghelescu, H. G., Xin, Y., Chiu, D. K., & Stark, A. J. (2020). Transformational leadership practice in the world's leading academic libraries.Journal of Librarianship and Information Science,52(4), 972-999.

Mamouni Limnios, E. A., Mazzarol, T., Ghadouani, A., & Schilizzi, S. G. M. (2014). The resilience architecture framework: Four organizational archetypes.European Management Journal,32(1), 104-116.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2012.11.007

McCrae, E. B. (2020). Do Employees Leave Companies or Do Employees Leave Managers?Performance Improvement,59(8), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21933

Meijerink, J. G., Beijer, S. E., & Bos-Nehles, A. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of mediating mechanisms between employee reports of human resource management and employee performance: different pathways for descriptive and evaluative reports?International Journal of Human Resource Management,32(2), 394-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1810737

Naong, M. N., & Naong, M. L. (2022). Strategic significance of the mediating role of training towards enhancing emotional intelligence (EI) of smme owners/managers. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, Suppl.Special Issue 2,21, 1-16. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fstrategic-significance-mediating-role-training%2Fdocview%2F2731216732%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965

Ojo, A. O., Fawehinmi, O., & Yusliza, M. Y. (2021). Examining the predictors of resilience and work engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland),13(5), 2902.https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052902

Olughor, R. (2023). The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Future of Work: Developing Resilient People and Upskilling. InResponsible Management of Shifts in Work Modes-Values for Post Pandemic Sustainability, Volume 2(pp. 163-176). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Page, L., & Schoder, J. (2019). Making change last: Leadership is the key.The Journal of Business Strategy,40(2), 32-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-01-2018-0003

Sampson, A. J., Fianko, s. K., & Dzogbewu, T. (2021). Goleman's Intrapersonal Dimension of Emotional Intelligence: Does it Predict Effective Leadership?Organizational Cultures,21(2), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-8013/CGP/v21i02/35-50

Slezak, P. (2023). How much can disengaged employees cost your business? [Infographic]. Zippia For Employers. https://www.zippia.com/employer/much-can-disengaged-employees-cost-business-infographic/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20Gallup%20poll,%242%2C400%20per%20employee%20per%20year.

Smedley, M. S. (2021). Signs of low employee engagement. DDI. https://www.ddiworld.com/blog/signs-of-low-employee-engagement#:~:text=Gallup%20estimates%20that%20about%2013,to%20their%20work%20or%20company.

Widowati, P. D., & Satrya, A. (2023). Do Emotional Intelligence and Ethical Leadership Elevate Work Engagement? The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital.Media Ekonomi dan Manajemen,38(1), 186-204.

Yanchus, N. J., PhD., B., C. K., PhD., & Osatuke, K., Ph.D. (2020). The Role of Executives in Driving Engagement.Organization Development Journal,38(3), 87-99. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Frole-executives-driving-engagement%2Fdocview%2F2456170908%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965

Zighan, S.,&Ruel, S.(2023). SMEs' resilience from continuous improvement lenses,Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 233-253.https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-06-2021-0235

Here is what I need help with:

• 1.6: Project Justification.

The project justification is your argument, defense, and rationalization for the need to conduct the project. The basis for the need for the project is the gap(s) in practice, followed with how the outcome of your project could inform or reduce the gap in practice. Describe the reason for the project, its need, and evidence to support the need for the project. Describe the rationale and justification for conducting this project. Support the reason you are going to potentially spend time, energy, and money to research this topic. Ensure your project justification aligns with the problem, purpose, PQ, and gap in practice within your specialization. Address these key elements as you justify the need for your project: Describe who in the practitioner or scholarly literature says this project within your specialization is needed Describe why your project question need answering Describe why your project is significant and important Describe which business practitioners your project outcome will be significant and important to, and why Support the project justification with at least three relevant scholarly and/or practitioner articles published within the last 5 years.

• 1.7: Preliminary Project Framework.

A project framework describes, but does not explain concepts believed to influence an outcome. An applied framework provides a big picture overview of various descriptive categories or concepts and how they might relate to one another. The choice of your applied framework will place your project on a trajectory to contribute towards building an integrated body of knowledge within the specialization domain. Using an established framework, model, process, theory, or set of constructs, explain how the project will be organized and framed. The project framework is an applied, business practitioner framework that is or could be used to help the business person overcome the problem and shrink the gap in practice. An applied framework is not a theoretical or conceptual framework based solely on theory or abstract theoretical concepts. A theory might inform the framework or a key concept within the framework, but a 15 theory is not the framework. Briefly describe how the applied framework aligns with the specialization, the topic, problem, and purpose. Provide citations to at least three practitioner or scholarly articles published within the last 5 years. Consider reviewing the resources regarding applied frameworks in Capella Connect-0. DBA Capstone Networking and Support-Resources.

• 1.8: Preliminary Project Plan.

The preliminary project plan is your proposed processes, steps, and timeline for your project. This plan will assist you in determining whether your project is manageable and feasible within your program timeline. Use your course sequence map to provide a set of dates and deliverables you hope to meet. Insert into that map your preliminary plan for investigating, exploring (qualitative), examining (quantitative), or explaining the gap in practice. Include your timeline for data collection, analysis, report preparation, edits and iterations, and presentation. Identify key resources and supporting stakeholders. Include anticipated barriers or challenges. 16 Within your project plan, include the project technique, industry or company context, geographic location, population and sampling, data collection, data analysis, and the means to collect reliable, valid information to examine or explore the gap in practice. The objective of the project plan is for you to describe the process you will undertake to address the problem, fulfill the purpose, answer the project question, and inform the gap in the practice. Ensure the project plan aligns with these foundational elements. You will revisit your plan in Section 3; the plan may replicate this section or need modification. Provide citations to at least five practitioner or scholarly articles published within the last 5 years to support your planned technique

• 1.9: Summary.

The summary is a recap of Section 1 to remind your reader of the key aspects and foundational elements of your proposed project and lead the reader into Section 2. Provide a conclusion which sets the stage for the next section. Summarize the key points from Section 1, reminding the reader of your specialization, topic, problem, purpose, gap in practice, justification, framework, company or industry context, and project plan without using copy/paste of previous statements. Provide an overview of Section 2, briefly describing the literature review. Self-reflect on how the project completion will enhance professional standing, effectiveness, and socialization into the professional community of leaders.