Education is an opportunity for students, alongside educational leaders to learn and embrace strengths and build upon areas for growth. It is the role and responsibility of school administrators to help create a framework for leading students through each educational milestone of their K-12 career. School principals and assistant principals should create a school climate and culture within their buildings that is supportive, welcoming, and safe. In order to accomplish this vision, school administrators need to recognize the importance of emotional intelligence (EI), or the ability to embrace the five dimensions in their leadership practice (empathy, motivation, self-awareness, self regulation, social skills). The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of 15 principals and assistant principals in western Pennsylvania school districts and uncover the following: how does EI impact school leadership, how does EI guide decision making in the school setting, what part of school leadership is the most stress inducing and what techniques are utilized to combat stress, and what prior professional life, professional development, and personal life experiences contribute to enhancing EI. The research collected within this study outlines stress management techniques to guide principals and assistant principals through decision making. Research also supports the need for school districts to provide professional development that is focused on enhancing school administrators' emotional intelligence. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]