International organizations operating in China face difficult cultural, political, and regulatory issues that challenge their ability to operate successfully in the region. However, leaders who employ effective emotional labor strategies have been found to be more effective at building confident, optimistic, and resilient teams equipped to overcome challenges and to realize the organizational vision. If there were a better understanding of the lived experiences of international organizational leaders in China who successfully employ emotional labor strategies in their context, perhaps it would be possible to extend the skills they have learned to other leaders in similar contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to understand the lived experiences of six organizational leaders in China and how they made sense of the role emotional labor played in leading their organizations. Emotional Labor is a theoretical framework that explains the effort put forth to produce emotions that are socially and professionally acceptable in the given work context, the results of which can either be positive or negative depending on a variety of complex factors. The central research question of this study was, "What are the experiences of international organizational leaders operating in China as it relates to the role that emotion plays in leading their organizations effectively?" The four superordinate themes that emerged from the data are 1) focus on the facts, 2) listening reflectively, 3) achieving appropriate emotional display, and 4) understanding motivation. Key Words: emotional labor, surface acting, deep acting, IPA, display rules. [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.]