A Systematic Literature Review on the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership—A Critical Approach

The aim of this paper is to fill the identified gap in the literature regarding a holistic approach to the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and transformational leadership (TL). In fact, this paper contributes to the annotation of the literature in this particular field through a selective bibliography, aiming to cover the main contributors to the development of this topic and explore their different views in order to critically approach the pros and cons, producing implications for academia and organizations. A leader who applies the transformational style is able to indirectly or directly influence the efficiency of employees through increased levels of emotional intelligence and developed cognitive skills. The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlation between EI and TL. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted for papers published from 2000 onwards (21st century). Published papers were selected from international scientific journals that have been indexed as Q1 or Q2 (best quartiles) in the SJR database fields of business, management, and accounting. For the initial screening, the Google Scholar database was used to access papers through the following keywords: emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, organizational behavior, management, and organizational development. Furthermore, SLR’s PRISMA flow chart indicated the most suitable papers to be analyzed in the context of this paper. The research yielded 16 published studies confirming the positive relationship between EI and TL and 9 papers questioning it. These papers have been analyzed to open a discussion and draw conclusions. Research on the relationship between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence demonstrate a positive correlation in the majority, while there are some who question it.