The role of emotional intelligence in project management: a review exploring the influence on leadership, teams and project success

Purpose The emphasis on hard skills has shifted towards behavioral competencies in the management context, identifying its influence on project success. However, project management literature lacks a more in-depth conceptualization of EI. This study aims to explore the role of emotional intelligence in the project management context. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a systematic literature review approach with snowballing sample, combining bibliometric and content analyses, supported by Bibliometrix – Biblioshiny and NVIVO software. Findings 39 codes and 28 relationship nodes are bridging emotional intelligence and project success. We describe the direct and indirect relationships between EI, project success and performance, identifying mediating and moderating variables. For projects to succeed, both the project manager and the team need to exhibit high levels of EI. Teams with high EI demonstrate better performance, either directly or mediated by attributes like team cohesion, satisfaction, shared mental models and trust. Conversely, factors such as conflict and turnover intention negatively affect team performance when EI is low. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive review of research on the impact of emotional intelligence on the project manager and the team project and its impact on project success. The relationship nodes are frameworks that provide insights for academics and managers for application and future research.