Abstract
The shifting dynamics of organizations in the digital era have increased the importance of strong leadership to boost employee engagement and organizational success. This literature review explores different leadership styles and their effects on employee engagement, drawing on 65 peer-reviewed studies from 2019 to 2025. Using PRISMA guidelines for systematic review, the study examines five key leadership styles: transformational, authentic, servant, distributed, and transactional. Results show that transformational leadership has the strongest positive link with work engagement (r = 0.73, p < 0.001), followed by authentic leadership (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and servant leadership (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). Distributed leadership is highly effective in team-oriented settings (r = 0.59, p < 0.01), while transactional leadership has moderate but temporary engagement effects (r = 0.34, p < 0.05). Key factors such as psychological empowerment, organizational trust, work meaningfulness, and psychological capital enhance the connection between leadership and engagement. The review suggests organizations should focus on developing transformational and authentic leadership skills, tailoring approaches to specific organizational environments and cultural settings.
Academians Publishers