in determining the ability of leaders to achieve organizational goals, by reviewing and synthesizing relevant literature. As the business environment becomes more competitive and complex and the workforce becomes more educated and enabled, there is the need for leaders to understand their emotions and the emotions of followers. The paper reviews existing literature on leadership, emotional intelligence, whether gender mediates the influence of emotional intelligence on leadership; and the influence of emotional intelligence on leader effectiveness. The research found that, emotional intelligence determines the effectiveness of leadership and gender does not mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Therefore, the study recommends sensitization and training of leaders to acquire emotional intelligence skills.