Emotional literacy and granularity: Gaps and opportunities in business leadership frameworks

Emotional intelligence (EI) is widely recognised as a cornerstone of leadership and organisational success, yet current frameworks fall short in addressing the nuanced skills of emotional literacy (the ability to identify and label a wide range of emotions) and emotional granularity (the capacity to recognise and respond to subtle emotional distinctions). This review employed a systematic keyword search across seven multidisciplinary databases, including SCOPUS, Web of Science, and JSTOR, prioritising peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2014 and 2025. Filters were applied to ensure relevance to workplace applications, focusing on emotional literacy and granularity within business and leadership contexts, and further refined using filters for context, peer review, and recency. The review highlights critical gaps in EI frameworks, including their reliance on self-assessment tools and broad emotional categories. By critiquing these frameworks, the article advocates further exploring emotional literacy and granularity as essential components for improving leadership effectiveness, workplace culture, and psychological safety. It outlines the theoretical underpinnings of these concepts and proposes directions for future research, offering fresh insights into their untapped potential for addressing modern workplace challenges.