<![CDATA[This study aims to examine how transformational leadership practiced by principals of vocational high schools (SMK) contributes to the improvement of graduate quality within the policy framework of Link and Match in Indonesia, while also mapping the mechanism through which such leadership drives the implementation of school-industry partnerships. A systematic literature review was conducted by searching Google Scholar, SINTA, Garuda, and Scopus-indexed databases using combinations of keywords related to transformational leadership, school principal, link and match, and graduate quality, which yielded sixteen articles published between 2021 and 2026 that met the inclusion criteria after a multi-stage screening process. The synthesis reveals that transformational leadership functions as a driving variable that shapes a quality culture among teachers, strengthens industry-oriented partnership behavior, and is reinforced by sound managerial practice at the school level, although most existing studies remain confined to single-site case studies that limit generalization. The originality of this review lies in its explicit positioning of principal transformational leadership as a mediating variable connecting Link and Match policy implementation and graduate quality outcomes, a relationship previous studies have examined only partially or in isolation. Theoretically, this study enriches the discourse on vocational education management by proposing a conceptual model that integrates leadership, policy implementation, and quality outcomes; practically, it offers policymakers and school principals an evidence-based reference for designing leadership development programs responsive to the demands of industry partnership in the link and match era.]]>
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