The relationship between transformational leadership, leadership agility, work engagement and adaptive performance: a theoretically informed empirical study

Transformational leadership, which is characterised by idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration, remains central to healthcare. Leaders there need agility in their goals, attitudes, work and management practices to withstand the pressures facing them. Based on the Job Demands-Resources model of work engagement, this study involved three hospitals in Malta with 432 participants (response rate 49%) nested in 50 units. We propose here that at the unit level, transformational leadership and leadership agility nurture job resources, enable employees to engage at work, and improve unit performance. The findings of the study support the hypothesised positive relationships of transformational leadership*leadership agility with work engagement and adaptive performance, as well as the mediation of work engagement between the interactive effect of transformational leadership and leadership agility, and adaptive performance. We conclude that healthcare organizations should invest in transformational and agile leadership development to ensure high work engagement that ensures adaptive performance for achieving sustainable and resilient health systems.