Integrating the Motivational Effects of Transformational Leadership on Follower Job Performance: A Personal Engagement Perspective

Abstract

Over forty years have passed since the introduction of transformational leadership theory with the proposition that such leaders inspire followers to perform beyond expectation. However, despite extensive research linking transformational leadership to follower performance, the literature has faced criticism for lacking definitional clarity and a coherent integrative theory, with over 30 motivational constructs claimed to serve as mediators. Responding to calls for parsimonious consolidation, we propose that personal engagement theory provides a robust framework to organize the psychological mechanisms underlying transformational leadership effects. We argue that the majority of the varied mediational explanations are best understood as manifestations of three core psychological conditions for followers—meaningfulness, safety, and availability. Using a mixed-methods approach, we first conduct a narrative review and content validation to demonstrate that most transformational leadership mechanisms studied to date align with these three employee experiences of self-in-role. We further test our consolidated model in a study of 194 U.S. Marines, supporting a two-stage process in which transformational leaders foster three psychological conditions that enhance engagement, in turn, driving higher job performance. Our research addresses critiques of theoretical fragmentation and overlapping mediators, offering a parsimonious, empirically supported model that could help reignite research aimed at advancing our theoretical and practical understanding of transformational leaders and their impacts.