Leadership, engagement, and workplace behaviors: the mediating role of psychological capital

Drawing from the positive psychology, organizational leadership and organizational behavior literature, this study explores the relationship between positive leadership behaviors, psychological capital (PsyCap), employee work engagement, as well as destructive workplace deviant behavior in Australian firms. Data were collected from Australian organizations across different industries (n=441). In the first model, the relationship between servant leadership and employee engagement as mediated by PsyCap was examined. Results suggested that PsyCap partially mediated the relationship between servant leadership and employee engagement. The second model examined the relationship between servant leadership and both interpersonal workplace deviant behavior and organizational workplace deviant behavior as mediated by PsyCap. Results suggested that the relationship between servant leadership and interpersonal workplace deviant behavior was fully mediated by PsyCap, whereby PsyCap only partially mediated the relationship between servant leadership and organizational workplace deviant behavior. In summary, the current study has addressed the gaps in the positive psychology, organizational leadership and organizational behavior literature by revealing that PsyCap is the mechanism through which servant leadership influences employee attitudes (employee engagement) and behaviors (workplace deviant behavior). The study joins the growing body of leadership literature that recognizes the distal and indirect nature of the leadership – outcome relationship. The study also provides an evidence-based case for adopting servant leadership as a framework in leadership development programs.