Transformational leadership, work engagement, and occupational success

Purpose - The aim of the present study is to give insights into the interplay between leadership, well-being and occupational success by examining the indirect effect of transformational leadership on subjective occupational success mediated by work engagement. Design/methodology/approach - A gender-sensitive approach was applied in order to reveal possible differences in the relations and to deduce gender-specific recommendations. Data were retrieved from 530 women and 602 men. The participants were questioned on their leader's behavior, their work engagement, and occupational success. Findings - Results show significant positive relations between transformational leadership, work engagement, and subjective occupational success for men and women. Work engagement is found to partially mediate the relation between transformational leadership and subjective occupational success. A significantly higher mediation effect was found for women, although the mediation is present in both gender groups. Practical implications - Both for men and women transformational leadership training, as well as interventions promoting work engagement, are promising approaches for the enhancement of occupational success. Originality/value - The findings advance the understanding of how leaders enhance employees' occupational success and provide gender-specific insights into the mediating mechanism of work engagement regarding this relation.