Fostering Employee Creativity through Transformational Leadership, Employee Agility, and Psychological Safety: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Management scholars increasingly recognize employee creativity as a critical driver of organizational sustainability and growth. Despite the recognized importance of employee creativity for organizational success, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of how organizations can effectively cultivate and promote it. This study empirically examined the interaction between transformational leadership, employee agility, psychological safety, and their collective effect on employee creativity within organizations. Utilizing a heterogeneous sample of workers from different sectors, the research applies a quantitative methods approach to investigate the relations and underlying mechanisms. Data analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with the SmartPLS software on a sample of 181 respondents. The results confirm that transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee creativity directly and through employee agility. Psychological safety further enhances the impact of employee agility on employee creativity. The findings contribute to management knowledge by highlighting the critical role of leadership in cultivating a safe and supportive environment where agile employees can thrive and generate creative ideas.