The empowering edge: how leadership style catalyses career adaptability

Purpose This study examines how empowering leadership supports career adaptability. It further investigates the mediating roles of knowledge sharing (KS) and goal commitment (GC), examining these processes through the framework of the career construction theory. Design/methodology/approach We evaluated our parallel mediation model through a two-wave, time-lagged quantitative method, analysing data from 296 employees. The research hypotheses were validated, and the parallel mediation effects were explored using PLS-SEM. Findings Empowering leadership positively influences career adaptability. Both KS and GC emerged as significant mediators in this relationship. Practical implications Organisations should adopt an empowering leadership style that fosters open communication, autonomy and collaborative goal setting. Moreover, implementing structured collaboration platforms and goal-setting programs can improve employees’ adaptive capabilities in dynamic work settings. Originality/value Empowering leadership has been a neglected aspect of career literature. This is the first study of its kind to examine the effect of empowering leadership on career adaptability and the mediating roles of KS and GC.