Modelling the nexus between relational leadership, wellbeing and basic school teachers’ professional commitment in Ghana: a sequential mediation model

This study examines the interplay between relational leadership (RL), social well-being (SW), emotional and psychological well-being (EPW), and professional commitment (PC) among basic school teachers in Ghana, proposing a sequential mediation model grounded in Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. Using a cross-sectional survey of 343 teachers, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) tested the direct and mediated relationships between RL, well-being dimensions, and PC. The results revealed that RL significantly enhanced PC both directly and indirectly through SW and EPW. EPW mediated the link between RL and PC, with SW exhibited stronger mediation, reflecting Ghana’s collectivist context. A partial sequential mediation pathway further revealed synergistic well-being effects, offering novel insights into leadership dynamics in resource-constrained settings. This study advances LMX theory by empirically validating a psychosocial mechanism linking leadership to teacher commitment in an understudied African context. It provides actionable strategies for fostering teacher retention through relational leadership and well-being interventions.