Hybrid leadership and its impact on organisational performance and innovation: Evidence from Bahrain's public sector

This study examines how senior leaders at Bahrain's General Sports Authority (GSA), a public governmental authority operating within Bahrain's state administrative framework, enact hybrid leadership to enhance organisational performance and innovation. Drawing on nine semi-structured interviews with senior GSA executives, the study employs a qualitative, exploratory design and applies Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis to identify leadership behaviours shaping performance and innovation outcomes. Three themes emerged: hybrid leadership as an adaptive strategy, leadership-driven innovation and cultural change, and strategic alignment with national reform goals. The findings show that GSA leaders deliberately integrate transformational, transactional, and participative behaviours to reconcile hierarchical governance requirements with innovation imperatives, empower teams, and align organisational practices with Bahrain's Vision 2030. Leadership practices, including open communication, strategic delegation, and cross-functional collaboration, emerged as central mechanisms supporting institutional effectiveness and sustained performance improvement. The study contributes to theory by empirically extending the Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM) and demonstrating how its components are dynamically integrated within reform-driven governance contexts in a non-Western public-sector setting. Practically, the findings inform leadership development programmes and governance reform strategies for public organisations facing similar institutional pressures.