The Effect of Empowering Leadership on Teachers' Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Role of Trust in Leader

Although various leadership styles influencing teachers’ organizational commitment have been extensively examined, the mediating mechanism of trust in leaders within the empowering leadership framework has received limited empirical attention, particularly in centralized and hierarchical education systems. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of empowering leadership on teachers’ organizational commitment, emphasizing the mediating role of trust in leaders. A cross-sectional research design was utilized, involving 694 high school teachers from ten provinces that reflect the regional diversity of Türkiye. Participants responded to previously developed and validated scales adapted into Turkish measuring empowering leadership, trust in leader, and organizational commitment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated that empowering leadership positively predicted both trust in leaders and organizational commitment, while trust in leaders partially mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational commitment. These findings suggest that empowering leadership enhances teachers’ organizational commitment primarily by fostering trust-based and participative relationships. The study contributes to leadership and organizational psychology literature by clarifying the role of trust as a psychological mechanism linking empowerment-oriented leadership behaviors to organizational attachment. Furthermore, the findings offer practical implications, indicating that leadership development programs should prioritize trust-building competencies alongside the promotion of empowerment practices to strengthen organizational commitment within centralized educational systems.