How transformational leadership fosters thriving at work: the roles of agentic work behaviours and heedful relating

Purpose Drawing on the socially embedded model of thriving (SEMT), the present study examines how transformational leadership is associated with employees' thriving at work through agentic work behaviours (task focus and exploration), and investigates whether heedful relating, as a relational resource, strengthens these behavioural pathways. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey design was employed using data collected from 310 employees working in manufacturing and service organizations based on India. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships, including mediation and moderated mediation effects. Findings Transformational leadership was positively associated with both employees' task focus and exploration, both of which were positively related to employees' thriving at work. The findings revealed significant indirect effects of transformational leadership on thriving at work through these behavioural pathways, indicating partial mediation. Heedful relating strengthened the relationships between task focus and thriving and between exploration and thriving. Furthermore, the indirect effects of transformational leadership on thriving through task focus and exploration were stronger at higher levels of heedful relating. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations can enhance employee thriving by developing transformational leadership capabilities, promoting employees' task focus and learning-oriented behaviours, and cultivating relational contexts characterized by attentiveness and coordination among employees. Originality/value The present study extends SEMT by identifying task focus and exploration as behavioural pathways linking transformational leadership to thriving at work and by demonstrating how heedful relating, as a relational resource, conditions the effectiveness of these pathways. The findings contribute to the leadership and thriving literature by providing a more nuanced explanation of how and when transformational leadership influences employee thriving at work.