Leadership Styles and Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Motivation at Galaxy Kindergarten

This study examines the relationships between transactional, transformational, and participative leadership styles and employee work motivation and performance, including the mediating role of work motivation at Galaksi Kindergarten, Bandar Lampung. A quantitative explanatory study was conducted using cross-sectional data from 60 employees selected through saturated sampling and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that all three leadership styles had a positive and significant effect on work motivation. Work motivation also had a positive and significant effect on employee performance (β = 0.503, p < 0.001). Transformational leadership demonstrated the strongest direct effect on performance (β = 0.318, p < 0.001) and the strongest indirect effect through work motivation (β = 0.232, p < 0.001). Work motivation partially mediated the relationships between all three leadership styles and employee performance. The findings extend leadership research by demonstrating how complementary leadership approaches translate into performance through employee motivation in early childhood education. Practically, kindergarten management should prioritize inspirational and developmental leadership while maintaining clear performance standards and employee participation.