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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Linking transformational leadership to nurses’ extra-role performance: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement

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salanova m., lorente l., chambel m.j. & martinez i.m. (2011) Linking transformational leadership to nurses’ extra-role performance: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2256–2266. Abstract Aims.  This paper is a report of a social cognitive theory-guided study about the link between supervisors’ transformational leadership and staff nurses’ extra-role performance as mediated by nurse self-efficacy and work engagement. Background.  Past research has acknowledged the positive influence that transformational leaders have on employee (extra-role) performance. However, less is known about the psychological mechanisms that may explain the links between transformational leaders and extra-role performance, which encompasses behaviours that are not considered formal job requirements, but which facilitate the smooth functioning of the organization as a social system. Methods.  Seventeen supervisors evaluated nurses’ extra-role performance, the data generating a sample consisting of 280 dyads. The nurses worked in different health services in a large Portuguese hospital and the participation rate was 76·9% for nurses and 100% for supervisors. Data were collected during 2009. A theory-driven model of the relationships between transformation leadership, self-efficacy, work engagement and nurses’ extra-role performance was tested using Structural Equation Modelling. Results.  Data analysis revealed a full mediation model in which transformational leadership explained extra-role performance through self-efficacy and work engagement. A direct relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement was also found. Conclusion.  Nurses’ supervisors with a transformational leadership style enhance different ‘extra-role’ performance in nurses and this increases hospital efficacy. They do so by establishing a sense of self-efficacy but also by amplifying their levels of engagement in the workplace.