The Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment: The Influence of Authentic Leadership on Job Satisfaction and Performance of Kendari City Government Employees
Keywords:
Authentic Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Performance, Psychological EmpowermentAbstract
The suboptimal performance of government employees and low job satisfaction in various Regional Government Organizations in Kendari City indicate problems in leadership effectiveness and employee psychological conditions. Leaders who lack authenticity in their behavior and decision-making often fail to foster a sense of meaning, competence, and employee self-confidence, which ultimately impacts organizational performance. Based on this phenomenon, this study aims to examine the mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between authentic leadership, job satisfaction, and employee performance in Kendari. This study used a quantitative approach with a survey method by distributing questionnaires to 265 employees from various OPDs using a cluster proportional sampling technique. A Likert scale was used for each variable. Data analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis with the help of SmartPLS Version 4. The results indicate that authentic leadership has a positive and significant effect on psychological empowerment, job satisfaction, and employee performance. In addition, psychological empowerment mediates the influence of authentic leadership on employee job satisfaction and performance. These findings confirm that authentic leadership is a key factor in developing psychologically empowered employees who are more satisfied at work and contribute optimally to the achievement of public organization performance.
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