Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Original Research
Strengths-based leadership and its impact on task performance: A preliminary study
Submitted: 02 November 2019 | Published: 17 December 2020
About the author(s)
He Ding, Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Business Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, ChinaEnhai Yu, Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Business Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, China
Yanbin Li, Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Business Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
Abstract
Purpose: The current article aims to develop and validate the strengths-based leadership (SBL) scale and to explore the association of SBL with task performance and the roles of work-related well-being (WWB) and work pressure in the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach: The exploratory factor and the confirmatory factor analyses were applied to assess the validity and reliability of the SBL scale. A total of 342 employees (female = 54.1%; mean age = 30.37 years, standard deviation [SD] = 5.90 years) from various Chinese enterprises were used to test the association of SBL with task performance.
Findings/results: The results revealed that the two-dimensional SBL scale shows appropriate validity and reliability, and SBL is positively correlated with task performance. In addition, we also found that WWB acts as a mediator in the SBL-task performance linkage, and work pressure can enhance the direct association of SBL with WWB and the indirect association of SBL with task performance via WWB.
Practical implication: Our findings have some significant managerial implications in promoting employees’ task performance and research on SBL provides a new insight into leadership development.
Originality/value: This article provides a useful tool to measure the SBL construct and is the first to empirically examine the effects of SBL.
Keywords
Metrics
Total abstract views: 12563Total article views: 12596
Crossref Citations
1. The effect of strengths-based leadership on knowledge sharing behavior: the mediating role of leader-member exchange and the moderating of age
Yang Liu, Shunkun Yu, He Ding
Current Psychology vol: 43 issue: 34 first page: 27623 year: 2024
doi: 10.1007/s12144-024-06417-3
2. Sustainable Leadership for Employee Performance and the Moderating Roles of Family-Work Conflict and Work Pressure: The Job Demands–Resources Perspective
Zhaoyang Xin, Tengfei Guo, Yakun Ni, Shenyang Hai, Li Lin
Journal of Business and Psychology vol: 40 issue: 4 first page: 877 year: 2025
doi: 10.1007/s10869-024-09993-0
3. Employee Growth Mindset and Innovative Behavior: The Roles of Employee Strengths Use and Strengths-Based Leadership
Qiang Liu, Yuqiong Tong
Frontiers in Psychology vol: 13 year: 2022
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.814154
4. Navigating Society 5.0: Integrating Strength‐Based Leadership and Job Crafting for Improved Nursing Outcomes
Xule Wang, Wei Liu, Feifei Huang
Journal of Nursing Management vol: 2025 issue: 1 year: 2025
doi: 10.1155/jonm/4986260
5. How and when does follower’s strengths-based leadership contribute to follower work engagement? The roles of strengths use and core self-evaluation
He Ding, Enhai Yu
German Journal of Human Resource Management: Zeitschrift für Personalforschung vol: 36 issue: 2 first page: 180 year: 2022
doi: 10.1177/23970022211053284
6. How to Elicit Organizational Citizenship Behavior? The Role of Strengths-Based Leadership
Fuxiang Wang, He Ding
Journal of Career Development vol: 51 issue: 4 first page: 447 year: 2024
doi: 10.1177/08948453241256129
7. Building Employee Engagement and Resilience Through Strengths-Based Leadership
Kimberley Breevaart, Marianne van Woerkom
The Spanish Journal of Psychology vol: 27 year: 2024
doi: 10.1017/SJP.2024.28
8. The bright side of supervisors’ strengths use: dynamic relations with work-related flow, team trust and performance
Shenyang Hai, In-Jo Park
Personnel Review year: 2025
doi: 10.1108/PR-05-2024-0417
9. Strengths-Based Leadership and Turnover Intention: The Roles of Felt Obligation for Constructive Change and Job Control
Xixi Chu, He Ding, Lihua Zhang, Zhuyi Angelina Li
Frontiers in Psychology vol: 13 year: 2022
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.786551
10. Pursuing a sustainable career: how strengths-based leadership develops career adaptability and compensates for protean career orientation
Xiaolin Ge, Qing Zhang, Rui Xiong, Haibo Yu, Siyuan Liu, Shanghao Song, Xiaokun Liu
Career Development International vol: 29 issue: 6 first page: 732 year: 2024
doi: 10.1108/CDI-01-2024-0044
11. Strengths-Based Leadership and Employee Psychological Well-Being: A Moderated Mediation Model
He Ding, Enhai Yu
Journal of Career Development vol: 49 issue: 5 first page: 1108 year: 2022
doi: 10.1177/08948453211018807
12. Sculpting Leadership on Employees’ Craft: The Conceptual Framework and Measure of Crafting Leadership
Ferdinando Paolo Santarpia, Laura Borgogni, Giulia Cantonetti, Sara Brecciaroli
Administrative Sciences vol: 15 issue: 1 first page: 8 year: 2024
doi: 10.3390/admsci15010008
13. Measuring Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results: Psychometric Properties of the 12-Item SOAR Scale
Matthew L. Cole, Jacqueline M. Stavros, John Cox, Alexandra Stavros
Frontiers in Psychology vol: 13 year: 2022
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.854406
14. Strengths-based Leadership and Employee Strengths Use: The Roles of Strengths Self-efficacy and Job Insecurity
Fuxiang Wang, He Ding
Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones vol: 39 issue: 1 first page: 47 year: 2023
doi: 10.5093/jwop2023a6
15. The influence of subordinates’ strength-based leadership on creative process engagement in a moderated mediation mechanism
Md. Aftab Uddin, Effad Meah, Md. Tafsirul Alam, Tarik Raihan, Munshi Muhammad Abdul Kader Jilani
Central European Management Journal first page: 1 year: 2025
doi: 10.1108/CEMJ-02-2025-0040
16. Enhancing person-job fit: Who needs a strengths-based leader to fit their job?
Marianne van Woerkom, Robin Bauwens, Sait Gürbüz, Evelien Brouwers
Journal of Vocational Behavior vol: 154 first page: 104044 year: 2024
doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104044
17. You cannot start a fire without a spark: Strengths-based leadership and personal initiative
Karoline Hofslett Kopperud, Dominique Kost
Journal of General Management year: 2025
doi: 10.1177/03063070251315975