The Impact of Humble Leadership on Knowledge-Sharing and Creativity in Nursing Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study

The current study investigated the levels and predictors of leaders' humble leadership, participants' psychological safety, knowledge sharing in the team, and followers' creativity in nursing. Humble leadership, psychological safety, knowledge sharing, and followers' creativity are non-nursing research fields, and humble leadership has recently been examined in nursing. A cross-sectional research design was employed via an online survey. A nonprobability convenience snowball sample of 245 nursing academics (n = 85, 34.70%), nurses (n = 140, 57.10%), and nursing leaders (n = 20, 8.20%) was recruited from three universities and three hospitals. The participants rated "high" the leaders' humble leadership, knowledge sharing in the team, and followers' creativity in nursing. However, participants' psychological safety was precarious. The four variables' predictors were assessed based on the sample's characteristics. Leaders' humble leadership did not predict participants' psychological safety; the sole predictor of the variable was the organization's quality initiatives. The predictors of knowledge sharing in the team were leaders' humble leadership, age, level of education, and accreditation initiatives in the organizations. The predictors of followers' creativity were leaders' humble leadership, level of education, and quality initiatives in the organizations. The lowest means of the four variables should be immediately managed. Quality initiatives in organizations and the number of tenures were the most influential predictors of the four variables evaluated. Leaders' humble leadership predicted knowledge sharing in the team and followers' creativity, but not participants' psychological safety. As followers' psychological safety contributes to trustful relationships within the team, workplace boundaries and conducive work environments should be promoted. Training programs are required to develop humble nurses and leaders' leadership.

Humble leaders recognize their team’s efforts, encourage open communication, learn from mistakes, and motivate people to share ideas and concerns, all while striving for greater achievements. Humble leadership applies to both individual leaders and teams. This leadership style can lead to positive outcomes, including improved team performance. However, the extent to which humble leadership enhances team performance is not yet fully understood. Examining the impact of humble leadership on team performance can provide important insights into how various leadership styles influence overall team dynamics, particularly in high-stress settings such as hospitals and educational institutions. This research, which focused on faculty members, nurses, and students, highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration among different professional groups. The study aimed to investigate the predictors and differences in humble nursing leadership and team performance. The researchers recruited a sample of 252 faculty members, nurses, and students through a cross-sectional study conducted in 2022 in selected Jordanian public and private universities and hospitals. The study, using SPSS version 25, found that leaders and teams generally exhibited humble behavior, with an average rating of 3.67 ( SD = 0.85). The highest two of the humble leaders were leaders’ receptivity to others’ views ( M = 3.78, SD = 1.08) and appreciating others’ strengths ( M = 3.76, SD = 1.12). Yet, the leader’s admission of not knowing something ( M = 3.47, SD = 1.11) and recognition of others’ superior knowledge and skills ( M = 3.59, SD = 1.11) were the lowest means. The highest two of a humble team were members’ willingness to learn from one another ( M = 3.82, SD = 0.97) and their openness to new ideas ( M = 3.71, SD = 1.04). However, the team had low means of acknowledging their lack of knowledge ( M = 3.55, SD = 1.00) and recognizing when others possess greater knowledge and skills ( M = 3.64, SD = 0.98). The team performed relatively well and effectively, with a mean of 3.51 ( SD = 1.42). The highest two means of team performance were in team members expressing their diverse opinions ( M = 3.60, SD = 1.55) and all team members actively participating in discussions ( M = 3.59, SD = 1.67), contrary to the lowest two means observed when team members shared and received criticism without taking it personally ( M = 3.29, SD = 1.62) and when conflicts were resolved through compromise, with each member making concessions ( M = 3.36, SD = 1.59). A moderate positive correlation was found between humble leadership and team performance ( r = .63, p = .001). The years of work experience for the faculty members or nurses, as well as the level of study for the students, were shared predictors of humble leadership and team performance ( F = 5.20, df = 1, p = .02, R 2 = .203, Adjusted R 2 = .07). The non-nursing students showed higher levels of humble leadership than the nursing students ( p = .01). The individuals involved in quality initiatives in academic and healthcare settings demonstrated higher levels of humble leadership ( p = .01). The nursing faculty members had superior team performance compared to the nurses and nursing students ( p = .02) and also had better team performance than the non-nursing faculty members ( p = .04). On the other hand, the nurses had higher team performance than the nursing faculty members and the nursing students ( p = .03). Humble leadership significantly influences the overall performance achieved by a team.

This article explored variables and predictors of academic nursing leaders’ humble leadership and nursing faculty members’ psychological safety. Humble leadership and psychological safety are underexplored in nursing research, particularly within academic settings. An online survey using a convenience snowball sample of 90 academic faculty was utilized. The faculty rated the academic nursing leaders’ humble leadership highly. General Linear Modeling (GLM) was employed to identify predictors, revealing that humble leadership significantly predicted psychological safety (B = 0.144, p = 0.006). Training programs are needed to develop academic nursing leaders’ humble leadership. Workplace boundaries and conducive academic work environments should be promoted. The findings have practical implications for leadership development and workplace behavioral health, emphasizing the need for psychologically safe environments that support faculty well-being and performance.

This study investigated the relationship between humble leadership (HL) and employees' creative deviance behaviors (CDB), whether or not moderated by perceived insider status (PIS). The conceptual framework is based on the interplay between the three variables, explores the relationship between humble leadership and employees' CDB, and assesses PIS's moderating effect. The study employs the independent variable of humble leadership, divided into three dimensions: self-awareness, appreciation of subordinates, and teachability. The dependent variable is CDB, which has four elements: The individual is actively generated, the organization does not formally support it, the top management of the organization often ignores it, and it is believed that it is beneficial to the interests of the organization. The moderator variable is PIS, reflected through the positive and negative psychological cognition of employees inside the organization. The study's research design is a quantitative descriptive survey design that uses a survey questionnaire. The population of the study consists of back-office employees consisting of 319 respondents. This study used a questionnaire survey and social information processing theory to manage the data. The results revealed significant differences in humble leadership skills when respondents were grouped according to age and education. While significant differences also existed in the presence of perceived insider status when respondents were grouped according to working life. Results showed that humble leadership positively predicted creative deviance behavior and that perceived insider status did not moderate this relationship. Humble leaders who exhibit self-awareness, appreciation of others, and teachability are more likely to create an environment where creative deviance behavior is encouraged and supported. When employees feel valued, respected, and supported by their leaders, the individual who is actively generated are more likely to engage in creative deviance behaviors to challenge the status quo and push the organization forward. Although the organization does not formally support it or top management often ignores it, but may be mitigated by humble leaders who are willing to take risks and support their subordinates in pursuing innovative ideas, encouraging them by creating a safe space for subordinates more likely to generate ideas and engage in creative deviance behavior.

BACKGROUND: “Silence” is a common phenomenon in the operation of enterprises, where some instances of silence can uphold organizational harmony, while other forms can exacerbate organizational issues, hindering intra-organizational information transfer and decision-making and affecting organizational innovation. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the relationship between humble leadership style and employee silent behavior, verifying the mediating role of psychological contracts in this relationship. METHODS: Based on the social exchange theory, hypotheses are validated using descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis and the SEM structural equation modeling testing. RESULTS: The findings indicate a significant negative correlation between humble leadership and employee silence. Humble leadership significantly inversely predicts permissive and defensive dimensions of employee silence, while the correlation with the prosocial dimension is insignificant. Moreover, psychological contracts partially mediate the impact of humble leadership on permissive silence and defensive silence among employees. CONCLUSION: The study helps managers comprehend how humble leadership, characterized by the traditional Chinese “humility” culture, affects employee silence. Especially within Chinese enterprises, where employees are influenced by traditional Chinese thought and exhibit historical dependency on silent behavior, probing whether the humble leadership style can effectively encourage employees to provide constructive suggestions for organizational development is particularly meaningful.

Purpose: This study explains how humble leadership influences two types of behavior: organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and withdrawal behavior (WB) in BPR banks undergoing mergers. The team climate plays a key role in the success of this relationship.Design/methodology/approach: The number of samples taken based on the Isaac and Michael table at a population point of 652 resulted in a sample size of 227. The researchers used stratified random sampling to determine the sample distribution, a method that groups the population into several strata based on certain criteria. Data analysis uses SmartPLS 4.Findings: The results of the research show that humble leadership has a direct influence on increasing OCB and reducing WB. Team climate may influence how humble leadership affects increases in OCB and decreases in WB, especially during structural changes like mergers. These results also support the idea that humble leadership makes people more likely to be good organizational citizens by creating a supportive team environment and less likely to withdraw by making an atmosphere that eases stress and dissatisfaction. Team climate acts as a mediator between humble leadership and employee behavior, enhancing engagement and reducing negative behavior. Research limitations/implications: The study has revealed that humble leaders can create a positive team climate, strengthen employee engagement with OCB, and reduce uncertainty that can trigger withdrawal behaviors. However, it must be acknowledged that this research has limitations in measuring the effectiveness of the open communication process between leaders and employees and in measuring the differences in organizational culture in each provincial BPR merger in Indonesia.Practical implications: Humble leadership plays a crucial role in creating a positive team climate. Training for managers to develop a humble attitude is critical, including listening to employee feedback and providing fair recognition. Additionally, creating a supportive team climate can enhance organizational citizenship behavior, so managers need to focus on a work atmosphere that encourages collaboration and employee engagement. Humble leadership can also reduce employee withdrawal behaviors by creating a safe environment for their emotional well-being. In the context of a merger, understanding team dynamics and demonstrating sincerity from leaders is essential to ease tensions among team members from different backgrounds. Therefore, the development of training programs that support employee engagement is key to ensuring they remain engaged in their work and exhibit positive behavior, while humble leadership continues to reinforce their personal and professional development.Social Implications: In merger situations that often trigger uncertainty and anxiety among employees, humble leadership helps build trust and security, ultimately reducing resistance to change. The merger will make the organization more adaptable to structural changes due to OCB growth. Conversely, the reduction of withdrawal behavior contributes to a decrease in employee turnover, thereby preventing operational disruptions that could disrupt financial services to the community. So, humble leadership mediated by team climate not only helps individuals and organizations but also improves the social and economic stability in the area around BPR, which is undergoing structural changes because of the merger.Originality/value: This research makes a significant contribution to the development of leadership theory, employee behavior, and team dynamics by demonstrating that humble leadership can build better relationships, improve communication, and strengthen employee engagement, as well as create a positive organizational climate that reduces negative behaviors such as withdrawal.

BackgroundMedical errors, while prominent in healthcare as one of the leading causes of mortality, remain a relatively unexplored area in veterinary medicine. The nature and frequency of such errors in...

PurposeThis study examines the impact of humble leadership on the service recovery performance (SRP) of frontline service employees (FSEs) in the hospitality industry. It also explores the mediating underlying mechanisms of psychological empowerment and employee engagement, along with the moderating role of employee proactive personality.Design/methodology/approachTo test our predictions, we used a cross-sectional research design, drawing on a sample of 456 frontline service employees in Egypt’s hospitality industry. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 27 and AMOS 22.FindingsThe study reveals a positive association between humble leadership and SRP, with psychological empowerment and employee engagement bridging this relationship. Furthermore, an employee’s proactive personality strengthens both the direct influence of humble leadership on these mediating mechanisms –psychological empowerment and engagement – and the indirect impact of humble leadership on SRP through these two mechanisms.Practical implicationsTo foster SRP among frontline service employees, firms should promote humble leadership practices among their managerial and supervisory staff. In addition, leaders should enhance psychological empowerment and engagement among their employees while also seeking to recruit employees with proactive personalities.Originality/valueThis study extends the effect of humble leadership to SRP, an unexplored consequence in current scholarly literature. Findings about the underlying mechanisms of psychological empowerment and engagement and the conditional effect of proactive personality deepen our understanding of how and when humble leaders are more effective in shaping SRP.

PurposeDrawing on social information processing theory (SIP), this paper examines whether and how humble leadership affects employees' service improvisation (ESI) in the hospitality industry. Further, the study investigates the mediating role of psychological safety and the moderating role of creative self-efficacy (CSE).Design/methodology/approachTo test the proposed relationships, the study adopts a cross-sectional design, administering questionnaires to 456 frontline staff in Egypt’s hospitality industry across three main sectors: restaurants, hotels and travel agencies. SPSS 27 and AMOS 22 were used for statistical analysis.FindingsThe study reveals a positive relationship between humble leadership and ESI, partially mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, CSE not only strengthens the relationship between psychological safety and ESI but also enhances the indirect effect of humble leadership on ESI via psychological safety.Practical implicationsThe study offers valuable insights for practitioners in the hospitality industry. To boost ESI, organizations can incorporate humble leadership attributes into their leadership development programs. Fostering a psychologically safe workplace would facilitate the positive impact of humble leadership on ESI. Recognizing CSE as a pivotal moderator underscores the importance of strategically selecting and developing employees with high CSE. These insights aim to cultivate a more service-oriented and effective workforce in the hospitality industry.Originality/valueThis study significantly contributes to leadership research in the hospitality industry by uncovering a previously unexplored link between humble leadership and ESI. Exploring psychological safety as a mediator and CSE as a moderator enhances our comprehension of how and when humble leadership influences ESI.

PurposeThe present study aimed to examine the relationship between humble leadership (HL) and employee adaptive performance by testing the mediating role of self-determination and the moderating role of employee attributions of HL.Design/methodology/approachA three-wave, two-source design was used to collect quantitative data from 301 employees and 45 direct supervisors of mainland Chinese enterprises. Testing the hypotheses was conducted through multiple regression analysis and moderated regression analysis.FindingsResults showed that HL was positively related to employee adaptive performance. Additionally, the relationship between HL and employee adaptive performance was mediated by self-determination. Furthermore, this positive effect of HL on self-determination was minimized among employees who attribute HL to impression management motives but is insignificant for employees who attribute HL to performance improvement motives.Originality/valueIt has been widely concerned that the traditional “top-down” leadership styles are associated with employee adaptive performance; however, the role of bottom-up leadership styles on employee adaptive performance has only been sporadically examined. The present study introduced HL, a typical bottom-up leadership style and developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the potential effect of HL on employee adaptive performance. Moreover, by confirming the mediating role of self-determination, the authors further uncover how HL facilitates employees' adaptive performance. Meanwhile, the moderating role of employee attributions of HL found in this study offers new insights into the understanding of the effectiveness of HL.

Knowledge is vital for competitive advantage. Similarly, leadership style cannot be avoided in organizational success. Based on social exchange theory, this study explored the impact of humble leadership on knowledge hiding. Further, the mediating effect of psychological empowerment was also explored. Following the purposive sampling technique, 418 employees participated in the study. Primary data was collected in two waves to avoid common method variance. Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis. This study noted that humble leadership negatively influences knowledge-hiding behavior. In addition, psychological empowerment was noted to mediate the proposed relationship. This study advises that humble leadership, through psychological empowerment, mitigates knowledge-hiding behavior. Furthermore, it is recommended that managers create a favorable environment and empower employees to achieve the desired organizational goals. This study enriches the understanding of humble leadership by validating a theoretical model demonstrating its value and identifying the impact of psychological empowerment on knowledge-hiding behavior.

ObjectivesThe current study measures the differences in humble leadership and team performance in nursing based on the sample’s characteristics.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingIn 2022, the current study sample was recruited from governmental...

Background and Objectives: As a bottom-up leadership style, leader humility has received considerable attention from researchers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between humble leadership and employee innovation behavior with the emphasis on the mediating role of positive psychological capital among the employees of public libraries in Hamadan province, Iran. Methodology: The present study was descriptive and correlational. The total statistical population of this research involved 187 employees of public libraries in Hamadan province, from which a sample size of 123 people was selected using the simple random sampling based on the Morgan table. For collecting data, three standard questionnaires of innovation behavior, positive psychological capital and humble leadership were used. Besides, the proposed model was analyzed using structural equation modeling with Smart PLS2 software. Findings: The results showed that our theoretical model can properly be used in the process of employee innovation behavior formation, and all the direct relations between variables in the model are significant. Furthermore, the results of modeling the structural equations showed that, in a humble leadership explaining 83 percent of positive psychological capital, humble leadership accounts for 78 percent of the employee innovation behavior; positive psychological capital clarifies 17 percent of employee innovation behavior; and humble leadership explains 15 percent of employee innovation behavior through positive psychological capital. Discussion: This study provided some insights for organizations in implementing humble leadership and motivating employee innovation behavior. Humility has been understood as the core trait of servant leadership, level-five leadership and participative leadership. However, humble leadership as a new type of independent leadership style has yet to be thoroughly investigated. By confirming the mediating role of PsyCap, the research further uncovers why followers under humble leader behaviors are more likely to engage in employee innovation behavior. Moreover, this study offers additional insight into the fact that followers may differ in the degree to which they are receptive to leader’s effect.

PurposeThe concept of knowledge-hiding starkly contradicts the notions with which it is closely associated, such as knowledge-hoarding and knowledge-sharing. The understanding of the effect of humble leadership on follower knowledge-hiding behaviour is particularly limited, as it is significantly underdeveloped owing to its distinct nature. Ergo, this paper aims to explore the role of humble leadership and its ability to mitigate employee knowledge-hiding behaviour. Moreover, this study aims to investigate the mediating effect of employee self-efficacy and the trust that they have in their leader, based on the relationship between humble leadership behaviour and knowledge-hiding in Jordanian health-care organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative method, and 260 employees of Jordan’s health-care organisations completed an online self-report questionnaire. Further to this, structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised correlations.FindingsAccording to the findings of this study, the leaders who exhibited humble behaviour mitigated their employees’ tendencies to engage in the two dimensions of knowledge-hiding (evasive hiding and playing dumb); however, they increased the tendency to practice rationalised hiding. Furthermore, the self-efficacy of employees and trust in their leader mediated the relationship between humble leadership and employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviour.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by proposing and empirically demonstrating the impact of humble leadership across all three dimensions of knowledge-hiding behaviour, which in turn facilitates new discoveries in a developing country setting. This research expands and sheds light on the theory of humble leadership by proposing a motivational aspect in the negative relation between humble leadership and employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviour: employees’ self-efficacy and trust in their leader.

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of humble leadership on job crafting and job satisfaction among development volunteers, who contribute time and skills to support disadvantaged communities. Specifically, it examines how humble leaders motivate volunteers to actively adjust their work, leading to increased job satisfaction. This research fills a gap in understanding the role of humble leadership in development volunteer management. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized a quantitative research methodology with snowball sampling to collect data from 334 volunteers who participated in a development volunteering program in rural China. Four variables – humble leadership, job crafting, job satisfaction and volunteer role identity – were measured using translated scales. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling and bootstrapping. Findings Humble leaders encouraged volunteers to shape their work, enhancing engagement and satisfaction. A stronger role identity strengthened the influence of humble leaders on job crafting, further increasing satisfaction. The findings suggest that humble leaders promote volunteers’ long-term efficacy by recognizing their individual contributions and creating an open and supportive work environment. Research limitations/implications The study provides practical implications for volunteer management. Organizations may benefit from encouraging humble leadership and enhancing volunteers’ role identity through training and selection. However, focusing on a single volunteering program in China may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future studies should explore contextual differences across regions. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of humble leadership in volunteer management, particularly in enhancing leadership’s role in long-term mission-driven projects.