Lead Bold, Creative Fearless: The Paradoxical Leaders Path to Creative Performance: The intervening role of Psychological Safety

Authors

  • Hafiza Fatima Afzal PhD Scholar, Air University Multan Campus, Punjab, Pakistan
  • Dr. Sadia Ishaque Assistant Professor, Air University Multan Campus, Punjab, Pakista
  • Dr. Danish Habib Assistant Professor, Air University Islamabad, Aerospace and Aviation Campus Kamra, Punjab, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2025(9-II)33

Keywords:

Paradoxical Leadership (PL), Creative Performance (CP), Psychological Safety (PS), Social Learning Theory

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between paradoxical leadership and creative performance, with a focus on the mediating effect of psychological safety. The paradoxical leadership fosters creativity in a very creative and bold way that influence the creative performance of employees, with the key mediating effect of psychological safety. A sample of 300 employees from the top 15 IT Companies participated in this study. Using a cross-sectional approach, the study collects data at one particular moment in time. The sample was analyzed by using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This study found that paradoxical leadership has a positive relationship with creative performance. The study also revealed that psychological safety is a strong mediator that influences the relationship between paradoxical leadership and creative performance. The findings of this study assist upper management in developing plans for improving relationships between leaders and their team members by offering a psychologically safe setting, which results in high creativity in Pakistani IT companies. The further study may concentrate on investigating the impact of supplementary mediators, such as cultural context, team behavior, on the relationship between the PL and CP.

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Published

2025-05-28

Details

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    PDF Downloads: 69

How to Cite

Afzal, H. F., Ishaque, S., & Habib, D. (2025). Lead Bold, Creative Fearless: The Paradoxical Leaders Path to Creative Performance: The intervening role of Psychological Safety. Pakistan Social Sciences Review, 9(2), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2025(9-II)33