Linking Strategic Leadership to Faculty Performance: A Sequential Mediated Model of Organizational and Employee Agility

Abstract

In Pakistan's Higher Education Sector, strategic leadership has become a key driver in enhancing employee performance by establishing a clear vision, promoting agility at individual and organizational levels. While existing empirical studies have primarily focused on the impact of strategic leadership on organizational performance, however very little attention has been given to its direct impact on employee outcomes, particularly within Pakistan’s higher education institutions (HEIs). This research aims to address this gap and offer practical insights for strategic leadership in the context of academic settings. The study explores the association between strategic leadership of top management with employee performance, focusing on permanent faculty members, as well as the sequential mediating roles of organizational agility and faculty agility in the HEI context. Data is collected through a structured questionnaire from 338 faculty members across public and private HEIs in all provinces and federal areas of Pakistan. The data is analyzed using SPSS and MEDTHREE analysis for hypotheses. The results show that strategic leadership positively impacts faculty performance. Furthermore, both organizational and faculty agility sequentially influence this relationship, and it was concluded that agility at both levels is an important strategy for translating strategic leadership into higher faculty performance. These findings emphasize the significance of creating agile cultures inside higher education institutions to realize the benefits of strategic leadership fully.