The effect of humble leadership on employee agility: The mediating role of work self-efficacy
Keywords:
Humble Leadership, Employee Agility, Work Self-EfficacyAbstract
This study aims to examine the effect of humble leadership on employee agility, with work self-efficacy serving as a mediating variable, at an ministry of environment in Regional Office for Ministry Environment of Bali and Nusa Tenggara. A quantitative research approach was employed using a census sampling technique involving 82 employees. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The findings reveal that humble leadership has a positive and significant effect on both employee agility and work self-efficacy. Furthermore, work self-efficacy positively and significantly influences employee agility. The mediation analysis indicates that work self-efficacy partially complementary mediates the relationship between humble leadership and employee agility. These findings suggest that humble leadership, characterized by openness, appreciation of employees’ contributions, and willingness to acknowledge limitations, plays a crucial role in fostering adaptive and agile employees through enhanced psychological confidence at work. This study contributes to the organizational behavior literature by providing empirical evidence on the psychological mechanism linking humble leadership and employee agility within the context of public sector organizations. Practically, organizations should strengthen leadership development and employee psychological capacity to enhance workforce agility in dynamic work environments.
Downloads
References
Al-Hawamdeh, N. (2023). Does humble leadership mitigate employees' knowledge-hiding behaviour? The mediating role of employees' self-efficacy and trust in their leader. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(6), 1702–1719.
Azliyanti, E., Jadmiko, P., & Utami, W. (2019). Peran Pemediasi Efikasi Diri Kreatif pada Hubungan antara Persepsi terhadap Kepemimpinan Transformasional Pada Kreativitas Karyawan. Journal of Management and Business, 2(2), 287-301.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bayda, S. S., & Nizar, N. I. (2026). Pengaruh kepemimpinan dan efikasi diri terhadap kinerja karyawan pada CV. Putra Cinta Damai Bogor. Kompeten: Jurnal Ilmiah Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 4(5), 1535–1547.
Chen, Y., Zhao, J., Jin, M., & Lan, X. (2025). Leader humility and employee proactivity: Sequential affective mediation and the moderating effect of role breadth self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 16(1), 1–14.
Chu, X., Zhang, L., & Li, M. (2022). Humble leadership and work fatigue: The roles of self-efficacy and perceived team autonomy-support. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 32(4), 340–346.
Dewi, N. K. (2023). Pengaruh Self Efficacy, Lingkungan Kerja, dan Komitmen Organisasi terhadap Prestasi Kerja Pegawai. Jurnal Ilmu dan Riset Manajemen, 12(6). 1-11.
Elhadidy, I., & Gao, Y. (2024). The impact of humble leadership on employee agility: Unveiling the mediating role of employees' self-efficacy. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(1), 200–209.
Elyanis, R., Lovita, R., & Zaitul. (2025). Peran kepemimpinan rendah hati dalam memediasi hubungan antara partisipasi pegawai dan perubahan organisasi. Journal of Innovative and Creativity, 5(2), 12750–12762.
Farrel, M., & Fikri, M. (2025). Budaya kerja adaptif sebagai strategi organisasi dalam menghadapi perubahan digital yang pesat. Ascendia: Journal of Economic and Business Advancement, 1(2), 272–281.
Ferdian, A., Hasyim, S., & Makmur, M. A. (2022). Pengembangan kapasitas aparatur sipil negara dalam mendukung pembenahan pemerintah daerah di Kabupaten Sinjai. JAQ: Al Qisthi Jurnal Sosial dan Politik, 12(1), 1–13.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Ibrar, M., Javed, M. N., & Ahmad, A. (2024). Humble leadership and workplace well-being: Unpacking the role of self-efficacy and pride in corporate environment. The Journal, 4(1), 23–35.
Iswandi, R. R. F., & Kuswinarno, M. (2025). Transformasi pengembangan sumber daya manusia di era digital. Inisiatif: Jurnal Ekonomi, Akuntansi dan Manajemen, 4(1), 250–262.
Nurhastuti, E. V., Astari, K., Junjunan, I. M., & Fazrin, B. N. (2024). Pengaruh employee engagement terhadap workforce agility pada karyawan start-up di Indonesia. JIPSI: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 6(1).
Nurlaela., Noch, M. Y., & Pongtiku, A. (2025). Pengaruh Gaya Kepemimpinan Transformasional terhadap Kinerja Pegawai melalui Motivasi Kerja. Advances in Management & Financial Reporting, 3(3), 541-558. https://doi.org/10.60079/amfr.v3i3.555
Owens, B. P., & Hekman, D. R. (2012). Modeling how to grow: An inductive examination of humble leader behaviors, contingencies, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 787–818.
Owens, B. P., Yam, K. C., Bednar, J. S., Mao, J., & Hart, D. W. (2019). The impact of leader moral humility on follower moral self-efficacy and behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(1), 146–163.
Pratita, C. P., & Salendu, A. (2022). Hubungan antara gaya kepemimpinan melayani dan kreativitas karyawan: Peran budaya inovatif sebagai mediator. Jurnal Psikologi Ulayat, 9(2), 234–253.
Putri, P. E. N. A., & Nurchayo, F. A. (2025). Menaklukkan perubahan: Faktor-faktor kesiapan berubah pada pekerja Indonesia di era modern. Jurnal Riset Multidisiplin Edukasi, 2(8), 892–907.
Rego, A., Owens, B., Yam, K. C., Bluhm, D., Cunha, M. P., & Silard, A. (2017). Leader humility and team performance: Exploring the mediating mechanisms of team psychological capital and task allocation effectiveness. Journal of Management, 43(4), 1009–1033.
Rohmani, N., Mimbar, L., & Siswanto, T. (2025). Pengaruh self-efficacy dan beban kerja terhadap kinerja karyawan melalui kepuasan kerja sebagai variabel intervening pada PT Victory International Future Cabang Mataram. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen, 4(3), 482–494.
Sentoso, A., Aj-Reqha, C., & Nelson, A. (2024). Pengaruh kelincahan organisasi terhadap kinerja berkelanjutan melalui inovasi pada sektor manufaktur di Kota Batam. Jurnal Manajemen Terapan dan Keuangan (MANKEU), 13(4), 1435–1448.
Sholikhah, Z. (2021). Pengaruh kepemimpinan rendah hati, kualitas kehidupan kerja, dan motivasi pelayanan terhadap organizational citizenship behavior pegawai sektor publik. Jurnal Pro Bisnis, 14(10), 53–67.
Udayanan, P. (2019). The role of work self-efficacy and entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intentions of graduate students: A study among Omani graduates. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 7(4), 7–20.
Widjiastuti, A. (2025). Reformasi birokrasi sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab pemerintah pada pelayanan publik. Rewang Rencang: Jurnal Hukum Lex Generalis, 6(8), 1–15.
Yang, B., Shen, Y., & Ma, C. (2022). Humble leadership benefits employee job performance: The role of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and perceived leader integrity. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 936842.
Yuniawati, E. I., & Hanif, E. S. (2024). The role of self-efficacy on workforce agility in members of the Indonesian National Police. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan, 41(2), 69–76.
Zhu, Y., Zhang, S., & Shen, Y. (2019). Humble leadership and employee resilience: The mediating roles of work-related promotion focus and perceived insider identity. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1481.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Tennessee Research International of Social Sciences

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the Tennessee Research International of Social Sciences (TRISS) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant TRISS right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in TRISS can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.