Psychological Safety and Psychological Empowerment as mediators of Participative Leadership's impact on Talent Retention: A longitudinal study

Objective: This study examines the impact of participative leadership on talent retention in higher education institutions, focusing on the mediating roles of psychological safety and psychological empowerment. Additionally, it explores the moderating effects of age and gender to provide a comprehensive understanding of leadership dynamics in academic settings.
Methodology: A two-year longitudinal study (2022–2024) was conducted at Pharos University in Egypt, initially involving 160 faculty members, with attrition reducing the sample to 120 after the first year and 90 after the second year. Data was collected through validated questionnaires measuring participative leadership, psychological safety, psychological empowerment, and talent retention. The analysis employed regression models, mediation analysis (PROCESS Macro, SEM, Monte Carlo Bootstrapping), and ANOVA to examine relationships over time.
Results: The findings indicate that participative leadership positively influences talent retention by enhancing psychological safety and psychological empowerment. These mediating effects intensified over time, underscoring the cumulative benefits of participative leadership. Furthermore, age and gender were found to moderate these relationships, with older faculty members responding more strongly to psychological safety and men demonstrating a greater sensitivity to psychological empowerment.
Conclusions: The study highlights the critical role of participative leadership in fostering a psychologically supportive and empowering work environment, which is essential for retaining faculty members in higher education. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of demographic considerations in shaping leadership and retention strategies. These insights offer actionable recommendations for academic institutions, particularly private universities in resource-constrained contexts, to mitigate faculty turnover and enhance institutional commitment.