The Culture and Climate for Agile Lean Thinking
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the impact of leadership style and psychological Safety on employee engagement. It further examined whether these variables differed in organisations that carried out initiatives such as Lean or Agile and their impact on the program's success. A self-selecting sample (N = 122) completed a series of questions, including the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Rater, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Team Learning Psychological Safety instruments, and demographic information. A mixed design was used, part correlational and part cross-sectional. Results found that Transformational leadership style and Psychological Safety predicted Employee Engagement and that Quality Initiative organisations scored significantly higher on Transformational Leadership, Psychological Safety and Engagement. These factors also predicted the success of the Quality Initiative. This research demonstrated the importance of transformational Leadership and a psychologically safe environment to improve Engagement and that both can be learned.