Leveraging Leadership Styles for ESG Performance in the Public Sector: The Role of Humble Leadership in Enhancing Employee Task and Contextual Outcomes

Humble leadership—characterised by self-awareness, openness to feedback, and recognition of others’ strengths—has attracted growing scholarly attention as a transformative leadership paradigm in contemporary organisations. In technology-driven environments, where rapid advances such as automation and big data analytics demand continual adaptation, leaders must develop digital capabilities to foster innovation and sustainable growth. Within this context, humble leadership emerges as a vital enabler of organisational resilience, particularly in meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) benchmarks.\r\n\r\nThis study investigates the direct impact of humble leadership on employee performance, encompassing both task-related and contextual outcomes, with a specific focus on the public sector. It emphasises how humble leadership promotes psychological safety, trust, and innovation, thereby enhancing individual and collective performance. Addressing a notable gap in prior research—which has largely focused on mediated relationships—this study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to provide robust empirical evidence of the effectiveness of humble leadership in improving employee outcomes. The findings advance the discourse on sustainable and equitable leadership practices in dynamic organisational settings, offering valuable implications for scholars and practitioners in leadership and public administration.