In recent years, authentic leadership has emerged as a key area of interest in leadership research. This study explores the employee-centered perspective of authentic leadership and its influence on individual performance, examining the sequential mediating roles of trust and leader–member exchange (LMX). Survey data were gathered from 320 employees in Pakistan’s healthcare sector. The findings demonstrate that authentic leadership positively impacts individual performance both directly and indirectly through trust and LMX. The results further reveal that leaders exhibiting authenticity cultivate a trustworthy atmosphere, which enhances LMX quality and, consequently, employee performance. By integrating four critical constructs into a single model, this research provides new evidence on the mechanisms through which authentic leadership affects performance. Implications for theory, practice, and future research directions are discussed.
