%0 Journal Article %T Empowering Leadership and Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement in Ethio-Telecom %A Rebecca Holmes %A Daniel Norris %J Annals of Organizational Culture, Leadership and External Engagement Journal %@ 3108-4176 %D 2024 %V 5 %N 1 %R 10.51847/R6TQ0Y2j4W %P 147-158 %X This study aimed to investigate how empowering leadership practices influence employee performance, with a particular focus on the mediating role of work engagement at Ethio-Telecom. Grounded in social exchange theory and self-determination theory, the research analyzed data collected from 214 sales representatives of Ethio-Telecom in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A quantitative research design was employed using a simple probability sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS was utilized to test the proposed hypotheses. The descriptive findings revealed a limited presence of empowering leadership behaviors and a notably low level of employee work engagement. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that empowering leadership has a significant and positive impact on both employee performance and work engagement. The bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis also indicated that work engagement partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and employee performance. The paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications, study limitations, and directions for future research. %U https://apsshs.com/article/empowering-leadership-and-employee-performance-the-mediating-role-of-work-engagement-in-ethio-telec-fojwl41hfkvma37