Inclusive Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Virtual Team Effectiveness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33751/jmp.v14i02.223Keywords:
leader accessibility; interpersonal risk; hybrid work; digital collaboration; employee voice; mediationAbstract
Virtual and hybrid work reduce the social cues through which employees judge whether it is safe to speak up, acknowledge errors, or request assistance. This study examined whether inclusive leadership predicted virtual team effectiveness directly and indirectly through psychological safety. A cross-sectional survey involved 200 employees working in virtual or hybrid teams. Inclusive leadership (9 items), psychological safety (7 items), and virtual team effectiveness (8 items) were measured on five-point response scales. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlations, linear and multiple regression, and mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Inclusive leadership positively predicted psychological safety (B = 0.599, β = 0.550, R² = 0.302, p < 0.001) and virtual team effectiveness (B = 0.542, β = 0.542, R² = 0.294, p < 0.001). Psychological safety remained a positive predictor when inclusive leadership was controlled. The indirect effect was 0.184 (95% bootstrap CI [0.110, 0.274]), indicating partial mediation. Organizations can support digital collaboration by combining accessible leadership with clear communication norms, constructive responses to mistakes, and safe channels for employee voice.
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