The research investigates the role of innovative behavior in mediating the effect of transfor-mational leadership and talent management on the lecturer’s performance of private higher education in Indonesia. Samples of this research are 230 lecturers selected by purposive sam-pling. Data were obtained by spreading questionnaires and analyzing with path analysis using supporting descriptive statistics. The results confirm that transformational leadership and in-novative behavior had significant direct effects on performance, transformational leadership and talent management had significant direct effects on innovative behavior, transformational leadership and talent management had significant indirect effects on performance mediating by innovative behavior, and talent management did not have any significant direct effect on performance. A fit research model has been achieved about the effects of transformational leadership and talent management performance by mediating innovative behavior but requires verification through further research, especially to verify the effect of talent management on performance.