This study investigates the relationships between transformational leadership, empowerment, and employee creativity in the hotel sector in Jordan, examining the mediating role of empowerment. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with a stratified random sample of 300 employees from Jordanian hotels. Data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Findings reveal significant positive direct effects of inspirational motivation and individualized consideration on employee creativity. Empowerment partially mediates the relationships between all transformational leadership dimensions (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration) and employee creativity, with individualized consideration exhibiting the strongest indirect effect. The study contributes empirical evidence on the mediating role of empowerment in the transformational leadership-creativity relationship, specifically in the hotel sector context. It offers insights for managers on adopting transformational leadership practices and fostering empowerment to promote employee creativity and innovation. This study uniquely examines the relationships between transformational leadership, empowerment, and employee creativity within the Jordanian hotel sector, providing a nuanced understanding of the differential effects of transformational leadership dimensions and the crucial role of empowerment.

This study aims to examine the mediating effect of employee optimism on the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative capability in the context of batik small and medium en-terprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. This study applied the convenience sampling method to survey 186 employees at batik SMEs in Central Java Indonesia through a self-administrated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using smart PLS v.3 to test the hypotheses. The result show that optimism partially mediated the idealized influence of transformational leader behavior on innovative capability. In ad-dition, optimism fully mediated the individualized consideration of transformational leader behavior on innovative capability. This present study provides both empirical and theoretical contribution fo-cusing on leader behavior, employee optimism and innovative capability.