Strengths-based leadership and basic psychological needs: The role of team communities of practice

Satisfying employees’ basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) is essential for enhancing their well-being and performance. Drawing on the self-determination theory, broaden-and-build theory, and positive psychology, this study examined how strengths-based leadership directly and indirectly influences the satisfaction of psychological needs through perceived team communities of practice. Using data from a three-wave survey of 310 workers in Japan, the results of a latent moderated structural equation modeling indicated that strengths-based leadership enhanced autonomy and relatedness needs satisfaction directly and indirectly through perceived team communities of practice. Additionally, strengths-based leadership positively moderated the relationship between perceived team communities of practice and competence need satisfaction. These findings indicate that strengths-based leadership and team communities of practice influence the three types of BPNS in distinct ways. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.