Elite sport as an organisational laboratory: enabling mechanisms of transformational leadership and their cross-sector implications

Purpose Transformational leadership (TL) is among the most extensively validated constructs in organisational behaviour; yet meta-analytic evidence consistently reveals unexplained variance in how the four behavioural dimensions identified by Bass and Avolio (1994) – Idealised Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation and Individualised Consideration – translate into sustained organisational outcomes. This conceptual, theory-building paper addresses this theoretical gap by advancing the Enabling Mechanisms Framework (EMF), which proposes that three enabling conditions – emotional intelligence (EI), psychological safety (PS) and organisational learning (OL) – are necessary conditions for the Four I’s to generate sustained organisational performance. The paper’s objective is explicit: to develop an original theoretical synthesis that provides the first integrated, sport-grounded specification of the enabling conditions that Bass and Avolio’s (1994) model leaves under-specified. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses conceptual theory-building methodology, drawing on established frameworks in the theory-building tradition (Eisenhardt, 1989; Whetten, 1989; Gioia et al., 2013). Pep Guardiola’s documented leadership practice across FC Barcelona (2008–2012), Bayern Munich (2013–2016) and Manchester City (2016–2025) is used as a rich, illustrative case to propose and develop the EMF, rather than as an empirical test of its propositions. Cross-sector analysis advances theoretical propositions regarding the framework’s potential applicability across public administration, health-care and educational leadership settings – propositions that require future empirical investigation. Findings The paper advances the EMF as an original theoretical synthesis that specifies the enabling conditions through which Bass and Avolio’s (1994) Four I’s may generate sustained organisational outcomes. EI is positioned as a contextual enabling condition at the leader–follower relational interface; PS as both an outcome of TL behaviour and a precondition for Intellectual Stimulation to function as designed; and OL as an organisational capability that is simultaneously enabled by TL and necessary for TL to produce sustained rather than transient performance. Research limitations/implications The EMF is developed through a single illustrative case and relies on secondary biographical, journalistic and testimonial sources, introducing survivorship bias and narrative smoothing risks. The propositions advanced require comparative case analysis – including less successful leaders in comparable roles – and quantitative testing with validated instruments (MLQ, Team Psychological Safety Scale, validated organisational learning surveys) before causal claims can be warranted. Practical implications The EMF offers sport organisations three actionable priorities: embedding relational emotional intelligence cultivation in coach education programmes; treating psychological safety as an organisational design variable requiring deliberate structural investment; and building organisational learning infrastructure to sustain transformational leadership effectiveness across leadership transitions. Differentiated cross-sector implications are advanced for public administration (prioritising psychological safety architecture), health-care leadership (embedding emotional intelligence development as a foundational prerequisite) and educational leadership (investing in double-loop learning structures). Originality/value The EMF directly addresses Van Knippenberg and Sitkin’s (2013) critique that TL theory lacks causal precision. The paper’s originality lies in the integration and theoretical specification of enabling conditions, and in the use of elite sport as a generative organisational laboratory for theory-building. The paper advances propositions regarding cross-sector applicability and offers practitioners actionable guidance for TL development programme design.