Leadership Coaching And Competency Dynamics In Public HRM: The Mediating Role Of Learning

Abstract

This study examines how leadership coaching, coach competencies, and coachee self-efficacy influence job performance in the context of public sector human resource management, highlighting the mediating role of leadership learning. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was applied. Quantitative data were collected from 189 civil servants participating in a national supervisory leadership training program and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The second phase involved in-depth interviews with ten key informants, including coaches, coachees, mentors, and administrators, analyzed through grounded theory coding.

The findings show that coachee self-efficacy has the strongest positive influence on both leadership learning and job performance. While coach competencies enhance leadership learning, they have a negative direct effect on job performance. Leadership coaching directly improves job performance, but its indirect effect through leadership learning is not significant. Qualitative insights emphasize that relational trust, reflective dialogue, and adaptive coaching styles shape how participants internalize learning and translate it into behavioral change.

The study offers empirical validation for a selective mediation model of leadership learning in coaching-based HRM programs. It also provides practical implications for designing reflective and competency-aligned coaching interventions, particularly in bureaucratic institutions undergoing human capital transformation.