Abstract
This research investigates transformational leadership and how it could improve employee performance through the mediation role of work engagement in the hospitality industry. Having leadership qualities is imperative in the hospitality industry, which has become one of the largest global economic sectors. Since hospitality organizations are working in a fast-changing environment, they should embrace leadership behaviors to maintain high-performing employees. The data of this research was collected from rank-and file employees working in Jordanian five-star hotels using an online questionnaire. This led to gathering 293 questionnaire responses, that were cleansed and qualified for analysis using the AMOS software. The results obtained indicate that transformational leadership can direct employees to adopt participatory and empowering behaviors to improve their overall performance. The results also confirm that transformational leaders can harness their skills to enhance overall organizational performance through engaging employees in the vision of their jobs. The research concludes by emphasizing transformational leadership and work engagement as critical determinants of a competitive hospitality service levels and quality. This practically helps managers within the hospitality industry to improve their organizational productivity and outcomes through developing tailored and sustainable strategies to engage employees and enhance their overall performance.