The Impact of Inclusive Leadership on Project Leaders’ Stress

Drawing from the conservation of resource theory, our study explores the negative impact of inclusive leadership on project leaders’ stress via role overload. We further proposed leader resilience as a moderating factor that reduces the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on leader’s stress. We find a direct and positive relationship between inclusive leadership and leader stress via role overload using a multi-wave sample of 436 leader-member dyad from diverse project-based sectors, including IT, construction, non-governmental organizations, and petroleum. Importantly, we identify a buffering effect wherein higher levels of leader resilience reduce this stress. Our research highlights significant implications for leaders’ stress in project management and points to future research directions.