Pursuing a sustainable career: how strengths-based leadership develops career adaptability and compensates for protean career orientation

Purpose Drawing upon strengths-based inclusive work theory, this study explores how strengths-based leadership promotes employee career sustainability, particularly in the absence of protean career orientation (PCO), with career adaptability as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach A three-wave survey of 329 Chinese employees tested the moderated mediation model. Hypotheses were assessed using SPSS 26.0 and Mplus 8.3. Findings Strengths-based leadership positively influences career adaptability, leading to greater career sustainability. The effect is stronger when PCO is low, highlighting the compensatory role of strengths-based leadership. Originality/value The present paper extends the existing literature on strengths-based leadership and unveils that strength-based leadership can compensate for a lack of PCO. Also, it augments strengths-based inclusive work theory and provides meaningful insights to cultivate employee career sustainability. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and self-reported data limit causal conclusions. Future research should use longitudinal methods and diverse cultural contexts to improve generalizability.