Impact of leader mindfulness on task visibility and leadership effectiveness: the moderating role of leader-member age differences

Purpose Grounded in social information processing theory, this study examines how leader mindfulness influences team members’ perceptions of task visibility and whether leader–member age differences moderate this relationship. The study also investigates the mediating role of task visibility in linking leader mindfulness to leadership effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 273 employees in an auto leasing firm in Thailand. A multi-source, three-wave time-lagged design was employed, with questionnaire data collected separately from team members and team leaders on different variables at different time points. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The results indicate that leader mindfulness positively influences task visibility. This effect is stronger when older leaders supervise younger team members. Task visibility mediates the relationship between leader mindfulness and leadership effectiveness, and higher task visibility is associated with stronger perceptions of leadership effectiveness. Practical implications Organizations should promote leader mindfulness to enhance task visibility, which may improve labor productivity and support employment outcomes. Managers should also consider generational differences, as these effects are stronger when older leaders supervise younger employees. Originality/value This study provides new evidence on how leader mindfulness shapes leadership outcomes through the socio-cognitive mechanism of task visibility. By establishing task visibility as a mediating pathway and identifying age differences as a boundary condition, the findings address an important gap in the literature and demonstrate how mindfulness enables leaders to better recognize employee contributions in generationally diverse teams.