Abstract

Driven by the demands for quality, innovation, and global competitiveness, higher education in China is undergoing rapid transformation. Against this backdrop, transformational leadership which is characterized by motivating and inspiring followers to achieve collective goals, has emerged as a key factor in enhancing the professional development of teachers and the operational effectiveness of higher education institutions. Transformational leadership exerts a significant positive impact on the development of members and organizational effectiveness in educational institutions. This leadership style is particularly closely associated with work efficiency and teachers' professional achievements, where teachers' professional achievements cover dimensions such as long-term career development, professional title promotion, and improvement of professional competencies. This study analyzes the interactions among transformational leadership, work efficiency, and teachers’ professional achievements in Chinese higher education institutions. Additionally, this study explores how transformational leadership impacts teachers’ development outcomes, examines the mediating role of work efficiency, and considers the unique contextual factors of Chinese higher education. The aim is to fill literature gaps, provide an evidence-based theoretical foundation for understanding transformational leadership’s role in promoting teacher achievement, and offer insights for optimizing related strategies to support teachers’ professional achievement.