<b>Influence of Intellectual Stimulation on the Performance of</b> <b>Commercial Banks in Kenya</b>

Despite growing interest in intellectual stimulation, a key dimension of transformational leadership, there is limited empirical evidence on its specific contribution to the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. This study examined the influence of intellectual stimulation on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and a cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised 20,126 managerial and supervisory  employees  from  438  licensed  commercial  banks  in  Kenya. A stratified  random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 392 respondents, while primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression. A total of 282 valid questionnaires were returned, representing an 80% response rate. The findings revealed that respondents generally perceived leaders to encourage innovation, creativity, and constructive problem-solving. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.542, p < 0.01), while regression  results  indicated that  intellectual  stimulation  had  a significant  positive effect  on performance (β = 0.840, t = 10.766, p < 0.001), explaining 29.4% of the variation in commercial bank performance.   The study concludes that intellectual stimulation is a significant driver of organizational performance by promoting innovation, creativity, and adaptive problem-solving. It recommends that commercial banks should strengthen leadership development initiatives that encourage intellectual stimulation to enhance employee engagement, organizational learning, competitiveness, and sustainable performance in the dynamic banking environment.